“You’re an asshole, Trent,” Callum told me, but his shoulders had loosened and he didn’t sound like he wanted my blood spilled on a ceremonial dagger, so that was good.
I shrugged. “What else is new?”
Callum plopped down in the armchair adjacent to the couch while I sat on the couch. “But seriously. You don’t have to be a dick to Marnie, and I really would appreciate it if you’d cut her some slack. She’s just doing her job.”
I sighed. “Yes, I realize that.” I hesitated, then just threw the truth out there. “But fact is, the manuscript isn’t ready. She can push all she wants, but I don’t have anything to give her. So, yeah, I’m a little snarky as a result, and that’s not really fair, but still. She could cut me a little slack, too.”
Callum rubbed at his face like he was just tired of working things out. Actually, now that I took a moment to look at him, I realized that he was looking a little pale. A little drawn. Like maybe he wasn’t sleeping great.
“You feeling okay?” I asked.
He waved me off. “Yeah, just tired. Haven’t been sleeping great. What’s going on with the manuscript?”
I winced. “It’s a pain in my ass,” I offered. “It sits on my hard drive mocking me, taunting me with its blankness.”
Raising an eyebrow at me, he said, “You know you’re overly dramatic about 90 percent of the time, right?”
I shrugged. “That’s what makes me a good writer.”
“There’s probably some truth to that,” he agreed. “So you’ve got writer’s block?”
“Yeah. I hate saying it, because it’s like saying Macbeth when a thespian is rehearsing: a curse upon both your houses and all that.”
“You’re mixing up your Shakespeare.”
“Whatever,” I said, waving off his criticism. “My point is, it’s cursed, so using it as infrequently as possible is better for everyone in the long run.”
“Fine. I’ll avoid the dreaded phrase. Now will you tell me what’s causing it?”
“Other than the fact that you just cursed me in my own house?”
He rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Trent, quit the theatrics. What’s going on?”
I sat back against the cushions of the couch. “Hell, I don’t know. I hit a wall, Callum, and I don’t know what to do about it. Nothing seems right. When I put it on paper, it’s all crap.”
“You’re your own worst critic, you know that,” he pointed out.
And, yes, I knew he was true, but I also knew when what I was writing was total and utter crap. There was just no getting around that little snag. “Yeah, well, if I can’t put something on paper that I don’t hate sometime soon, there isn’t going to be a book.”
Callum fell silent for a minute. Then he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “This is just a bump in the road. Yeah, it seems like a mountain, but it’s a damn molehill. You just need a break. A breather. It’ll come back to you.”
That was the same thing that Sarah had said. And it was easy enough for them to say. Just keep writing. Keep pushing forward. But they didn’t know what it was like to make your bones writing. People didn’t appreciate late manuscripts and missed deadlines. But they also didn’t appreciate that sometimes what you liked to write and what they wanted to read weren’t the same thing. You had to cater to the masses, while still being true to yourself, otherwise you were a sellout.
Maybe that was my issue. I was trying to figure out how to cater to the masses and deal with my own internal sellout debate.
Or maybe this whole concept was just crap and I should have known better.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know. Let’s talk about something else.”
Callum hesitated, then admitted, “I’m falling for Marnie.”
The laugh escaped me before I could even consider holding it in. Callum glared at me, but I didn’t care. “Seriously? Is this supposed to be a revelation?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That it’s pretty damn obvious to everyone that you’re falling for her,” I said. Okay, no, I didn’t know that he was in love, but he was definitely in puppy love. No question on that.
“Fine, fine. I’m very obvious. Are you finished?”
I let my chuckles die down, but the grin stayed. “Yeah, I guess. You gonna ask her to be your pretty little bride?”
“Don’t be an idiot,” he told me dryly. “We’ve only been dating a few months. I just… I just feel strongly about her. It’s kind of a new thing for me.”
My grin softened into a genuine smile. “Yeah, that’s true. Good for you. I hope things keep moving the direction they have been.”
He cleared his throat. “Thanks.”
There was a pause of what could have been awkward silence. Neither of us felt particularly interested in leaving it there to develop, so I asked, “Where have you been anyway? Have you been busy falling for Marnie or what? You’ve been MIA for a while now.”
Callum froze, like I’d caught him in the act or something. It was only for a second, but it was long enough that I knew something was up when he said, “I’ve just been wrapped up in work. I’ve got this new client who—”
“Cut the crap, Callum,” I said, calling his bullshit immediately. “What’s going on?”
“Really, Trent, leave it.”
But I couldn’t. Because he’d tried this before and I had let it slide, but now I wanted to know the truth. “Callum, what’s going on?” I repeated, my tone serious.
He winced, but then his shoulders sagged and I knew I’d won. He was going to spill the beans. I just didn’t have any idea how unready I was for them until they were already out. “Amelia is in town.”
I felt as though I’d been punched in the gut. I remembered her face so well it hurt, and she was still fresh in my mind from the previous night at the club, leaving the sting of finding out she was here in town even worse.
“Amelia?”
Callum nodded.
“She’s in town?”
He nodded again.
“Right now.”
Callum sighed. “Yeah, she is. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to cause any problems. She’s in town and I couldn’t… not spend time with her, but I knew you wouldn’t be happy about it. So I thought…” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
“You thought you’d just lie to me about it?” I asked coolly.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” he shot back. “I was doing this to try to spare your feelings. You were the one that kept pushing.”
I tried to pull myself together. Callum was right. He’d lied to spare my feelings, and if I wasn’t such a fucking baby over her, it wouldn’t have been a damn problem in the first place and he wouldn’t have lied. But I couldn’t deny that it stung. Mostly it stung that she was here in the first place, but a little that Callum was spending time with her, too.
Of course, she was his sister.
“I don’t know why you deal with her,” I couldn’t help but mutter, folding my arms across my chest like a petulant child—which was what I felt like, actually.
Callum lifted his hands as if to say “what can you do?” “I promised my father, you know that. I can’t go back on my word.”
I sighed. “Yeah, well, I still think it’s shitty.”
He nodded in agreement. “Can’t argue with you there.”
“Just… keep her away from me,” I told him stiffly.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?”
And just like that, my appreciation for Callum being my friend and knowing me so well returned threefold.
Chapter Twelve
Marnie
It was late. I was stuck at the damn office since Courtney was still on her damn vacation. Which meant I had meetings scattered all over, clients that were pissed that I’d missed things that I didn’t even remember scheduling, and Dorian was on me about Trent—who had canceled a meeting outright.
“I guess I should be grateful he didn’t waste my time by showing up,” I g
rumbled to myself.
All I wanted was some coffee, alcohol, and ice cream. I didn’t care how they were mixed together or served or anything. I’d eat warm ice cream, hot bourbon, and cold coffee if I could just have a little of each.
Which, now that I thought about it, sounded disgusting.
I shuffled papers around my desk until I was cross-eyed. I finally just gave up, threw two dozen into my briefcase, and decided to call it a night. There was just no point in wasting more time.
Time. Shit.
I glanced at my watch, cursing my frazzled schedule and my own forgetfulness. Callum and I had plans. It was only seven, I saw, so I wasn’t late. Yet. I probably would be after I got ready for dinner, but at least I could tell him it was for the sake of beauty, not because I was scatterbrained and short handed.
But before I even made it out the door, I looked up to see Callum leaning against it. He was devilishly handsome with dark thick hair that was kept fashionably short and neat, slicked back with just a hint of gel. He looked like something out of a James Bond film, though his jacket was slung over his shoulder, his shirt was rolled up to the elbows, and his tie was undone, hanging around his neck.
All of which just made him sexier.
My libido responded immediately, telling me that “okay, Callum’s here, let’s forget about everything but sex.” Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Callum,” I finally got out. I’d been staring at him a while, and the charming grin on his face told me he knew it, too. “What are you doing here? I thought we didn’t have dinner until seven thirty.”
He glanced absently at his watch, then back at me with raised brows. “And you thought you would somehow make seven thirty when you’re only just now leaving?”
I winced, caught. “Sorry. I really thought I’d make it out of here by now,” I admitted. “Guess I lost track of time.”
He pushed off the door and stepped into my office. He deposited his coat on the back of a chair, then walked the rest of the way to me. His hands reached for me, resting on my hips, and easily pulled me flush against his body. I gave no resistance. He leaned forward and captured my mouth in a passionate kiss that I instantly melted into.
I dropped my briefcase so that I could wrap my arms around him, my hands weaving through his thick hair. His body was hard and hot against mine, reminding me just how much I liked our physical encounters.
He broke the kiss only so that he could trail hot kisses down my neck. I leaned back, exposing more skin for him to kiss and lick. I groaned, but somehow my mind still managed to kick in.
“Where’ve you been?” I murmured. “I feel like you haven’t been around much lately.”
His kissing paused and for just a second I worried that there was something wrong. Seriously wrong. Like, he wasn’t around so much because he was rethinking our very new, very fragile relationship. By the time he started kissing me again, I was about ready to pop.
“Callum?” I actually pushed him away from me so that I could look him in the eye.
They were lustful, but were they anything else? Bored? Guilty? No longer invested? I didn’t think so… but maybe I was wrong.
“I’m sorry, I know I’ve been really busy with work,” he apologized, his smile puppyish. “Forgive me?”
I laughed a little, the tension slipping away easily. “Fine.”
He grinned and captured my mouth again. I pushed aside the last little tingle of doubt and let myself fall into his warmth. Sexy. Oh, he was sexy. My hands wrapped around his shoulders while his slid to my rear. He squeezed my ass as I groaned into his mouth.
We backed up until I felt my legs at the edge of my desk. Automatically, I propped one hip up onto the countertop, then the other. Callum’s hands dropped from my hips to travel down my thighs until they found the hem of my pencil skirt. When I felt his fingertips along the hem, I nearly lost it. There was something about a man shoving up my skirt to get to my core that drove me crazy.
He pushed the fabric up as high as he could before the fact that I was sitting on my ass prevented anything more.
Giggling, I let him shove me down onto my back then so that he could lift my hips and the fabric over them. I was wearing panties—because I’d honestly forgotten our date; otherwise I’d have forgone them—but he didn’t seem to care. He let a single finger hook around the elastic and pull it aside, exposing my nether lips to his gaze. I was already wet, but we were well past the part where that might have been embarrassing. He knew how much I wanted him, and I was all about him knowing.
Fucking sexy.
His free hand slipped between my thighs. A finger slid along my entrance, collecting moisture before disappearing between my lips. I felt his finger slide inside me, and I let out a sigh.
“Fucking finally,” I told him.
He laughed, though it was low and throaty. It was too hoarse to be a jovial, light laugh. Instead it was laced with the desire that we both felt. “Impatient?” he cooed.
“How many times do I have to tell you yes?” I growled at him.
He chuckled again, and then we both stopped laughing as he added a second finger. I moaned, arching my back off my desk. “Oh, God, yes. Right there.”
“Your pussy’s so tight, Marnie. I fucking love it.”
He curled his fingers inside me, massaging my walls, and quickly I felt myself getting worked up. “C’mon. Quit fucking around. I need more.”
Instead of giving me the more I needed, he grinned wickedly at me and bent low over me, sliding his head between my thighs until his hot breath was sliding over my wetness.
I shivered.
Okay, not what I’d had in mind, but I wasn’t bitching. I didn’t do oral much, because most guys didn’t know what the hell they were doing down there, but he was a fucking god and I loved his tongue.
It slid over my lips until he found the small bundle of nerves there. As soon as the flat of his tongue slipped over it, I lost my shit. I cried out and begged him to give me more. He laved at it, before fitting his full lips around the nub and suckling.
Sharp, intense pleasure rocked my body. Bolts of lightning flooded my veins, and before I could tell him to stop or give me more, he pushed me over the edge. I toppled like a skydiver without a parachute, and I fucking loved it.
I was coming down from my own ecstasy when he positioned his hard length at my entrance. He’d managed to free it while I was delirious with pleasure, and I once again appreciated his size. He positioned the head at my entrance, and in one hard thrust, he shoved himself completely inside me.
I cried out, prompting him to cover my mouth with his to swallow the sound.
His hands slid over my body as his hips began to move. They found my shirt and undid the buttons, slipping beneath the fabric to grab at my soft orbs. He grunted at the bra I was wearing but managed to peel back the cups to expose my nipples to the cool air.
“You’ve got nice tits,” he murmured, his thrusts causing them to bounce and me to moan.
He fondled my breasts and pinched at my nipples until they were hard. All the while I moaned and begged him to keep going. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him into me deeper each time he thrusted until we were both groaning.
“Fuck, Marnie!”
I did my best to meet his thrusts. They grew more erratic until I felt him shove in all the way one last time, then shudder above me. Finally, exhausted and spent, he collapsed over me. He just barely managed to keep most of his weight off me, bracing himself on his forearms.
We waited like that for a long while, breathing heavily and trying to find our bones again.
Eventually, he rolled off me and we got cleaned up. We both remained half-undressed as we lounged in the two chairs in front of my desk. My legs were thrown over the arm, and he was slowly massaging one of my feet in his lap.
“You need a couch in here,” he commented absently.
I wiggled my toes. “What kind of message does that send to clients?”
> “That this is your office and you fuck in here regularly?” he offered with a pearly toothed smile.
I kicked lightly at him, but he caught my foot easily and laughed.
“What?” he demanded.
I shook my head. “You’re an ass.”
“So? Besides, it’s true. We always end up doing it in your office.”
“Not always,” I countered. “We’ve done it in beds, too, remember?”
Our first time had been in a swanky nightclub where he had keys to a very special set of rooms, complete with a bed. It was insane and a little kinky, but neither of us had expected it to go anywhere. We were just relieving tension.
Now, we seemed to be relieving tension a lot these days.
“True,” he agreed. “But you have to admit that it’s always sexier in the office.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Maybe not always,” I argued. “But yeah sometimes it’s sexier here.”
He smoothed his thumb along the underside of my arch, and I all but purred like a cat. It was almost enough for me to forget everything else—almost. Except that he really hadn’t been around much lately, and I really was a little miffed by it. I may have forgiven him for the sake of sexy times, but that didn’t mean I’d forgotten.
“So where have you been for like, the last week and a half?”
His hands froze for a second, then resumed again. “Work. I’ve been swamped. You know how it is.”
My eyes narrowed as I detected the definite order of bullshit. “Cut the crap, Reid. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Marnie. I mean it. It’s nothing more than being a billionaire running a company. I had the company before we met, and I still have it now. That hasn’t changed. And sometimes it means that I’m busier than I’d like.” I started to pull my foot away, a little miffed that he was just brushing me aside, but he grabbed my ankle and tugged me back. “It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t rather be with you every damn chance I get. You know that.”
I wasn’t for sure that I knew that, but I wanted to. And my shoulders did relax a little at his reassurances.
He was owner of Tarvish Press, a rival publishing company, and I knew that being just a partner came with a lot of baggage. I forced myself to relax the rest of the way and stop being a pain the ass.
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