by Reana Malori
Turning in his arms, she tilted her head up and looked in his eyes. Whatever she saw there must have convinced her to give in. He wouldn’t question what conclusion she’d come to, as long as he got what he wanted. It was a long-ass trip and he was tired. The only thing he could think about was seeing Lisa’s face, feeling her soft body up against his, and the glide of his cock as he slid inside her body.
“Come on, baby,” she purred. “Let’s go upstairs.”
That night had been a turning point for them. Something had changed. No other woman interested him. There was no one else he wanted in his bed. It had to be Lisa, or it was no one.
That fucking fight with Austin had his mind all fucked up now. Was there something inside of him that made him shy away from going public with their arrangement? Maybe it was time he got his shit together and made a move.
Hearing the shower turn on upstairs, he washed his hands. Might as well make himself useful. With that thought, he settled in and started pulling out the ingredients to make breakfast. After basically barging into her home and fucking her up against a wall—which he didn’t regret for one moment—he could at least do this for her.
While he didn’t regret coming here this morning, his actions did make him question what the hell was going on in his mind.
Did he really just fuck Lisa up against the wall?
Running his hand down his face in disgust, he turned to look upstairs. Without so much as a kiss, he’d taken what he wanted. As he always did. Yeah, she was into it as well, but a slow screw up against the wall did not a relationship make.
Fuck. He was an idiot.
Planning to settle in for a long day of ass-kissing—and what a beautiful ass it was—he started making breakfast. His mind filled with sensual ways to make it up to Lisa for being such a dick and barging into her house like a bull in a china shop.
Maybe Austin was right. It was time for him to work on his shit and do right by Lisa. If she even wanted that with him.
CHAPTER FOUR
A knock sounded on Lisa’s office door a few days later. Lifting her eyes to greet the person, a smile blossomed over her face.
“Daniel! What are you doing here?” Startled by the person standing in her office door, a huge smile came over her face. Standing up quickly from her office chair, she walked over to her long-time friend and colleague. Closing the distance between them, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
“Hey, girl. I had to come into town for business and wanted to pop in and say hey. How you been?” he asked, while giving her a hard squeeze before leaning back.
“I’ve been good. Busy as hell, but you know how it is sometimes. Sit down. Tell me all about what you’ve been up these past couple of years,” she said, leading him over to the table in her office that she used for small one-on-one meetings.
Looking across at Daniel, she couldn’t help but admire his good looks. Plus, he was just a damn nice guy. Why couldn’t she be with someone like him? Well, she could, but he’d just never seemed interested in her.
“Well, you know I took that job in Chicago to lead the acquisitions team at Hunter Bradshaw? Let me just say, that was the right move for me. Best thing I could have done for my career. Things have been moving faster than I ever thought they would,” he explained with a smile.
Lisa heard his words and smiled as he talked, but she was enjoying the view in front of her more. Honestly, she could stare at him all day. His tanned skin reflected his Latin heritage and his thick dark hair had the slightest curl to it. With his honey-brown eyes taking her in, she could feel herself getting lost in his gaze. Standing just over six feet tall, he was a perfect complement to her shorter stature.
Unlike Jackson, who stood six feet four inches, Daniel didn’t make her feel like he towered over her. She’d always felt dwarfed by Jackson, but also protected as well.
Wait…who cares about Jackson’s height? Wasn’t she focused on Daniel right now?
Turning her attention back to the man in front of her, she caught the last sentence.
“Since I’ll be here for the next six months or so, I thought I might take you out to dinner sometime soon,” he announced with a smile.
“Me? Dinner? Well, don’t you have a girlfriend or wife?” she asked, pleasantly surprised by his comments. “There were always so many women hanging around you when you lived here.” She wasn’t being petty, but he’d always seemed like a player.
“No. I don’t have either,” he answered. “So, you noticed the other women around me?” he asked with a laugh and a silly smirk on his face.
Laughing out loud, she nodded. “Oh yes, we all did. There were bets on which one would finally snag you and snap the ball and chain on to your ankle.”
“Nah, the only woman I would’ve even considered for that role never gave me a chance. Now that I’ve been given a second chance to come back to where she’s at, I’m going to make sure she knows I’m interested.” His tone was serious.
“Oh yeah? Who might this woman be?” she asked.
Daniel smiled. “You.”
With a start, she squeaked out, “Me?”
Looking at the expression on his face, she knew he was dead serious. “But you never said anything. At least not to me. I had no clue you were even interested.”
He nodded his head. “True. And I won’t make that mistake again.”
“I just had no idea,” she responded in a quiet voice.
“Just one dinner, Lisa. If there’s nothing there, then I’ll know it and we can go back to being friendly colleagues. No pressure. Just possibility.”
Oh, shit. Now what should she do? This would have been amazing a few years ago, or basically any time before she’d began seeing Jackson. Now, though, it would just be too complicated. She had a man in her life and she cared for him more than she thought was possible.
Jackson was amazing and she enjoyed every minute she spent in his presence. If only he wanted more than just sex and fun with her. She’d come to the decision that needed more than that, but was unsure how to ask for what she wanted.
“Um, Daniel, I’m sorta seeing someone.”
There, she’d said it.
As his eyebrow raised, she knew that statement didn’t come out as confident as it should have.
“What does that mean? Sorta?” he asked.
“It means…well, I’ve been seeing someone for a while,” she responded.
“Then why do you say you’re ‘sorta’ seeing someone? Either you’re seeing him and you’re off the market, or you’re not seeing him and I still have a chance,” he pressed.
“Daniel…” she began, but trailed off. Now that the question was out there, she had to think about the answer.
She and Jackson had been officially together for a couple of years now and in all that time, they’d never put a label on what they had. Even this weekend, after showing up at her house the way he did, they just went on like normal. Not once that entire day had he said anything other than he’d needed her. But what did that mean?
She could admit that she was too chicken-shit to ask the question. If she was confident in the answer, why be afraid? Maybe it was her own fears of what the real answer would be.
Denying that she was no more than a booty call all day long was all well and good…until she asked the question. Better to live in ignorance than be splayed open by the truth.
With those as her choices, she would take ignorance any day. Especially on this.
Looking over at the man sitting across from her, she came to a decision.
“How about this, Daniel. Give me a week, I’m not saying no to dinner, but I’m not saying yes.” Tilting her head as she thought about what she needed to do, she added, “I need to take care of some loose ends.”
He nodded and flashed her one of his sexy smiles. “I’m okay with that. I’ll be around.”
“Since you’re here for the next six months, we have plenty of time. I need to figure some things out. The last thing I want
to do is make a decision that I’d later regret,” she admitted. “You understand, right?” At this point, this was the best she could do.
“I do and I agree. I’m not giving up on that dinner, though. When we do have that date, I want to make sure I don’t miss my chance. I’ll be calling you soon.” Confidence filled his tone as he stood and opened his arms to her. Smiling, she stood and walked over to him, allowing him to wrap her in his strong arms.
“Talk soon,” she responded as she pulled back from him and smiled.
“You can bet on it,” he responded as he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
Just as he turned and walked away, she saw Jackson standing outside her office door with a takeaway bag from her favorite restaurant.
Daniel strode by Jackson, not giving him a second glance. Then again, why would he? He didn’t know who Jackson was.
But Lisa did.
With a look of anger reflecting from his eyes, Jackson strode into her office, without as much as a hello.
She closed the door behind him as he walked over to her desk. Taking a deep breath, she tried to play it off.
“Hey Jackson. I wasn’t expecting you,” she said with fake cheer.
His next words let her know exactly how he was feeling and that he wasn’t buying anything she’d just said.
“Who the fuck was that? And why were his fucking hands all over you?” he asked, with fire in his eyes.
* * * * *
Jack wanted to follow the guy out of the building and beat him to a fucking bloody pulp. Who the hell was he to have his arms around Lisa? And what the fuck was wrong with her that she would allow that?
“I asked you a question, Lisa,” he demanded. The words were forced out of his mouth through gritted teeth. He could tell she was shocked, but at this point, he didn’t really give a fuck.
Looking at him curiously, she took a moment to reply. “He’s a friend.”
He glowered at her in response. He didn’t believe her for one second. “Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve known him for years. He just stopped by to say hello.” She said with a look chagrin. Jack bit the inside of his cheek. There was more to this story and he was getting more upset that Lisa was hiding it from him.
“That looked like more than just a hello. Want to try again?” he questioned.
“Not really. No,” she retorted.
“What? Did you just tell me no?” he sputtered.
“Yes, I did. Jackson, while I appreciate the lunch, you showed up here unannounced to my office. Speaking of which, you’ve been doing that a lot lately. Showing up unannounced. I warned you before that one day you would show up and see something you didn’t want to. Although I always enjoy it when you surprise me, sometimes you take things the wrong way. And look at what happened. Now you’re upset over nothing.”
“Lisa,” he began. A low laugh bubbled up and he could feel the red haze coming over him. Pissed was too tame of a word to explain how he was feeling right now.
Ain’t this a bitch? She’s already trying to replace me, he thought to himself. Just like Sarah. This was why he hadn’t taken her out in public. He had known this day would come and he didn’t want to have to deal with the looks of pity and empty apologies.
Shaking his head, he knew he had to get a grip. While he’d had an epiphany about their relationship, clearly, she had not. “Fine. Enjoy your lunch.”
“Wait. Jackson, don’t you want to eat lunch? You know I can’t eat all this by myself.” She peeked in the bag and he could smell the aroma of food as it wafted throughout her office.
How was she being so calm and rational? He felt as if his head was going to explode, and it wasn’t a good feeling at all. If he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t be able to hold back his frustration.
“Naw, I’m good, Lisa. Talk to you later,” he muttered while backing out of the door. He needed to get out of here before he said or did something that he couldn’t take back.
Jack knew he needed to leave. Seeing that man standing so closely to Lisa had him seeing red. “Friends, my ass,” he whispered as he jammed his finger against the elevator button.
He took several calming breaths as the metal contraption made its way to the bottom floor. The red haze of anger that came over him had been swift, but not surprising. Even though he’d never verbalized it, there was no denying that she’d belonged to him from that very first night.
From the first moment he’d kissed her lips, lay between her thighs and felt the silkiness of her walls as he slid inside of her, she’d been his. Why should he have to say the words? Why couldn’t his actions be enough to show her how he felt?
If she’d caught him in the arms of another woman, he was certain that she would have probably punched him. Laughing at the picture of Lisa losing her temper, he tried to shake off the feeling coming over him.
Betrayal.
Climbing into his truck, he started the engine. Then he just sat there. What the fuck was he doing? Why was he out here, while she was in there? Where the hell was he going anyway?
He’d taken off the entire week with dual goals—to work on the house he was fixing up and to spend time with Lisa. Not that she knew that, but damn, she should have guessed. He hardly ever showed up at her office. So, for him to be there, it had to be due to something special.
He needed to find out who that guy was. The one that she felt so comfortable being all hugged up on. He didn’t like that shit at all. Not one bit.
Just as he clicked his seatbelt and went to pull out of the parking spot, his phone rang. Putting the vehicle back in parking gear, he stared at the screen.
Lisa’s special ring played in the cabin of his truck and he gave a deep sigh. He teetered between ignoring her call and paying the price later, or biting the bullet and answering. He’d always been a glutton for punishment.
He pressed Answer on the dashboard screen. “Hello?” His truck was equipped with hands-free phone capabilities, so he placed both his hands on his lap.
“Where did you go?” she asked.
“I left,” he replied in a clipped tone. Yeah, he was pissy. So what? He was allowed.
“That’s it? You left? That’s the only response you have for me?” she questioned.
He could hear the confusion in her voice, but said nothing as he stared out the window.
She continued to press. “That’s all you have to say?”
After another pause, he figured he’d better say something. “Yeah, I left. You looked busy anyway,” he responded petulantly.
“Jackson—” she began.
The automatic response left his mouth before he could stop it, “Don’t call me that.”
“One day you’re going to explain to me why you don’t want me to call you by your name,” Lisa huffed.
“It’s a long story. One left for another day,” he answered.
He could hear her breathing over the phone, but she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Putting the truck in reverse again, he pulled out of the parking spot. He needed to get away from here. “Did you want something, Lisa?”
“I wanted to know why you left so fast. You brought me lunch. Then you just left. You only come to my office when you need to talk about something serious. I didn’t understand,” she said in that sweet voice of hers. The silky, smooth tone of hers always soothed the beast inside of him.
“Yeah, I forgot something. I have a meeting,” he lied. Now he was lying to her? That wasn’t like him.
“Um, you have a meeting?” she questioned. Before he could answer, she continued, “So, will I see you tonight?”
“I’m not sure. This meeting may go longer than expected. But I’ll let you know.” He just needed some time to think. To understand and get a grip on why he was reacting this way. She was free to do whatever she wanted.
He had no claim on her. Right? Why did the thought of her not belonging to him piss him off even more?
“You’re not sure?” she aske
d. In her voice, he could hear a little something and he knew she’d turned from the sweet, alluring and accommodating woman he knew to the hellcat that wasn’t going to let him get away with treating her as an afterthought. He was still torn as to which one he liked more.
“How about I make it easy for you. I won’t be home tonight,” she snapped.
“Yes, you will. You’re always home,” he said with a smirk. Fuck it. He’d go work out, get rid of whatever was bugging him, and then he’d go see his girl. “I’ll be there around seven.”
“No. I don’t think you heard me. I’m not sure what the hell got into you today, but I’m not having it. You can go to my house if you want to, but when no one answers the door, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The silence on the other end was the next thing he registered.
She’d fucking hung up on him.
He made a U-turn in the middle of the street and headed back toward her office. Just then, his phone rang again. Seeing that it was Kara, he reluctantly answered. “Hey Kara. What’s up?”
“What’s going on with you and Austin?” she asked without preamble. No “hello.” No “how are you.” And he once thought she was shy and reserved.
Boy, was he wrong.
“Nothing’s wrong,” he answered, trying to remove the tension from his voice. He knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Where are you?” she questioned.
“Why?”
“Because I want to talk to you. I’m worried about what’s going on with you and Austin. I need one of you to tell me. Plus, your godson wants to see you,” she cajoled.
“Kara, I’m on my way somewhere. I don’t have time to stop by,” he snapped.
Silence met him on the other end. “Not even for David?” she asked. “Hmmm, okay.”
Just then he heard David’s voice come through the phone, “Jax…” and he sighed deeply. All the frustration that had him speeding over to see Lisa left him as if it had never existed.