This is What I Want: A Steamy Romance Novella
Page 5
Lane tipped an imaginary hat and gave them both a grin of such blinding brilliance Eve had to look away. “Well, thank you, ma’am.”
He looked at Eve, who felt the weight of his gaze even though she was unable to look at his face. “See you, Eve.”
Both women stared in silence after him as he strode down the center of the pod forest and disappeared around the corner.
Debbie nudged Eve with her elbow. “I would ride him like a pony.”
“I bet you would,” Eve said, but you couldn’t handle him, is what she thought.
“Tell me you wouldn’t? Lane DeMarco is ten kinds of sexy.” Debbie followed Eve to her pod. “He has an ass that just won’t quit. Did you see those jeans? Jesus, Eve. Tell me you noticed the jeans. And the boots!”
She’d seen them, all right. She’d seen all of it. The only thing that would have made him look any better would have been a battered leather hat pulled low over his eyes, and not even Lane could get away with that at work. He had been waiting for her to get off the elevator, she was convinced of that. His look had convinced her.
It had been a challenge, but then so had what she’d written, hadn’t it?
She settled into her chair, her hands moving to her keyboard automatically, though they felt too numb to actually type.
“Thank god for the casual dress code, huh? Gawd,” Debbie said with another peek around the pod wall. “Do you think he does it on purpose?”
“Does what?”
“He’s a cowboy, Eve. A cowboy!”
The last word ended with a squeak that made Eve look up. “I noticed.”
It would have been impossible not to.
“I don’t understand how you can be so immune to it, that’s all,” Debbie said, proving she really was clueless. “The man is a god, pure and simple. A sex god.”
He was more than that, Eve thought, her fingers tap-tapping on the keys. But someone like Debbie wouldn’t ever see that. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Debbie sighed. “Hell, yes. And dammit, nothing’s broken.” She gave a wicked chuckle. “Yet.”
Eve logged in, but her fingers fumbled too often on the keys and she made stupid typing errors. She messed up the simplest tasks, had to read the same customer replies two and three times to make sense of them and was, generally speaking, a mess.
How could she have not seen this before? He’d asked her about the monster marathon. He’d brought her coffee because he thought it was what she wanted. He a cowboy today for the same reason.
Lane DeMarco was tell_me.
She couldn’t deny it any longer. The subtle clues she’d chosen to ignore had been cast aside. He was challenging her to admit she knew it was him.
Lane was her online lover. Tears, of anger or sorrow, she couldn’t tell which, clogged her throat and blurred the computer screen. How could she have been so blind? And how long had he known?
“Move over.” The grumble-growl of Lane’s voice took her by surprise, but he didn’t wait for her to obey. He pushed her chair gently so it rolled to the side. His fingers tapped her keyboard.
“What are you doing?” Eve kept her voice pitched low but couldn’t keep the anger from her tone. “Get out of here.”
Lane threw her a glance. “They’re doing an inspection today. Too many complaints about slow or poor service. They’re checking all Internet usage. People who’ve been going online for personal use are going to get written up, Eve. Or fired.”
Her jaw dropped. “Can they do that?”
He nodded, mouth set in a grim line. “Haven’t you been reading the memos?”
“Yes, but –”
He typed faster. Scrolling lines of files appeared and vanished just as fast. Delete. Delete. Delete. He worked swiftly, without hesitation. He stopped and looked at her.
“I don’t need to ask how you knew I was online this week, do I?” Eve said.
Lane shook his head.
“It’s the same way you knew it was me all along, wasn’t it? From the time when you left the coffee.”
He nodded.
She let her gaze cover him from head to toe, every inch, and if her scrutiny made him uncomfortable he didn’t show it. At last she looked him in the eyes. He was the same Lane she’d known for years, the guy with the smile, but he was more than that, now.
And it wasn’t what she wanted.
“Thanks,” Eve said coolly and turned back to her monitor. “Wow. I’d better get back to work.”
She sensed him hesitating in the doorway to her pod, but he said nothing, and when she looked up, he was gone.
Twenty
* * *
Gone. All of it was gone. All the entries she’d spent so many hours crafting. All the comments, the compliments, the conversations. She’d deleted all of it with a few keystrokes, even her instant message account. Eris Apparent was gone.
She hadn’t been to work for the past few days. She wasn’t sick but had called in anyway, unable to face him. Unable to give him what he wanted.
“You let me down,” she scolded her computer in an attempt at levity she didn’t feel. “You were supposed to protect me.”
At least it would help her find a new job. Getting away from Digiquest couldn’t be a bad thing. She’d already sent in applications at two other, larger support firms where the pay and benefits were better. It would be good to make a break, she thought as she clicked through to another job listing. Two years was a long time to be stuck in a job she didn’t really like.
She’d ordered pizza, so when the doorbell rang she thought nothing of it. She should’ve known better, of course. Wasn’t a hot pizza delivery boy one of those clichéd fantasies she’d never written?
“Can I come in?” Lane leaned in her doorway looking more deliciously edible than any pizza ever could.
“No.”
“Eve.” If he’d tried to wheedle or charm her she’d have sent him away at once, but against his quiet plea she could do nothing. “Please.”
She stepped aside, granting him entrance without saying a word. He pushed past her. He looked too big for her living room. He turned to face her, his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans. Damn him, the ones she liked.
“You haven’t been to work,” he said.
“I took some personal time.” She didn’t sit or offer him a chair.
“Because of me?”
She meant to deny it, but instead a sigh slipped from her mouth. “Yes. Because of you.”
“You deleted your blog, too.”
“You should have told me it was you!” she cried suddenly, and he stepped back.
“Would you have replied if you’d known?” Lane challenged her.
“No!”
He smiled. “I thought you’d figure it out.”
“I did,” Eve said in a low voice. “I just didn’t want to believe it.”
“Why not?” He sounded curious. For an instant she saw the words on a screen as if she were reading them. How much difference his voice made.
“Because…” She trailed off. “The blog…it was a way for me to be someone else. And I really wanted to be someone else, Lane.”
“I like who you are, Eve.”
She laughed, scornful. “You liked Eris.”
“And you liked tell_me.”
“It wasn’t real!” she shouted. “None of it was real!”
“Is this real?” Lane asked, and kissed her.
She melted into him. His mouth parted, and hers did too. He tasted exactly how she’d always known he would. He felt even better than ever she’d imagined.
“This isn’t going to work,” she warned, voice hoarse, but made no move to step out of his arms.
“It will,” he promised, his fingers already going to her buttons. “I promise?”
“How?” Eve gasped when his bare skin touched hers.
Lane’s slow smile went straight between her thighs as usual. “Easy. Tell me what you want.”
She gulped in a breath at hearing him
say it aloud. Something flickered in his gaze when she didn’t respond at once; she felt the reflection of it in her own eyes, just before she took the chance and took his hand.
“This is what I want,” Eve said, and led him into the bedroom to make all their fantasies come true.
Want more?
USE SOMEBODY
From an anonymous fantasy blog to a married couple talking about taking the next step, Use Somebody showcases a collection of love, passion and personal discovery from New York Times Bestselling Author Megan Hart.
This Is What I Want
Co-workers Eve and Lane discover a mutual, online interest – but can their imaginations make it into the real world?
The Challenge
Katie and Dean have been friends for a long time, but when each of them fails at moving forward in their romantic lives, they pose a challenge to each other. Who can satisfy the other first? And what does that mean for their friendship…and the men they each desire?
The Experiment
A thousand dollars is a lot of money, so Melissa and Matt agree to a special Psych Department experiment. What begins with handholding is meant to lead them toward more, but can science prove love? Or is it the other way around?
Seven Sweets and Seven Sours
Mary has loved Hannah since they were girls, but Mary’s decision to leave the only life she’s ever known will change everything for them.
Taking the Leap
Sam and Jenna, both bridesmaids in the same wedding, have never met before. Instant sparks fly, but is this a chance for something real, or is it just a bridal party fling?
Layover
Julia and Graham met a year ago during a work conference, and neither’s been able to forget the other since. When an unexpected delay leaves Julia with a layover in Graham’s city, she decides to take a chance and see if what’s been building virtually can happen for real.
Reason Enough
Elle and Dan have been married for a little while, and he’s talking about maybe having a baby. Elle’s not sure if she’s ready for the change having children would bring. She loves Dan. She loves their life. Is it too risky to add a new layer to their family?
Use Somebody
Also by Megan Hart
All the Lies We Tell
All the Secrets We Keep
A Heart Full of Stars
All Fall Down
Always You
Broken
Beg For It
Castle in the Sand
Clearwater
Dirty
Hold Me Close
Hurt the One You Love
Naked
Passion Model
Precious and Fragile Things
Ride with the Devil
Stumble into Love
The Resurrected One: First Come the Storms
Womb
Unforgivable
Use Somebody
Pleasure and Purpose
No Greater Pleasure
Selfish Is the Heart
Virtue and Vice
About the Author
photo credit: Whitney Hart Photography
I was born and then I lived a while. Then I did some stuff and other things. Now, I mostly write books. Some of them use a lot of bad words, but most of the other words are okay.
If you liked this book, please tell everyone you love to buy it. If you hated it, please tell everyone you hate to buy it.
Find me here!
www.meganhart.com
readinbed@gmail.com