“You could just say no, if you’re not interested in going for lunch,” she said evenly, although her eyes flashed with hurt. “There’s no reason to be a jerk.”
He shrugged. “You used me to scratch an itch and you fucked off. I don’t like feeling used.” The truth had come out before he could stop himself. He’d never been the type of guy to disappear on a girl without an explanation, and he found that being on the receiving end of that kind of behavior was unpleasant. Maybe he’d been trying to scare her off, but she could at least be a grown-up and give him a lame excuse rather than not texting him back.
“Sorry. It’s been a busy week.”
“At work? What do you even do for a living? All this time together and you’ve never said.”
“You never asked.” She looked down at her purse, as if it was holding all the truths he knew she’d never give him. “I’m a marketing consultant.”
He let the lie hang in the air between them.
“Well, marketing consultant, where are you proposing we go for lunch?” Fox and Addison wanted him to keep her close, but that meant having to keep his guard up. “Or is this all a trick to get me alone?”
“You’re so fucking cocky.” She rolled her eyes.
“If you didn’t like it, you wouldn’t be here.”
“Never mind. I’ll go find someone else to take to lunch.” She backed a step and turned to go, but he was around the counter and had caught her wrist before she got to the door.
He backed her against the empty section of wall beside the front door, and she let him. The rise and fall of her chest tried to claim his attention, but her lips got priority.
Somehow, she kissed him first. Hard, desperate. Her arms went around his neck and he pinned her to the wall with his body, kissing her back, tongues invading and exploring each other’s mouths. She whimpered, and he was lost, his thigh pushing between hers, and his hand slipping into the vee of her dress’s neckline to grab her breast.
“Nice,” murmured a male voice behind him.
Fucking Austin. Atlas hadn’t even heard the bell over the door.
Atlas pulled his hand out of the bodice of Mila’s dress, and straightened her clothes before he turned.
“What are you doing here?” Atlas grumbled.
“Cockblocking you, apparently.” The teenager was already perched on the stool behind the counter, grinning at him. Austin always reminded Atlas of Fox when they were teenagers. Cocky, mouthy, impossible, hilarious.
“Your shift doesn’t start until two.”
“Dude, you told me to get here for noon so you could get your oil changed.”
“Shit, was that today?”
“So . . . was ‘oil change’ just a euphemism for . . .”
“Shut up, Austin.”
The kid snickered and saluted him, then waved to Mila, who grimaced, but waved back.
“We’re going for lunch,” Atlas said, grabbing his keys and wallet from under the counter.
“Uh-huh. Sure you are.”
Mila trailed after him as he left the shop and made his way to the sidewalk. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, and Atlas seriously needed that time to talk down his sex drive, even in the sweltering midday heat. Austin interrupting had been both maddening and a godsend. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off the woman.
“I wasn’t just using you for no-strings-attached sex, you know,” Mila finally said. “Not on purpose. It’s just . . . this is weird for me. The whole submissive thing. I’m used to being in a position of power.”
“With the marketing firm,” he replied, feeling impatient with the lies.
“Yes,” she answered too quickly. “So, I got a little freaked out that I let things go so far. That I let you . . .” He heard her swallow hard.
“Fuck your ass?”