by Karen Booth
“That’s my girl.”
My girl. The words sent electricity zinging through her body. “Where are we going?”
“We aren’t going anywhere. You’re coming here.”
Oh crap. I’m going to have to run home and change.
“And, Anna. Bring a toothbrush.”
Nine
Jacob had never done anything quite so weak, but all bets were apparently off when it came to Anna. He’d managed four whole days without calling her. Why give in now? He knew from experience that the first forty-eight hours were the worst, when you know it’s in your own best interest to stay away from someone.
In the case of Anna, it had only gotten harder after those first two days. It was like he was being starved for air, which was disconcerting. He couldn’t focus on his work. He needed more of her and he needed her now. Damn the consequences, however complicated. Damn the fallout, too. He needed her insistent hands grabbing his body, her strong and graceful legs wrapped around him. He needed to smell her and kiss her, hear her laugh. He needed his fix.
He had to temper the romance. This was a rabbit hole for him emotionally. He didn’t let many people into his life and when he did, he didn’t want them to waltz right out. That wasn’t the point of trust. If you believed in someone, if you wanted them in your life, they would stay. There was no telling how long Anna would be able to stay, or even if she would want to.
Tempering romance aside, he knew he couldn’t start an ongoing no-strings-attached thing with Anna. Even when strings meant the Langfords on some level. This left him with a very narrow tightrope on which to balance, at least for the foreseeable future. The War Chest had closed ranks, forging ahead with the scheme he’d planted in their heads. He refused to regret doing it, but he sure as hell wished he could turn it around. If he could just find someone willing to back down, the rest of them might follow, and that would mean one less thing hanging over his head.
He glanced at his watch. Anna would be here any minute and that made his nerve endings stand up straight and tall, pinging electricity throughout his body. The anticipation brewed an unholy cocktail of adrenaline and testosterone in him. He could only imagine what it would be like when he finally saw her. When he could finally kiss her again, feel her come alive beneath his touch. That was the response he cherished—when she allowed herself to be vulnerable, when she surrendered to him and he could feel and see the tangible results—quivers, shakes and trembles.
He walked out into his kitchen and removed a bottle of champagne from the fridge. Cliché? Maybe. But Anna did deserve at least one or two trappings of romance. He wasn’t about to let that go completely unaddressed.
The knock at his door sent his pulse embarking on a similar staccato rhythm. He retained his composure, fairly certain that it was the smooth, in-control Jacob that she lusted after. The one she wanted to take to bed.
He opened the door and had to fight the impulses of his jaw. This was not the time to do nothing more than stand there, mouth agape, like an idiot.
“Hi.” Her grin was equal parts flirtatious and shy. Her cheeks flushed with that gorgeous pink, a slightly paler shade than her lips, all of it hopelessly inviting.
“Hello yourself.” He ushered her in, shutting the door.
He followed her into the living room just off the foyer and helped her with her coat. His eyes zeroed in on the view—her black, sleeveless dress was tailored within a whisper of her figure, hugging every gorgeous inch. Good God. Was he still standing? The thing he admired most about her in that dress was that a woman like Anna could get away with wearing something like that to a meeting. Granted, a meeting where every guy in the room might have an impossible time focusing. Her toned legs looked even more tempting in black sky-high heels. Note to self: bring Anna to an important meeting someday. She’ll make the deal.
“You look absolutely gorgeous,” he said, craving her touch. He tossed her coat over the back of a chair and gripped her elbow. The electricity between them was obscene, like an out-of-control Tesla experiment. He was surprised he couldn’t see the sizzling current arcing between them.
“Thank you.” Her head dropped to the side, only a fraction of an inch, but he loved to see her soften to him like that, to give him a subtle indication that he was on the right track. “You don’t look half-bad yourself.” She stepped closer, still needing to look up at him in killer heels. He might have to beg her to keep them on the whole night.
Her hand pressed against his chest, smoothing the fabric of his suit jacket. He watched her, smiling, their eyes connecting. It looked as if there was a fire blazing behind hers—hot and intense. Which one of them would give in first? He had no idea, only that for once in his life he knew that he’d still be the winner if he was the first to show his hand.
“I missed you, Anna. I know we said that this wasn’t a good idea, but I missed you. It’s as simple as that. I missed standing close to you and looking at you and thinking about all of the things I want to do with you. The things I want to do to you.”
Her lips parted ever so slightly and a gentle rush of air passed them. It was the sound of pressure being released. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, either. Every time I thought of the reasons we should stay away from each other, I just kept coming back to that original thought...”
He was reasonably sure of what she might say next, but he wanted to hear her say it. “Thought of what?”
“Of you and everything I was missing by staying away.”
Perfect. “So now what?”
Her hand hadn’t left his chest. She bowed into him, placing her other hand opposite it. Her fingers played with the knot of his tie. “We have the whole night ahead of us. Maybe we just need to see what happens.”
He smiled again, this time much wider. It was hard not to be incurably happy around her. “Like what happens when I do this?” He snaked his hand around her waist and settled it in the curve of her lower back.
“Mmm.” Her lips traveled closer to his. “I think the next thing that happens is this.” She tugged his tie loose, watching his reaction. She flicked open the top button of his shirt, taking liberties again. “Oops. I took two turns in a row.”
“Taking advantage, I see,” he murmured. This game of undressing, however compelling and sexy, would need to be seen to a quick conclusion. He wanted her naked. Now. He reached up for the zipper, pulling it down the center of her back as she made quick work of his shirt buttons. He longed to see that stretch of her skin, the one he’d kissed a week ago. He turned her around, admiring her porcelain beauty as it contrasted with a black bra and as he lowered the zipper further, lacy panties. He eased the dress from her shoulders, savoring every sensory pleasure—her smell, the heat that radiated from her, her smooth skin as he dragged the back of his hand along the channel of her spine. Her presence didn’t merely have him primed, he was already teetering on the brink.
The garment slumped to the floor and she cast a sexy look back at him, her eyes deep, warm, and craving. “You made a big jump ahead there.”
Hell yes, he had. And he’d do it again in a heartbeat. He grasped her shoulders and pinned her back to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. She craned her neck and he kissed her, hard. He cupped one of her breasts, the silky fabric of her bra teasing his palm as she tightened beneath his touch, her nipple hard. Their tongues tangled and Anna righted herself, turning in his arms. He took off his jacket and tie as she unhooked his belt and unzipped his pants in a flurry. He wrangled himself out of the rest of his clothes with one hand while keeping her as close as possible with the other. He wouldn’t let go of the kiss either—she’d cast aside sweet for an edge that he couldn’t ignore.
With a pop, he unhooked her bra, and didn’t bother with the seduction of teasing it from her body. He cupped her breasts, molding them in his hands, his mouth seeking one of her dee
p pink, firm nipples. The gasp that came from her when he flicked his tongue against her tight skin was music to his ears.
She kicked off one of her shoes and then the other and stepped out of her panties.
Her beautiful bare curves heightened his awareness of how badly his body was driven to claim hers. There was no way he’d make it to the bedroom. He sat on the couch next to them, half reclining, and reached out his hand. “Come here. I need you.”
She smiled and cocked an eyebrow, taking his hand. “Are you that impatient?”
“Yes. And we have all night.” The breath caught in his chest as he watched her carefully set her knee next to his hip and straddle him. The sky outside was quickly falling into darkness, but the light was just bright enough to show off the dips and hollows of her delicate collarbone. He traced his finger along the contours. “Calling you this morning was the best thing I’ve done in a long time.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” She smiled, dropping her head to kiss him. Her silky hair brushed the sides of his face. He was almost sorry he didn’t have the visual of the moment she took him in her hand, guided him inside, and began to sink down around him. A deep groan escaped his throat as her body molded around him, warm and inviting. He wanted to be nowhere else.
She settled her weight on his and they moved together in a dance he never wanted to end. It buoyed his senses, made him appreciate her beauty and essential nature even more than before. She rocked her hips into his, over and over again, as they kissed and his hands grasped the velvety skin of her perfect bottom. Her breaths quickened and before he knew what was happening, she was gathering around him in steady pulses. She sat back, their eyes connecting for an instant before she gave in to the sensation, closing her eyes and knocking her head back. He closed his own eyes and the relief shuddered out of him, each passing wave invisibly bringing them closer.
* * *
Anna collapsed back on the bed, her chest heaving with fast and heavy breaths. Jacob clutched her hand, struggling just as much for air. She glanced over at the clock. It was after midnight. They hadn’t stopped for much more than a snack and a glass of champagne since she’d arrived a little after five. How much stamina could one man have? Was he trying to prove a point? Because he had. And then some.
She was spent. Wonderfully, gloriously spent. It struck her as a summertime kind of exhaustion, the kind she’d experienced as a kid, up at the Langford family beach house. After swimming all day, sun-soaked, stomach sore from laughing too hard, you were absolutely starving. You would take your first bite of food at dinner and be sure that nothing had ever tasted so good.
That was Jacob. Nothing had felt so good before him.
“Can I just take the chance now to apologize for what happened that first time we kissed?” he asked. “It’s pretty clear that was the wrong decision.”
She rolled to her side, smiling, despite the unpleasant nature of the topic he’d just chosen to introduce. “You don’t have to pretend that you wished things had ended differently. It’s okay. I’m a big girl. Plus, you made up for it tonight.”
“Don’t you think I regret it? What exactly did I turn you down for? A friendship that would ultimately turn into the worst thing in my entire life.”
Had she gone through years of pain over the wrong decision? She didn’t want to believe that. It would be more comforting to go with the theory that everything happens for a reason. “As much as it hurt to have you say no, I have to admire the reason you did it, even if it didn’t turn out the way you would’ve liked.”
He stared up at the ceiling, seeming immersed in thought. Was his rift with Adam something deeper than warring over a business decision? She’d always assumed that Jacob’s side of things was about the embarrassment of being publicly shut out of his first major business deal, about losing his cut of a big payday. Was there something else?
“I’m a loyal person, Anna. You have to understand that. If I let someone into my life, they’re there for a reason. I don’t do it lightly.”
And there was her answer. “So it’s not just about business. It’s about losing the friendship, too.”
He was quiet again, but she didn’t want to interrupt whatever was running through his head. The intensity of his reservation was one of the things that had first drawn her to him. She bristled with curiosity, wondering what exactly his brilliant mind was choosing to ruminate over. She placed her hand on his stomach—he tensed at first touch, but just as quickly she felt his muscles give in to her. He grasped her hand and raised it to his mouth, kissing her fingers tenderly.
Anna felt equal parts exposed and protected. Did he feel the same? Was it the power of the afterglow, or was there more? Even when her brother had insisted that she couldn’t trust Jacob, Anna couldn’t buy into it. Her gut told her that she could. Plus, she didn’t want to believe that the man who’d once turned down sex out of respect for a friendship would do anything less than the right thing. She might be inching closer to the edge of a treacherous place, but she wanted to believe that Jacob would tug her back if she put herself in the path of true danger. He had to. She didn’t want to think anything less of him.
“I don’t want to burden you with the minutiae of what happened between Adam and me,” he said, breaking the silence between them. “We’re having such an amazing night. I don’t dare mess with that.”
She propped herself up on her elbow and gazed down into his face. He was so gorgeous that it boggled the mind sometimes, even more so at this moment, when he’d given her a glimpse of how deep the waters running through him really were. Would she ever fully know those depths? If she were to live in this instant for all eternity, she wanted nothing more than to drown in them, sink to the bottom and never come up for air. There was so much to learn—she hungered for it.
But was it the right thing to do? To dive in, knowing the repercussions? Was it her weakness for him that was making her so eager to do the foolhardy thing? Maybe. Probably. Did she care? Not really. There were no guarantees, regardless of the situation two people found themselves in. It was up to them to find a way. No one could do it for them.
He rolled toward her and placed the softest, sexiest, most intimate kiss on her lips, plunging her into the sea she longed to get lost in. His hand wound to the small of her back, fingers drawing delicate circles against her skin. She could do nothing more than press against him—the inches between them felt so absurd. Pointless. Of course they should be together. Even if it might bring everything crashing down.
Ten
Life quickly became a beautiful blur, weeks of weekend trysts and countless late-night rendezvous. Sneaking around wasn’t Anna’s preference, but she couldn’t deny herself the glory of time with Jacob, so as difficult as it was, they took great care to keep things a secret.
It was working for the most part, although there were times when it was touch and go. One day in the office, Adam had asked why she was so tired. Was she coming down with something? She couldn’t tell him the truth, that she and Jacob had been up until all hours making love, intermixed with eating ice cream in bed and watching bad reality television. So she’d said that she simply wasn’t sleeping well. It wasn’t a real lie, or at least not a big one, but the tiny untruths were beginning to hang over her like a dark cloud.
“What do you want to do tonight? What if we went out for a change?” Jacob asked over the phone as Anna sat at her desk.
“You know we can’t do that. What if someone sees us together?” It was the awful truth, but tonight it was more of a convenient excuse. She glanced at the clock on her laptop and began packing up her things. If she was going to beat Jacob back to his apartment, she needed to leave now. She’d scrambled to put together a small birthday surprise—nothing too elaborate, but she hoped he would enjoy it.
“Anna. We can’t do this forever. We need to get out of the house now and then. No
t that I don’t want to leave you tied to my bed. I do.”
She smiled. It was hard not to—he was so good at working in the comments that reminded her how much he wanted her. Her most girlish tendencies lived for those moments. “You’re right. We’ll talk about it tonight. Your place?” He was right. They couldn’t do this forever. Something would have to give, and that something bore a remarkable resemblance to her brother.
“Yes,” he answered, seeming a bit exasperated. “I’ll be home by seven. You have your key?”
“I do.” He’d given it to her a few days ago, as a “just in case.” She wasn’t entirely sure of what that meant, but it made a surprise dinner possible.
“Anna?” he asked, with a sexy, leading tone.
“Yes?” she replied, knowing full well what he was about to say.
“I miss you.”
She smiled, absentmindedly trailing her fingers along her collarbone. I miss you—three silly words they’d been saying to each other for a few weeks. It was one of their many secrets, the things they hid from the rest of the world. Were they a placeholder for “I love you”? Those particular three words hadn’t come yet, however much she hoped that they would. They’d sat on her lips several times, but would he return them? Just like the ill-fated kiss years ago, the thought of that kind of rejection was too much. Wait, she’d told herself. It would happen. They would find a way. She had to believe.
“Miss you, too. I’ll see you tonight.”
She told her assistant she had some errands to run and tried to ignore the guilty feelings that came along with ducking out of work early. After retrieving a carrot cake from the bakery around the corner from Jacob’s building, she let herself into his apartment.