He exhaled, and once again let me do my thing. Of course, we were both getting something out of this. I’d missed touching him, and this was the only appropriate excuse I had. His arousing smell was overpowering.
After several minutes of working his shoulders and back, I forced myself to stop. While I didn’t want to cease the contact, there was only so much I could do while he was seated and clothed. And honestly, I was burning up. Apparently, I was incapable of maintaining any semblance of professionalism when it came to this man.
“Thank you,” he said. “That felt amazing.”
I cleared my throat and walked back to the other side of the room. “You said you’re almost done with work?”
“For tonight. I think so.”
Lifting my scarf off the chair, I said, “Let me just grab this and get out of your way.”
“Stay for a minute,” he insisted. “Don’t rush out.”
That’s what I was hoping you’d say. “Okay.” I smiled, settling into the seat across from him.
“Did you have a nice dinner?” he asked.
“Yeah. The food was really good.”
He licked the corner of his mouth. “I’m starving.”
“You want me to pick you up something and bring it back here?”
“That’s sweet of you, but it’s okay. I’ll get something on the way home. Where did you eat?”
“Sam and I went to Beantown Beerworks.”
He fidgeted with his watch. “Are you and Sam…getting serious?”
Was this the question he’d wanted to ask earlier? While I knew things with Sam weren’t going to last, I didn’t want to come right out and say that, since it kind of pleased me that Dax seemed invested, perhaps jealous.
“We’re not exclusive. So, no.”
“Really. Is that your choice or his?”
“A serious relationship is not what I’m looking for right now.”
“You only want something casual?”
“I’m not having sex with him, either, if that’s what you mean by casual.” Ugh. Not sure why I blurted that out.
“I wasn’t fishing for that. But it’s certainly…interesting.”
“Why?”
“Why?” He scratched his chin. “I perhaps wrongly assumed that if you were spending regular time with someone…”
“You assumed I’m easy?” I teased.
His eyes narrowed. “Not at all. That’s not what I meant.”
“If I’m not sure I want something, I don’t do it just to please someone else. When you really want something, you know it. You don’t have to second guess.”
He leaned back in his chair and examined my face. “You’re not attracted to him…”
I decided to stop playing coy and just be honest. “With Sam… Honestly, I’ve enjoyed his company. But there’s something missing, both physically and mentally. And I need to address it.”
“You deserve to have it all. Never settle.”
I couldn’t help myself as I tilted my head. “Why do you settle?”
He started messing with his watch again. “You’re talking about Adriana?”
“Yeah, unless there are more of them.”
“No.” He pretended to rub lint off his shirt. Then he looked up at me. “There’s no one else. And like I told you, I haven’t seen Adriana.”
“Good.”
He arched a brow. “That makes you happy?”
My pulse raced. “I don’t even know her, but somehow I know she doesn’t deserve you. She shouldn’t have to chase you down like she does. She sounded desperate in that text. You should want her so much that she doesn’t have to do that. I’m sure she’s very beautiful and all that.”
He paused a moment. “She’s got nothing on you.”
I shivered. That gave me the confidence to say, “She’s got nothing on me? She’s gotten to have you in a way I can’t. That’s a big thing she has on me.”
He closed his eyes a moment and groaned. “Fuck, Wren.”
“Anyway, you didn’t answer me. Why do you settle?”
“Because…” He sighed. “Sometimes you just need a release without complications. But I agree that it’s more enticing when something isn’t easy. When it’s unattainable.” He stared into my eyes. “That’s my fucking problem right now.”
I felt the energy shift in his dark office.
“I think we have the same problem,” I whispered.
He stared at me, and I could sense his walls starting to crumble. What he said next confirmed it.
“I told you I’ve been preoccupied because of Rafe and work. That’s true. But I also haven’t been able to stop thinking about you…since the other night. That’s also part of why I can’t focus.”
My heart galloped. “Because of my story?”
“Hearing everything you’ve been through really had an effect on me, but it’s more than that.”
“Like…” I prodded.
“Like smelling you all over my bed the past several days. It’s messed with my head. It’s finally wearing off.”
“Thinking about me is wearing off?”
“No. Your smell in my bed. I wish thinking about you was wearing off.” He sighed deeply. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. It’s inappropriate. I must be losing my mind.”
My temperature rose. “Well, since we’re being honest… I’ll admit that I left my scarf here on purpose. I wanted an excuse to see you again. If you hadn’t called me back, I was going to contact you so I could come get it.”