He pins me with a glare. “No. That is not going to be a thing.”
I just shrug. “Okay. But you’re an important friendship bond with us now. You can’t get around it.”
“Friends for life,” Ian says, plopping back on the couch again.
I grin over at him. “Friends for life.” I reach for my CEO ethics book. “Now I’m going to keep reading, because the sooner I help Eva with her business, the sooner I can move this all along and get you guys on to finding your own soul bonds.”
Ian grins. “I like the sound of that.” He looks up at the ceiling, hands behind his head again as he stares up dreamily. “I hope she’s a fire fae.”
I let out a laugh as Flynn nearly chokes on whatever he was eating in the kitchen.
Somehow, everything will be okay.
14
Eva
I think he’s just torturing me for fun at this point.
He’s been professional since our lunch, but I get the feeling he’s biding his time, waiting for me to break.
It might not be much longer.
Tanner is sitting across the conference table from me, both of us listening in on a conference call about something that seems so much less important than the way the buttons on his blue business shirt strain against his muscles whenever he takes a breath.
And whenever my eyes even come near his face, it’s like tiny magnets are pulling my gaze toward his. And the harder I resist, the more my body screams at me for looking away.
“I think we should take a conservative approach to filling out the two new teams, don’t you think, Tanner?” Vern asks.
Tanner nods thoughtfully, tenting his fingers in front of him.
Oh dear, the things he could be doing with those hands…
His dark eyes move to mine, catching me staring, and immediately, I look away, already feeling that rushing sensation inside me that’s getting stronger each day.
It’s only been a few days since he had me at his mercy on the printer.
It feels like a few lifetimes.
Part of that is due to the fact that he follows me everywhere, as if trying to keep an eye on me.
Aside from his necessary meetings with other company officers, Tanner has found an excuse to sit in on practically every meeting I’ve had since he arrived.
“I want to learn from your management style, Eva.” While bothering me in my office.
“Don’t you think being in meetings like this will help me learn the company, Eva?” While sitting in on some HR meeting that has nothing to do with him.
I’m going to fuck you senseless, Eva. I only imagined that one…
I sigh to myself, tapping my fingers on my thigh, feeling the seconds tick by until this meeting is over and I can escape the choking tension between us.
It’s my fault we are at this standstill.
After lunch when I ran into Ray, I have to admit I was scared for a second. Scared of company politics. Scared of being thought a hypocrite.
Scared of my own overwhelming feelings.
Someone whispers something into Tanner’s ear, and just the motion of him leaning over, turning his face to show me his profile, draws my attention instantly.
The image of me grabbing Tanner by his lapels, ripping his shirt open, and telling him to take me right here on the table flashes through my mind, and I furiously start scribbling nonsense on my notepad, hoping nobody notices me flushing.
“You okay, Eva?” my associate, Debbie, whispers next to me.
“Yes?” I reply, sounding confused. “I mean, yes. I am.” My voice is just audible, but not loud enough to interrupt the meeting.
“I mean, you’ve just been scribbling in a circle for like five minutes,” Debbie says, and I finally look at my lap. The paper in front of me is so written on it’s tearing through the center. Oops.
“Sorry, just a bit distracted.”
“It’s okay. The sales team has no sense of brevity, so I don’t blame you.” She gives me a friendly grin, and we both sit through the meeting while I try to think of anything except the only thing I want to be thinking about.
Once we’re adjourned, I get out of my seat and head for my office, not wanting to be caught up in the post-meeting pleasantries and chitchat.
But as soon as I reach the hallway, I can feel someone tall walking up next to me. Someone whose scent haunts my dreams at night.
“So how are you holding up?” Tanner asks as he falls easily into step beside me. His proximity is just driving me crazy right now.
Is he aware of the effect he has on me? He has to be.
Yet he’s completely dismissive or downright oblivious to every other woman’s advances at all times, rain or shine.
“Here are the meeting notes, Mr. Shadeson,” Betsy, one of the office managers, exclaims as she rushes up to the other side of Tanner. She’s practically beaming up at him.
Tanner looks at the papers, nonplussed. “Oh.”
“If you want, I can deliver them up to your office personally.” She continues, her voice going sultry.
He shakes his head. “Please just scan them and email them to my secretary. I’m busy right now.”
He isn’t mean, but the coolness of his tone almost chills the hallway. Betsy’s lust dies a quick death as she scuttles down the hallway, leaving us alone for now.
“You’re becoming a pro at that, Tanner,” I say.
Tanner smiles a little whenever I say his name, and that makes me smile too. Among other things.
He lifts one shoulder casually. “I’ve always been good at turning down unwanted advances, unlike some of my friends.”
My eyes widen. “You have friends? Friends that also have to turn down tons of women?” The idea is staggering.
“Yes.” He grins. “I’ll have you meet them sometime. There’s something I wanted to ask you, though.”
His tone is serious, and I find myself slowing to a halt and turning to face him. Six feet three inches of pure sex leans over me, close enough that I can almost feel him, but not so close that anyone would suspect anything.
“What did you want to ask?” I feel that deep, hot, hungry sensation. I feel it every time he’s near.
I swear I’m close to the breaking point.
His dark eyes flit down my body, making my senses tingle.
“I know what you’re feeling, Eva. I know you’re struggling. I feel it too. It’s our bond, and it’s the realest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Sometimes he says the oddest things. Yet in those moments, I feel like he’s reaching something deep inside me that’s been locked away. Like a treasure box I never knew existed, but I don’t know where the key is.
Then again, maybe I do, but I don’t want to.
“What do you mean?” I ask, stuttering despite my attempts to stay calm.
Tanner firmly places a hand on the wall behind me, trapping me in the hallway. Thankfully, we’re on the south end of the building, and since everyone went the other way after the meeting, no one should stumble across us.
“How can you possibly resist, princess?” His gaze is intense, locked on mine. The binder in my hands goes limp, then falls to the floor at my feet, but I can’t even care right now.
Princess. No one’s ever called me that. Why would he now?