The Art of Love

by Kayla C. Oliver

  Jesus fucking Christ!

  I found my release around his fingers, because I couldn’t resist against the flood his thumb freed within me. I slumped forward, my forehead landing against Callum’s shoulder, and I still felt waves of pleasure roll through me as his fingers slipped out. I was too lost in my orgasm to protest, but I didn’t need to worry about it.

  A second later, I felt the head of his cock poised at my entrance.

  Pressing forward, he plunged himself inside me, and we both groaned. I clung to his shoulders for support, and he held my thighs so that he could begin thrusting within me. I was still riding the coattails of my orgasm, and each long, fluid thrust made the pleasure intensify. His mouth found mine, pressing hot, sloppy kisses against my mouth as he continued to move within me.

  We could have been doing that for hours or minutes. I couldn’t tell and couldn’t make myself care. His thrusts were urgent and slowly grew erratic until he finally found his own release. I felt him pulse within me, and then he slumped, his heart pounding against his chest, and it was only the fact that the desk was sturdy beneath us that we didn’t crumble right there to the floor.

  Wrapped up in each other, we stayed like that for several minutes. Eventually, he softened and slipped from me, and he staggered back. He half fell into one of the chairs in front of my desk, still panting. He looked exhausted and sated.

  I remained on my desk, not trusting my jelly legs to stand much less carry me anywhere.

  What the hell am I doing? my mind finally asked.

  I was still high from my orgasm, but my mind was starting to clear—and I was starting to realize how badly I’d fudged this. For the second time, I’d let Callum Reid in. Mostly literally, but I was starting to worry it was a little metaphorical, too.

  Was I… getting attached to him?

  Don’t be an idiot. It’s only sex, I tried to tell myself silently, but as I stared at him—still naked and sitting in my chair, which was endlessly amusing at that moment—I found myself thinking that he wasn’t just sexy. He was cute. And clever. And determined. The kind of guy who never gave up and went the extra mile.

  Wasn’t that what all women wanted?

  I tried to swallow that down, because my mind was being an idiot. He was Callum Reid. Owner of Tarvish Press. The asshole who was going to cost me my damn partnership if he didn’t give me a chance to work things out with Parker.

  And yet…

  “That was… excellent,” he said finally. He offered a sloppy grin, then forced himself up out of the chair. He winked at me, then reached down to grab his pants. I watched as he put them on. “I mean, hell of a time.”

  Hell of a time.

  I frowned a little, because this was what I’d been waiting for, right? Him to tell me that that was all this was. Nothing but a good time.

  I cleared my throat. “You’re not so bad yourself.” I stood up then and shoved my skirt—the only article of clothing I was still wearing—back down my legs. When I grabbed my shirt, I frowned. It was ruined. Maybe I could sew the buttons back on, but it wasn’t going to do me much good today.

  He was working on the buttons of his own shirt and laughed when he found a few of them missing. “You’re impatient, you know it?”

  I didn’t say anything. I just put on my bra and slipped on my blouse like a coat. Maybe I can tuck it in and no one will notice?

  I doubted it. Sighing, I accepted that I’d just have to go home and find a new one.

  “Listen, thanks for today, but we’re still clear that this is just about tension, right? No long-term plans, not looking to break anyone’s heart. We’re just caught up in intensity. It happens.”

  Forcing a small smile, I nodded. “Of course. What else would this be?” I tried to play it cool, but my heart clenched like I was upset. Which was stupid. Why should I be upset? There wasn’t a damn bit of reason for it.

  “Good. Then I’ll go. And we’ll see who Parker chooses in the end. May the best man win.”

  He winked at me, and I nodded once, then went around to the other side of my desk. I waved him off without looking at him again. “Best woman. I have things to do, if you don’t mind.”

  There was a pause, and then the door opened and he left. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me, but I was starting to worry that maybe I had some legitimate feelings for Callum Reid. And that was a serious problem.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Marnie

  After Callum left, I found that I wasn’t having much luck working, and honestly, I didn’t much care right then. Parker was my last shot at partner, and he was all I was really worried about. Since the meeting with him had been swapped out for an impromptu affair with Callum, I found myself a little bereft of work despite what I’d told him when he left.

  About an hour after he’d gone—I had pinned my shirt closed for the most part, though my cleavage was a little deeper than usual—I heard a knock on my door.

  For one irrational second, I thought it was Callum and that he’d come back to talk about what had happened again. Then the door pushed open and Courtney poked her head in. I realized what a fucking idiot I was and scolded myself for even wanting it to be Callum at the door.

  “Yes?” I asked, looking back down at my desk—which I’d had to straighten up—so that I could pretend to be shuffling around important papers I was looking at.

  When Courtney didn’t immediately answer, I forced myself to look up. She closed the door behind her and walked into the room, but I was more interested in the sympathetic expression on her pretty face.

  “What?” I demanded, feeling my face flush.

  “Are you okay?”

  I swallowed thickly, then raised my eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “The whole thing with Callum Reid.”

  I froze. Jesus fucking Christ. Did she hear us? Oh God, she heard us! I thought the room was soundproof, but we’d been loud. Maybe the door had been ajar. Or maybe she’d seen the shit-eating grin on his face when he left. Jesus, what if she just put it together because of my damn shirt?

  “I can totally explain,” I told her, the need to have her still think highly of me so intense that I felt like I was going to lose my damn mind.

  Her eyebrows jumped up high on her forehead. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to explain. Reid’s a jerk and Parker’s an asshole for not making it clear that it’s not okay for him to interrupt meetings like that. I know you’ve got a deadline to sign him, but there’s still some time, right?”

  I blinked.

  She wasn’t talking about me and Callum’s affair. She thought I was upset about Parker.

  The tension left me in a rush, though I admitted it would be nice to talk to her about what was going on. I didn’t have a lot of time for romance, and while she tended to be a little more cynical about the whole thing than I was—which was saying something, because I wasn’t exactly all unicorns and rainbows—she was also a little better versed in the language of love. I just didn’t have the time for it.

  Not that this is love, I thought instantly. Just a crush. Attraction. Desperation, maybe.

  “I… there’s really not much time left,” I admitted. “Parker’s going to make his decision in the next couple of days, and honestly, there’s not much more I can offer him. If I haven’t convinced him yet, that’s it. Game over.”

  Her red lips pushed together thoughtfully. “That really blows. What an ass.”

  I couldn’t tell if she meant Parker or Callum, but it didn’t much matter. I was pretty sure that it applied to both of them. I sighed, slumping back in my chair. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

  Courtney eyed me, her brows pinched, her head tilted slightly to the side. After a moment of scrutiny, she said, “So, can we talk about whatever else is going on with you?”

  I blinked. “What?”

  She gestured with her hand toward me and my desk and my office in general. “You’ve been a little weird lately—and Callum was in here a long time.
Did he say something to you?”

  No, we didn’t say much of anything really, I thought but didn’t say.

  I felt a blush trying to crawl its way up my face, but I didn’t say anything immediately. I wasn’t sure what to say. I could lie, but Courtney had been friends with me too long not to catch it. And… I kind of needed to talk about this.

  I didn’t want her to know I’d been sleeping with Callum, but…

  Leaning forward across my desk, I paused half a second, then said, “Okay, so I’ve had an epic dry spell, right?”

  Her eyebrows shot up again. “Um, yes? You mean sex, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Sex.”

  “Okay, yeah, sure. So?”

  Taking a deep breath, I said, “Well, the other night I maybe broke it.”

  “Jesus, and you didn’t tell me! Good for you!” she squealed in delight, her eyes sparkling. “Why didn’t you tell me? Was he hot?”

  I nodded immediately. “Yeah, really hot.”

  “Damn. ’Bout time, lady. I was starting to think you just weren’t into guys anymore.” She paused a beat, considering, then added, “Not that that would be a problem. You just never seemed like a lesbian before.”

  I waved her off. “I’m not. I’m still into guys and he was really sexy and the sex was seriously good.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  I hesitated. “I think maybe it’s, um, starting to interfere with my job.”

  She blinked. I watched as her expression slowly went from confusion to one of dawning realization. “Holy shit. You slept with Callum Reid! He’s your sexy, new lover!” Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was left hanging slightly open.

  I thought briefly about denying it, but I didn’t see the point. Slumping back in my chair, I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, he is.”

  “Well, holy hell, honey! I didn’t think you’d get back on the horse with him, but… Jesus.”

  I nodded again. “I know, I know, okay? The man’s a total ass! And he happens to own the one company that Dorian would like to see burned to the fucking ground. I can’t be attracted to him, right?”

  I was looking at Courtney with pleading eyes, hoping that somehow she could tell me that this was all nothing. That I would shrug this off, just like everything else that came my way, and then we could move on. That Callum Reid wasn’t the man who was going to linger in my mind like this.

  But she didn’t tell me any of that. Instead, she smiled in sympathy, then shrugged her little shoulders. “Sorry, honey. We don’t get to pick who we fall for.”

  “I am not falling for him!”

  “You sure about that?”

  No. I was definitely not sure about that, but he would be the absolute worst person to fall for. “I hope so,” I told her honestly. “Because if I do fall for him, it’s going to go bad for me. For my career and my personal life.”

  She gave me a considering look, then said, “Maybe.”

  “Maybe? What the hell is maybe supposed to mean?”

  Sighing, she leaned forward a little. “It means that you never know. Maybe he feels a spark, too, and if you’re really attracted to him—and are worried enough about it that you’re talking about it—then maybe you should just bite the bullet and give it a try. You might be surprised.”

  “I am surprised,” I deadpanned. “Surprised that you would give me advice like that. Usually you do so much better.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me. “Oh, shut up. I’m just saying you shouldn’t write him off immediately.”

  “What would we even base a relationship on? Sex?” I demanded.

  “I think you guys have plenty in common.”

  Narrowing my eyes at her, I folded my arms across my chest and fixed her with a stare. “Oh really?”

  She nodded, smiling prettily. “Callum Reid is basically the male version of Marnie McKenna. Works for a publishing house.”

  “Owns a publishing house.”

  She ignored me, ticking things off her finger that were apparently similar between me and Callum. “Is stubborn.”

  “Obnoxious, more like.”

  She added an additional finger for obnoxious and winked at me.

  “Ha ha, very funny.”

  Grinning, she continued. “Loyal when it counts, devious when it works, a workaholic—I mean, you guys are ridiculously compatible.”

  I frowned. I wasn’t sure if being compatible with Callum Reid was exactly a compliment, but I secretly acknowledged that she was right. We did have a lot in common, and not just that, we enjoyed having sex with each other.

  “Yeah, well, there’s still one problem,” I told her seriously. “He thinks that this is just a one-off. Or, a two-off, anyway.”

  “You slept with him twice? Damn! Way to end that dry spell.”

  I waved her off. “Never mind that—would you focus, please?”

  She shrugged. “Okay, so he thinks you were just a two-night stand?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Exactly. So all of this is a moot point, anyway. He doesn’t want anything more from me.” I tried not to sound so dejected, but I couldn’t help it. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was disappointed that Callum wasn’t an option.

  Courtney gave me a sympathetic look, the third one in about ten minutes. “Maybe he’s just resisting, like you are. Honestly, I don’t know. But I think you should take a risk, otherwise you’ll always wonder if there was something there.”

  “Don’t you have paperwork or phone calls to make?” I asked her ruefully.

  She laughed at me, then stood up. Waving at me, she said, “Think about what I said.”

  Right before she left, I called to her. “Courtney?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You sat in the chair where Callum’s naked butt was.”

  She froze, and then she shuddered. “Ew, you are fucking gross. I need a damn shower.”

  I laughed at her as she left, slamming the door behind her.

  Trent

  I’d put off making a decision for as long as I could. I needed to sign with someone soon, otherwise they’d have to fill up their quota for the year and I’d have to sit on my manuscript. Unless I wanted to do self-publishing, but fuck that. It was a pain in the ass, and while I appreciated how many self-publishers were out there these days, I didn’t want to deal with the hassle. My name was big enough that I could go with a well-known publisher, and damn it, I was going to. They could take care of all the hard stuff. All I had to do was write.

  I had my phone in my hand. The number was already punched in, waiting, but I hadn’t quite made myself dial it yet. It sucked because I really was torn.

  Not about my decision. I’d already decided I’d go with Tarvish. I’d been 99 percent sure from the get-go, and when it came down to the wire, I had to go with Callum. He had a good company, he genuinely thought highly of my work, and he was offering the same deals as Marnie was. In the end, our friendship was the swing vote, and it was enough.

  Unfortunately, Courtney Hughes worked for Marnie McKenna and Marnie worked for S&W Publishing. So now I had to call Courtney and tell her I’d chosen not to go with them. It was the only shitty part of this deal. If I could snatch her up, I would do it in a heartbeat, but she still didn’t know I was Trent Parker. Instead she thought I was Malcom Resner, the agent.

  Damn it, now I’m never going to get a shot with her, I thought sadly.

  Sighing, I bit the bullet and called her. It took only two rings before she picked up. “Courtney Hughes, S&W Publishing, Marnie McKenna’s office.”

  Something warm settled low in my gut at the sound of her voice. I could picture her sitting at her desk with her little vintage dresses and those wild, curling hairstyles. And of course the ruby-red lips. Gorgeous.

  “Courtney, hello. It’s Malcom.”

  “Malcom, good to hear from you,” she said, and it sounded genuine. “I was just about to call you.”

  “Yes, I am available next Friday, but it has to be after seven,” I told her, g
rinning like an idiot.

  She actually laughed, telling me that she was definitely warming up to me. “Very funny. Unfortunately, I am not available next Friday.”

  “Damn shame. Any chance you can shuffle things around for me?”

  “Not a one,” she answered amiably.

  “Saturday, then?”

  She paused. A thinking kind of pause. Like maybe she was actually considering my offer. “Well, I guess I could do Saturday.”

  Yes! I did a silent victory dance, grateful to be alone where no one could see me make a complete ass out of myself. “Seven? We can meet at Tony’s. It’s a great little Italian place…”

  “Sounds perfect,” she said, and I couldn’t believe she was actually going along with this.

  “It’s a date.”

  “Great. Now, I do have to ask you about Trent Parker…” She trailed off, switching to business mode in the blink of an eye.

  I froze. Trent Parker. As in me. Oh shit. Did I just make a date with her as Malcom Resner, Trent’s agent? Sure as hell I did. Which meant she was going to be looking for him, not me, and she was not going to be happy about the truth when she found out.

  Wow, I was an idiot. And yet… I didn’t cancel the date. And I didn’t tell her the truth.

  Clearing my throat, I asked, “What about him?”

  “Don’t play coy. Who is he gonna sign with?”

  I let out a sigh. “Damn it. Don’t be pissed, but he’s going with Tarvish.”

  There was a pregnant pause. I was worried she was going to tell me our date was off and that I was an asshole, but instead, she let out a short curse. “Damn. Well, okay. I’ll break the news to Marnie. Any chance he’ll change his mind?”

  I shook my head, which she couldn’t see. “Not a one. He’s made his mind up.”