Waiting For It

by Allyson Lindt

  “Will do.” I waited for Luke to pull away.

  He didn’t.

  Did he expect me to work while he watched?

  “I wish I’d been there on the plane.” Luke’s voice shifted, taking on a low, gravelly vibe.

  Not what I was expecting. “So you could have stopped us?”

  “No.” He snorted. “I would have helped.”

  My mind blanked. Coated in a bucket of white, there was nothing there. “You’re not jealous?” Was I missing something about this competition?

  He rested his head against the back of my mine. “I would have watched. I would have helped.” His words hummed through and around me. “If there was a lock on the conference-room door, I’d bend you over the table right now, and find out if you’re as tight as I imagine.”

  God, there was no way I could ignore the desire spilling through me. Could we wedge a chair under the door handle? “And now we’ll never get any work done again.” It wasn’t the most awkward thing I could have said, but it made the list.

  “Sure we will. Same way we always have.”

  “You’ve got a lot more faith in us than I do,” I teased. I needed this conversation to take a lighter turn.

  “I’ve got absolute faith in you.” Luke still had that deep, soul-seducing tone as he pulled away and returned to his seat.

  I was wrong to think Chase was the intense one. Luke was going to consume me from the inside out.

  Someone knocked on the conference room door, and Mike stepped into the room. “Do you guys have a minute?”

  Sure. As soon as I dislodged my heart from my stomach. What if he’d done that two minutes earlier? Did I look guilty?

  “What’s up?” Luke sounded much calmer than I felt. I needed to learn that trick.

  Mike pulled up a chair at the far end of the conference table. “We just got an email.” He looked at me. “Are you all right? You look flushed.”

  Fuck. “I’m fine.” I gave him a weak smile. “Long night. Distracted today. Email from whom?”

  “Zane. Says he tracked down where the original upload came from. It was one of our remote build machines.”

  Zane was head of cyber security. The fact that he was handling this personally, rather than giving it to someone on his team, was another reminder of how critical the event was. I shoved the flirting from a moment earlier into a box, and opened my email. There wasn’t much more information there than Mike provided. “So we still don’t have anything.”

  “We do.” Mike winced. “We have several other indicators that point to Billie. Logins. Change management.”

  That didn’t seem right. “Zane doesn’t mention those.”

  “We’ve been... uh... lax with security.” The hesitation in Mike’s tone hung heavy in the room. “With the tight deadlines. The crunch. Some things slip.”

  Nope. Still didn’t buy it. His story had holes.

  “You’re sharing login information?” Luke sounded as skeptical as I felt.

  Mike shook his head like a bobble in an earthquake. “No. Of course not. Not passwords or anything. But someone is on the machine, and they let another dev hop on to look at shared work. And Billie... She’s been off lately.” He looked at Luke. “Hitting on a couple of the guys. Making everyone uncomfortable with certain jokes.”

  Mike’s biggest excuse seemed to be we don’t like following protocol, and if that bit everyone in the ass, I was going to be pissed. But his story felt more off the longer he talked. I knew Billie. She’d been with the company for a couple of years, and she was top notch. She was also reserved and mostly kept to herself. I had a hard time seeing her as being on the giving end of sexual harassment, intentional or not.

  But if Mike felt uncomfortable with her, was it my place to judge? “You talked to HR?” I asked.

  He never looked at me. “It’s not a big deal. But if she’s taking things too far...”

  “Why would she go from dirty jokes to corporate sabotage?” I was missing something.

  He kept his attention on Luke. “You wanted information about the situation here. I’m providing it.”

  “Answer Anne’s question,” Luke said.

  I appreciated the support, but not that it had to be offered. If my face was red now, it was thanks to the irritation flickering inside.

  Mike rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why Billie would fuck us all out of our jobs because we didn’t like a few of her pussy jokes. Maybe you should ask her.”

  “You’re the one making the suppositions. I’m asking you.” I let anger slide into my tone.

  “And I gave you an answer. What are you pissed about?”

  Being ignored. Talked down to. Hearing another female programmer take the blame out of the gate. Was I in the wrong?

  The moment the question popped into my head, I wanted to flatten it with a mallet, but it was here now and it wasn’t leaving. Would I have put up the same kind of opposition if he’d been talking about one of the guys on the team? Did that make me the bad guy?

  “That’s all I needed to know.” I kept the self-doubt out of my retort and stared at my screen, trying to force my brain to stop sabotaging me.

  “Thanks for the info. Keep us both posted,” Luke said. “Wait,” he added, when Mike reached for the door. “Anne’s right to ask.”

  “Of course she is.” Mike left.

  I liked that Luke had my back, but now that I was questioning things, his support got tacked onto the list. Why wouldn’t he take my side? He was trying to fuck me.

  He would have backed me up anyway.

  But he’s been watching me a lot longer than I realized. Because I’m shit at reading a situation.

  Not true.

  Isn’t it?

  Best thing to do when my mind was plotting to undo me like this was focus on coding. Something I tended to get right, because I could follow a list of rules and not have to interpret anything. No more people decisions for me.

  Chapter Eleven

  My nagging brain plus an early morning flight plus no sleep last night sank into my bones. As the clock drew closer to five, I felt like I’d been compressed to preserve bandwidth, and parsed incorrectly on the other side.

  The fun with Chase and Luke this morning felt like someone else’s life.

  My phone buzzed at the same time as Luke’s chimed, and we executed a perfect ballet of reaching for the devices. It was a group text from Chase.

  Would you rather stay in?

  I’d drop a lot for their company, either of them, even before this, but I wasn’t up for exploring the city. If I turned him down, would the fun end?

  “I’m not going to answer on your behalf, but I also won’t be offended if you tell him yes,” Luke said.

  “What about sushi?” I spoke the words aloud as I typed them. Was that silly? Luke would read my reply, but he was also sitting in the room with me.

  Chase replied seconds later. They deliver. Besides, you’ve had a long few days, and my money says you don’t want to go out. I don’t care where we are, as long as I have your company.

  That was sweet. Almost cheesy, but in a way that warmed me from the inside out. Okay. Let’s stay in.

  Meet you both at the hotel, Chase wrote.

  Luke and I finished work with minimal conversation. The pauses were comfortable, like what I was used to, as long as I didn’t think too much about the night ahead. Every time I started down that path, I ran into so many questions, my brain stalled. Did they really expect me to choose between them? So far, it didn’t feel like it. How did this work tonight? I was used to dinner with either of them, but together as more than friends...? What was I supposed to tell Sadie and Lyn in the morning? Was this a good idea?

  I had to shake it all aside, or I’d freeze up from indecision and doubt. Or worse, I’d pick an answer to each question, and it would be the wrong one.

  Chase wasn’t at the hotel yet, but we needed to check in anyway. There was only one person behind the counter, so Luke let me go first.<
br />
  I gave the desk clerk a friendly smile and my name.

  She typed. And then some more. A line creased her forehead. “I’m sorry—can you spell your last name for me again?”

  “Fortier. F. O. R. T. I. E. R. And it’s Anne with an e.”

  “Like the show?” She smiled.

  “Exactly.”

  She typed a bit more. “I’m sorry. I don’t see a reservation for you.”

  No big deal. My name wasn’t in there quite right or something. “Maybe Anne without an e? Or my last name is wrong?”

  She shook her head. “We don’t have reservations for any Annes tonight. Regardless of spelling.”

  “Is there an issue?” Luke joined me.

  “She can’t find my reservation.” I wasn’t near panic, but I was getting concerned.

  He frowned. “Look under Luke Rider.”

  The desk clerk worried her bottom lip. “You’re not in here either.”

  “We are. My assistant made the reservations yesterday.” Luke grabbed his phone, jabbed the screen a few times, and showed it to her. “Here’s the confirmation email from our travel agency.”

  She looked between phone and computer, typing some more. Clicking. “I’m sorry. That information isn’t in here. And we don’t have any available rooms. We’re full up because of evacuations and such. I’m sorry.”

  Luke clenched his jaw, and tension ran through his frame. When he looked like this, he was almost scary. A starkly abrupt reminder of the Marine past he never talked about.

  He stepped away with a glance at me. “Let me make some calls.”

  The travel agency was closed for the day, so we split up the list of nearby hotels and started making calls. I got the same answer with my first three, and it didn’t sound like Luke’s luck was any better.

  Chase arrived, and his smile when his gaze met mine chased away the stress.

  “What’s going on?”

  Luke’s groan of frustration echoed around us.

  I gave Chase a brief rundown of our lack of accommodations.

  He held up his index finger. “Don’t go anywhere.” He approached the desk and exchanged words, ID, and a credit card with the woman who hadn’t been able to help us. Her frown vanished by the end of the conversation.

  I understood how she felt.

  Chase joined us again and handed us each a keycard.

  “Must be nice to have all those frequent-traveler points.” Luke’s tone was light, with the slightest twinge.

  Chase gave him a dry smile. “Not as nice as you’re assuming. They still don’t have any extra rooms, but I have double queen beds, and the couch pulls out, so all three of us can share a room. If you’re interested.”

  “I’m in.” My reply slipped out without thought. I’d spent a large portion of my teenage years sleeping at Sadie and Chase’s. Luke’s raised eyebrow made me wish I could take the words back.

  “Me too.” Luke shrugged. “I’m not missing out again if anything happens.”

  “Sleepover.” I tried to toss the word out with careless abandon, and not think about whether it sounded silly or not. And I definitely wasn’t thinking about the implications of Luke’s reply.

  Just kidding. I totally was.

  “I don’t have enough hair to style, but I’ll rock the flimsy teddy,” Luke said. “This includes giggly pillow fights, right?”

  Chase rolled his eyes. “That’s not how a sleepover works. We’re going to need a lot of pizza and to expect not to sleep.”

  “That’s not a sleepover; that’s my life.” The teasing made it easier to ignore my trepidation about what this might become. These were the same two men I always laughed and joked with. Just because they’d shifted our relationships in the last few days... “Besides, I was promised sushi.”

  Luke bowed deeply. “And sushi you shall have, m’lady.”

  Chase grabbed my bags before I could, and we headed upstairs.

  The room was one of those business suites with a separate bedroom and a reasonably sized living room.

  Luke tossed his bag near the sofa as soon as we walked in the room. “I’ll take the couch.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair. Shouldn’t we draw straws or something?” While I had no idea what to expect from tonight, it was nice to know he hadn’t just assumed we’d end up in bed together. Sweet, even.

  Chase opened his mouth.

  “Nope.” Luke cut him off. “It’s Chase’s room, that he was kind enough to share, and neither of us is letting you sleep on the couch, Anne.”

  “That’s true. I was going to say that. He just beat me to it,” Chase said.

  It still didn’t feel right. “Am I allowed to argue this logic?”

  They both shook their heads, and Chase put my bags in the bedroom. “Ordering the sushi,” he called. “Tell me if there’s anything you won’t eat.”

  “Pretty sure everyone here’s fine with any sort of meat,” Luke said.

  That was true, whether he was talking food or sexual preference, and the way things were going today, I assumed both were legitimate topics.

  We made small talk and caught up on each other’s days, while we waited for food to arrive. No one sat next to anyone, which felt odd. But cramming three people onto the couch so we could all be together, or any combination of pairing off also seemed weird.

  How was this supposed to work?

  Dinner was more of the same. When we were done, we drifted into the bedroom, to watch TV someplace more comfortable, but that left the awkward question of who was supposed to sit where.

  I’d never dated two guys at once before, especially not at the exact same moment. Was this a date? Was this three friends hanging out?

  “Three people in one tiny space, sharing a single bathroom. Just like college.” Chase’s comment was a welcome distraction from my questions.

  Luke raised an eyebrow. “Including the sexual experimentation?”

  “I’d pretty much moved onto the doing rather than experimenting by then,” Chase said.

  “I’m more of a late bloomer.” I let the reply roll casually off my tongue. It wasn’t a secret in our inner circle that I was bi, but I dated mostly men, so sometimes claiming anything other than straight felt like I was an impostor. “I never even thought about it until Shawn.” It didn’t matter how much time had passed. His name was rancid on my tongue.

  Chase’s distorted expression mirrored my bitterness. I didn’t want to ruin the evening with bad memories. Why did I bring up my ex?

  “Who’s Shawn?” Luke looked between us.

  Chase mimicked spitting. “A fucking asshole.”

  That’s what everyone said back then, too. I wished I’d listened to my friends, rather than the boyfriend who ran my ego into the ground. “A guy I went out with.” I didn’t want to leave Luke hanging, but I wasn’t going to linger on details. How little information would let us move back to more fun topics? “He used to tease me about the kind of porn I like. Would ask me all the time if I was a secret lesbian who was going to leave him for a woman. After he and I broke up, I started talking about it with...” Another confession. What was up with me spilling so many secrets tonight?

  Luke and Chase both leaned in. “With whom?” they asked at the same time.

  “A friend. We’re talking about experimentation, right? She helped me figure a few things out.” There. Conversation was back to neutral. We could have fun again.

  Chase frowned. “Wait. Not Sadie. Please say not Sadie.”

  “Why? Because you still think you can say who your sister hooks up with?” I tried to keep the defensive tone from my voice.

  “No. Because then the story isn’t spank-bank material.”

  My cheeks heated to flaming. He was... to me? “It wasn’t Sadie. It was Lyn.”

  Luke whistled. “He’s right. Definitely fantasy material.”

  “That’s not fair.” My retort slipped out before I could stop it. Why? Because I’d been trying for so long to not fantasize
about either of them? “You get new visuals, and I don’t?”

  Chase smirked. “You’ve got a better imagination. Picture me with whomever you’d like.”

  “No, she’s right. Fair’s fair.” Luke crushed his mouth to Chase’s.

  Chapter Twelve

  The way Luke kissed Chase wasn’t a simple peck on the lips. It was one of those hungry, all-consuming kisses I felt just from watching. The kind where I knew exactly why they were both groaning and breathless.

  When they broke apart, Chase growled. “I’m definitely in for that.”

  “Totally hot and masturbation-worthy.” I fanned myself.

  Luke turned his attention back to me. “What other fantasies do you have?”

  “Well... I have one, but it’s risqué. Almost taboo in today’s society.”

  Both guys leaned in closer.

  “A full week off work without being called in, and eight hours of sleep on every one of those nights,” I said.

  Chase licked his bottom lip. “I always suspected you had a filthy, kinky side.”

  Luke tossed up his hands. “Too much for me. You’re way out of my depth.”

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked with a laugh.

  “I’ll show you how it starts.” Chase grasped my fingertips and tugged me to my feet. He cradled my face. His kiss had the same intensity as those we shared on the plane—soft but insistent and all-consuming. He nibbled my lips. My jaw. My ears and neck. The drawn-out attention sent goosebumps racing over me.

  All while Luke watched. If he was enjoying this even half as much as I liked seeing the two of them kiss, that made the whole thing even hotter. It didn’t matter that Chase kept his kisses above my shoulders; my entire body was a live wire.

  I didn’t know how long we stayed pressed together, but when he pulled back he wore a lazy grin. “That’s how the fantasy starts.”

  “It’s a fair appetizer.” Luke stepped forward.

  My gaze dropped to his crotch without thought. When I saw the outline of his erection, it took a moment to look up again.

  He was smirking. “My fantasies tend to be more direct. We start with the main course.”