His Distraction

by Tanya Gallagher

  Jeremy glanced at her, amused, as she popped the chip into her mouth and chewed. So what if her eyes were practically rolling in her head? The chips were that good—hot and crispy and generously salted. Her favorites were the ones with tiny pockets of air trapped inside them—thin and extra crunchy.

  “Consider my appetite…aroused.” Jeremy’s smirk made her blush.

  At least two could play this game. She reached across the table to hold a chip to Jeremy’s lips. “Try one.”

  But instead of just eating the chip, he also circled his hand around her wrist to hold her in place.

  He licked an extra dash of salt from her thumb, and her eyes widened as his tongue grazed her fingers. The feeling of his lips on her skin…yeah, her appetite was aroused, all right.

  Jeremy released her with a grin, and she sat back in the cracked leather seat of her chair, her heart doing the fucking cha-cha in her chest. The air inside the restaurant hung humid and damp—rain in the forecast because it was spring in Seattle, after all—and everything felt a happy kind of close and warm.

  “Told you so,” she whispered. She had missed flirting with him. Had missed him in general. She was elated to see him like this—on a Saturday, away from work. Maybe their talk had changed things for the better. She certainly hoped so. Today felt good again—thrilling and electric and sweet.

  “So how’d you get so good at finding food?” Jeremy asked.

  It was still kind of hard to think straight—Vanessa was tempted to take Jeremy back into the bathroom and ask for more, for his tongue on her lips, in her mouth.

  She shook her head. “I spent a lot of my life really, really wanting to travel, and when it became apparent I wasn’t going to leave Seattle, I decided I would explore the world through food. It’s one of the best ways to experience a new culture.”

  She hadn’t gotten to travel, but she’d cooked her way through a good number of countries in the years since her mom left. That first year it was mostly Vanessa trying to feed her dad, but as he made his way through the post-divorce slump, he eventually joined in. Today she’d ordered black beans and plantains because despite how good the enchiladas sounded, the version her dad had perfected was canon. Sacred, even.

  “I hear the best way to learn a new language is to sleep with a local,” Jeremy said.

  Vanessa shot him a warning glance. “Too bad you’re not from anyplace that cool.”

  He grinned. “I can teach you some Seattle-isms. ‘I don’t mind the rain.’ ‘Go Hawks.’ ‘I love Nirvana.’”

  She groaned. “Now I know it all.”

  Their waiter arrived with an armful of dishes, and Jeremy picked up his fork. “So if you’ve been exploring the world with your mouth”—an extra beat to make her blush—“what’s your favorite food?”

  “Ooooh. I mean, Italian. But that’s super obvious, isn’t it?” She wrinkled her nose, and Jeremy laughed.

  “It’s okay.”

  “And also Mexican, of course. And Greek! Shit, there are a lot, aren’t there?”

  Jeremy laughed again. “I like a woman with a good appetite.”

  She wanted him to like her. And yeah, she knew he did. But she had to admit it was nice to spend time with him like this—outside of the office, where they could just be themselves. Where this thing between them could grow. They didn’t have too many weeks left doing this volunteer thing, and Vanessa would take every hour she could get. She’d really fucking missed him, and the end of their time was coming down the line.

  “That’s good,” she said, “because I’m always hungry.”

  Jeremy’s eyes darkened, and Vanessa gasped. “Me too.”

  Rain pounded the pavement outside of Señor Moose, gurgling through the gutters and sending the normal Saturday morning crowd scurrying with hoods pulled high. Vanessa paused under the restaurant’s awning and glanced at Jeremy. “I know we don’t normally get downpours like this, but are people really too cool for umbrellas?”

  “Obviously.” He grinned back at her. “Even if I had an umbrella with me right now—which I don’t—I would still be too cool to use it.”

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. “In that case, do we run?”

  Jeremy reached for her hand and squeezed. “We run.”

  They held hands as they zigzagged toward the car, fingers laced together, and she couldn’t help but laugh with the thrill of it—the rain zinging her skin and Jeremy running next to her, invincible, like they could dodge raindrops.

  But, of course, they couldn’t.

  They slid into the front seats of the Jag, Vanessa’s cardigan and camisole plastered to her skin. The windows of the car fogged with the heat of their bodies almost instantly.

  “Hey there, Heart.” Jeremy’s voice came out quiet and steady in the car, the rain drumming on the roof like a serenade. He reached for her hand again, the connection an electric sizzle that shot her heart into her mouth.

  Why did she have to like him so stupidly much?

  “Hey back.” Suddenly all the world was a whisper, everything else falling away and just the two of them, here in the car, damp and wild.

  Jeremy’s thumb stroked the back of her hand, and she let out a quiet moan at his touch. “I missed that sound,” he said.

  The words smiled out of her. “I missed making it for you.”

  Her eyes fluttered closed, and she swore she could feel Jeremy’s heart beating against the love line on her palm. When she opened her eyes to find him staring at her, his face pure desire, she was sure he was going to kiss her. To pull her into his lap and tease her until she begged for more, begged him to fuck her right here in the foggy car. But he dropped his hand with a sigh. “The shelter’s expecting us.”

  Since when had he let being on time stop him? Vanessa pressed her legs together, squirming and wet for him, and not just from the rain.

  It was so like Jeremy, again, to make her want this thing and then hold out, and she almost shouted with frustration. But she wasn’t going to give in just yet. She knew he wanted to hear her ask, to demand her pleasure, and if she did he would kiss her. And more. But it was also good to just flirt with Jeremy, to anticipate the moment she’d finally give in. Slow and steady might have its merits.

  So she nodded and swallowed her disappointment. “Yeah.” She leaned back against the headrest. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Chapter 38

  Jesus Christ, it was really fucking hard to sit in that car and not kiss Vanessa. To hold back from peeling off her clothes and tasting her against the backdrop of the Jaguar’s sleek leather seats. But maybe it was better this way—Jeremy needed to remind Vanessa of not just why she wanted to fuck him but of why she actually liked him. And he was getting to her; he could tell. While he wanted Vanessa in his bed more than anything, that wasn’t going to be enough for him anymore. He also wanted her heart.

  At least this time the volunteer coordinator in the animal shelter let Jeremy and Vanessa work together. She cheerfully handed them each an industrial steel litter scooper and a jug of clean litter and sent them on their way down the cat wing.

  Four litter boxes in and Jeremy’s sense of smell was gone again. Guess he’d have to get used to it.

  At least the sight of Vanessa more than made up for it. Her shirt hadn’t completely dried from the rain, and he could make out the sheer material of her tank top where her cardigan gaped open against her collarbones. The delicate lace of her bra pressed against the thin fabric, and Jeremy had to hold back from reaching for her. The sight of her skin, creamy and cool, kicked into his blood like a gunshot.

  “I’m glad we’re doing this today.” His voice came out deeper than he needed, gruff with arousal, and Vanessa smiled at him.

  “Me too.”

  Five litter boxes in and a paw swiped between the bars to bat at Jeremy’s head.

  “Shark, is that you?”

  He grinned as the gray kitten regarded him with a mewl.

  Oh hell. Wasn’t it a rule tha
t baby animals were the first to get picked for new homes? Jeremy had thought the cat would have been adopted by now. But maybe people weren’t so fond of living with a terrorist. And this kitten was definitely a hell-raiser.

  “Aww, it’s your bestie.” Vanessa dropped the litter gear at her feet and reached a finger through the cage. Shark rubbed his chin over her knuckles and purred.

  Vanessa looked over her shoulder at Jeremy, her face a gorgeous display of pure delight. “He is a handsome one, isn’t he? But his name tag still says ‘Dudley.’”

  Jeremy leaned his hip against the wall. “I might need to remedy that.”

  “How exactly are you going to accomplish that?”

  “I’m going to take him home.”

  The words left his mouth and Vanessa cocked her head like she didn’t quite believe him. But it was true. How did you walk away when someone needed you?

  He had done it last week, and the guilt had chased him, cut into him at strange moments, like when he passed that homeless man and his dog on the street yesterday morning. But the cat was still here today, like a sign. And Shark, for whatever reason, seemed to already believe that Jeremy was his. It was like he’d claimed his human the moment he’d sunk his teeth into Jeremy’s hand.

  “You’re serious?” Vanessa whispered.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  Maybe love was seeing past the painful parts of life and focusing on the way it felt when your heart expanded. And here, in this shelter, he knew what that was.

  He was here with the woman he wanted—who was not quite his again—and the cat who would be his soon. His whole heart filled with this bursting kind of joy; love like he’d finally found home.

  He and Vanessa hurried through the rest of the row of cages, scooping litter quickly so they could carve out an extra few minutes in the adoption room with Shark.

  Jeremy had his hands full with the tiny gray devil when a text buzzed through on his phone.

  “Grab that for me, will you?” He jutted his hip in Vanessa’s direction.

  She reached into the pocket of his jeans, and when the fabric tightened over his cock, he swore he might lose it right there. But Vanessa just grinned and pulled out the phone.

  She wiggled the cell at him.“What’s your password?” When he answered, she tapped it into the phone and pulled up the message.

  He was so distracted by the cat it took him a moment to realize Vanessa had gone silent beside him. When he caught sight of her face, frozen somewhere between confusion and pain, his heart dropped to his knees.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Vanessa pursed her lips and shook her head, her cheeks flushed.

  Jeremy managed to extricate himself from the cat’s grasp and reach for her hand. Vanessa dropped the phone into his palm with a heavy silence.

  Oh shit.

  Hey Stud.

  Another fucking text from Amy. It would have been bad enough on its own, but in true technology fashion, their whole text history popped up like they’d been having one long conversation.

  I’ll have everything ready for you when I see you. Hard, deep, and everything in between.

  Oh, holy fuck.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” he said quietly. Vanessa was going to run and run, just when he’d almost had her back. His fingers tightened around the phone. This was all Amy’s fault. Why couldn’t she just let go?

  Jeremy’s temples pounded. Why hadn’t he deleted the stupid messages? His stomach thrashed in the grip of nausea as he looked at them now. Maybe this was partly his fault, too.

  Vanessa lifted her chin to meet his eye, her own gaze glassy. “Then tell me what it is. Are you having an affair with Amy?” Her voice trembled, and she was so close to breaking, his gorgeous girl.

  “Oh, no, Heart. These are old messages. Amy was just asking about the inventory I brought to LA.”

  “Yeah, but ‘Stud’? And why is she texting you on a weekend?”

  He grimaced as he told the truth. “She has a tendency to overestimate my affection for her. But I promise I have no interest.”

  Vanessa bit her lip. “Are you sure?” She closed her eyes as she waited for his answer like she didn’t want to see him lie.

  “There’s nobody I want but you, Heart.” He ran a finger along the line of her jaw, drawing his hand back abruptly as Shark pounced on his foot. He reached down to rescue his shoe. “Nobody I want but you and Shark,” he amended. “The two biggest pains in my ass.”

  Vanessa opened her eyes and nodded. “Pains in your ass?” She wasn’t running away, and he hoped desperately that they could get through this.

  Vanessa reached for Shark and pulled the cat up against her chest, stroking a hand over his fur. Shark purred with pleasure and Jeremy swore he would give almost anything to be that cat right now.

  At last, Vanessa cracked a tiny smile, bringing her eyes to meet Jeremy’s. “What would you do without us?” Her tone was mercifully light. She was going to let this go.

  Jeremy nearly swayed with relief. “I don’t want to ever find out.”

  Chapter 39

  “I can’t believe you’re actually doing this.” It was a week from their last Saturday at the animal shelter, and this time Vanessa and Jeremy were back not just to add another hour to Jeremy’s volunteering tally, but also to bring Shark home.

  Vanessa glanced at the man next to her. The clothes Jeremy wore to scoop poop probably cost more than most people’s nicest outfits. She might have held that against him, but he wore the clothes so damn well, from the henley that hugged his biceps to his custom black denim and dark suede shoes. Once she’d given up fighting her attraction to him, she found it was so much more rewarding to admire the view.

  “I’m really doing this,” Jeremy confirmed.

  For a minute she’d doubted his resolve. “It’s not that I think you’re lying about wanting the cat, but I know it’s easy to get caught up in the moment.” That was the whole point of the adoption process—to make people wait until some time had passed to make sure they were really serious. And yet here Jeremy was, a week later, with an empty cat carrier at his feet. “A cat’s a lifelong commitment.”

  “I’m not afraid of those.”

  Jesus, what was he saying? It was like watching a high-speed crash in slow motion. He said the words so deliberately, but as soon as the video sped up, everyone would see just how out of control this really was. And yet Jeremy didn’t blink, didn’t stop saying the words. He looked like he actually believed them.

  Vanessa dropped her eyes to the adoption paperwork in his pocket and shook her head before meeting his gaze with a teasing smile. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Keep me.”

  She froze. She had no doubt those words were deliberate, and her face heated. She turned away, a sick feeling in her stomach. It was one thing for her to have blurted those words by accident, but now that he was using that vulnerable moment against her—no.

  Jeremy stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Vanessa, wait! I wasn’t making fun of you.” He spun her back to face him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. That simple gesture was so intimate and sweet it could break her every time. “I was being serious. Keep me.”

  If she didn’t break this tension, she would crack and believe him. She blew out a puff of air and smiled. “You’re just saying that to get into my pants.”

  Jeremy’s voice lowered in earnestness. “I’ve already gotten in your pants, and while I would do almost anything to be back there, I wouldn’t lie to you. That’s a hard line.”

  She searched his eyes but couldn’t find a trace of deceit on his face. Jeremy looked at back at her, his face vulnerable, his chest rising and falling with unsteady breaths.

  Was he serious, standing in the middle of the animal shelter talking this way? It had been a little less than two weeks since Vanessa had offered her fragile forgiveness, and, yeah, she wanted him, but that had gotten her hurt the first time. She knew as well as anyone that wanting
someone made no guarantee.

  Jeremy slid his hand down her arm to lace his fingers in hers. Every touch swept a wave of heat across her skin. They fit so damn well, didn’t they? But it was worse this way, too. She knew what to do with him when he was driving her crazy, how to keep herself just distant enough not to give away her whole heart. But when he was being sweet, all bets were off.

  “Let’s do this right,” Jeremy said. “It’s obvious there’s something here. I’m crazy about you.” He grinned. “Clearly. I’ve adopted a damn cat because of you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s not my fault. I told you not to fall in love.”

  “Well, I did.”

  Oh. His words rumbled through her, heating her until her blood boiled in her veins. The noise of the shelter fell away, a distant rushing sound in her ears.

  He didn’t just mean the cat.

  Her breath caught in her chest, her heart fluttering and her skin hot. Jeremy tugged her hands gently, so she pitched against his chest. It was a nice shirt, after all—soft and warm under her cheek.

  Yes.

  Vanessa wrapped her arms around Jeremy’s back and sank into him. Her whole body tingled, and she drew a shuddering breath against his shirt.

  She didn’t do love, especially with the type of man who was born to break her heart. She knew all too well that the people were human. The same people who were supposed to take care of your feelings could just as easily leave you. But this wasn’t her mother here, either. Everything this man did suggested he was being serious. Jeremy Glass, the confident and dangerous sex toy company CEO, held his heart out to her.

  And despite all his asshattery, it was a good heart.

  She wanted to say yes.

  Was that what love was? When you wanted to see past the dark parts that everyone was guilty of and focus on the light? If so, consider her screwed. Jeremy Glass was not the kind of man you fell in love with. And yet here she was, on the edge anyway, looking for any excuse to fall.