“I didn’t hear you complaining either.” He swung his feet onto the floor, rose, and strode over, intent and desire written all over his expressive face.
“Uh-uh. I have to go. We have a meeting in the morning with the PR team and all the department heads. I want to make sure I know exactly what he’s going to pitch. I don’t want to be caught off guard.”
He braced an arm on the back of her chair and tilted her head up toward his. “Will I see you after your dinner?”
“If you’re lucky.”
He pressed his lips to hers before beginning to lick a path toward the sweet spot behind her ear. “What do I have to do to get lucky?” he asked.
Her ni**les puckered into tight buds, and she squirmed in her seat. “Be good.” She gripped the arms of her chair.
“I’m always good.”
He was good, she thought. So, so good.
He slid a hand onto her thigh, immediately sliding upward beneath her skirt.
“Alex, no. I have a meeting.”
“And I want you thinking of me the whole time.” He brushed his fingertips over her panties, unerringly finding her clit, and she swallowed a moan.
“Mission accomplished,” she murmured, knowing she’d be wet and wanting Alex the entire time. “But we’re not doing this here.”
To her surprise, he immediately eased his hand out and sat back against the desk. “If you insist.” A teasing glint lit his gaze.
He knew he’d lit her fuse and left her burning. “Come to my place after,” he said.
“We’ll see what time I get out.” She didn’t want to make any promises, no matter how much she wanted to be with him again. She really should go home for the night, sleep alone in her bed once in a while, and not learn to rely on how good it felt to be with him.
“Where are you going for dinner?” he asked.
She looked up, her gaze falling on the vee in his button-down shirt, where his oh-so-lickable chest was exposed, and she sighed.
“Emilio’s,” she said. Derek Fine, head of the PR company, had asked her where she’d like to meet, and the restaurant near Alex’s apartment had just popped out of her mouth.
He grinned. “Well, it just so happens that I’m meeting my sister there too. No excuses then.”
She shook her head and laughed at how easy she’d made it. Of course, she wondered if that had been the point all along. “I guess I’ll see you a little later.”
His answer was a long, lingering kiss. One she couldn’t resist, and she threaded her fingers into his silky hair and kissed him back.
The ringing of his cell interrupted the moment, and he stepped back, regret on his face.
“Get it,” she said. “I have to leave anyway.”
He walked over and grabbed his phone from the desk. He glanced at the number, and his expression turned downright chilly before he hit a button and shoved the cell into his back pocket.
“Who was it?” she asked.
His eyes grew shuttered. “No one important.”
Which meant just the opposite or his entire mood wouldn’t have shifted.
She admitted to being curious, but she wouldn’t pry, and she had a business dinner, and she needed to get moving.
“See you later,” she murmured.
“Yeah.” He stared out the window, not looking her way.
He was suddenly distant and distracted, confirming her suspicion that no one important was emphatically significant. And Alex was keeping the who to himself.
* * *
Alex stared at the dull office ceiling long after Madison walked out. This was the third time Rachel had called. What the hell did she want after all this time? He couldn’t help wondering. Despite his insistence that he didn’t care, he couldn’t deny that her calls and the corresponding return of memories along with them had left him shaken.
He’d reached his car when his sister called to say a professor had assigned a last-minute paper and she needed to cancel their dinner plans.
Although Alex had neglected his family for too long, his new job, his new woman, and the feeling of doing something important for the first time in ages had him wanting to fix other areas of his life too. So he’d reached out to Sienna, but he understood her reasons for rescheduling.
In truth, he was relieved. He needed time to deal with the anger and frustration Rachel’s calls brought up inside him. So the woman he’d naively thought he’d marry had dumped him after graduation. He’d done damn well without her. Rachel was a distant memory. But the hurt of rejection wasn’t.
Rejection and the feeling of not being good enough hadn’t been new to him when Rachel had dumped him. There’d been Ian, the half brother who’d wanted nothing to do with him. Alex had found out about Ian when he was fifteen. He’d Googled him, learned all they had in common, and idolized him, wanting to be just like him. Wanting an older brother who understood him. But Ian hadn’t wanted a damn thing to do with Alex, not as kids and not as adults. Not until Ian had wanted Riley, who’d come with Alex as part of her self-built family, did he agree to get to know Alex.
He hadn’t been good enough on his own. That was the underlying message. One Rachel had reinforced when she’d left. And one that had sacked him again when his injury had sidelined him from pro football permanently.
Although it had been a while since he’d indulged in self-pity, Rachel’s calls brought up a whole host of shit, and he felt the need for a drink and some time alone.
* * *
Madison arrived at work the next morning in time to head directly to the meeting. She didn’t want to go to her office and deal with Alex when she needed to be focused on the PR campaign about to be proposed. It was edgy and spot-on and, in her mind, brilliant. She hoped everyone involved would go for the concept. Especially Alex.
If she’d seen him last night, she’d have run the idea past him. If he’d called and explained his no-show at the restaurant, she’d have told him they needed to talk. Instead, after convincing her to spend the night at his place, he’d changed plans and gone MIA. Between his mood swing after the unanswered phone call and his silence afterward, she let her insecurities hold sway and decided not to reach out first.
She strode into the room wearing the suit she felt the most powerful and comfortable in. Did it help that the cream color accentuated her lightly tanned skin and that, even with a camisole that appropriately covered her br**sts, she felt both feminine and sexy? Of course. Because she had a feeling she’d need all the armor she could get.