“Okay, so we’re done. Anyone have anything else they want to go through?” Sal asks, making my ears prick up and my mind beg that no one chimes in.
I wait a second before saying, “I’m done,” and hanging up. Grabbing my briefcase, I fly out of the office like a gust of wind, racing to my car as I text Lainey to tell her I’m running late. My phone is ringing before I get to second gear.
“Hey.” Her voice sounds as upbeat as I’m feeling. “How late is late?”
“Why, you missing me still?”
“Terribly.”
That grin? It just split my face. I do a quick mental assessment of my journey and the expected traffic, at the same time bubbling with satisfaction. “Twenty minutes or so.”
“Okay. I’m ready. What are we doing?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Ravage you.”
Anyone who can see me now must think I’m a head case. Certifiably crazy. Whatever, I don’t care, but I’m somewhat relieved that my crotch is out of view, since my dick seems to want to take the wheel. Just knowing she’s feeling as desperate as I am puts a whole new spin on being turned on. Shit, I’m going to eat her alive. After she’s ravaged me, of course. “Make that ten minutes.” I put my foot down, prepared to get a speeding ticket if it means I’ll make it to Lainey faster.
She laughs, low and huskily.
And I nearly come in my pants.
“See you soon,” I say, shifting in my seat as I overtake a stationary bus. “Out of my way,” I yell, swerving to miss it when the dumb driver butts out into the traffic. I hear Lainey laugh again as she hangs up, but rather than marveling at what that laugh does to me, I focus on making it to her in one piece.
By the time I’ve raced across town, diverting up a dozen side streets to avoid the traffic, I’m about to explode with anticipation of just seeing her face. It feels like years ago since I have, my day spent hammering my way through work in an attempt to make the seconds tick by quicker. It didn’t work. But on the plus side, at least I’m up to date in the office.
I pull to an abrupt stop outside her apartment block, set to go in and physically get her, but she’s already running down the steps by the time I’m out of my car. I take a few appreciative seconds to drink her in as she walks toward me, but quickly conclude she isn’t walking fast enough. So I kick my own feet into gear, pacing forward. She smiles, her own pace increasing, until she’s close enough to dive at me. Our bodies collide and sparks fly. And my world is right again. Her smell. “Fuck, you smell so good,” I sigh, lifting her from her feet and spinning us around. “And feel good. And—” Her mouth is on mine before I can finish, her kiss deep and meaningful. “Taste good,” I mumble, feeling her smile around my lips. I start back toward my car with Lainey secure in my arms, maintaining her demand for my lips as I go. Her hands are in my hair, tugging and feeling, yanking and stroking, and I couldn’t give a fuck what it might look like when she’s done attacking it. I hum, she moans, I growl, she whimpers. Fuck, this has to be the best reunion kiss in history. My cock agrees, too. I need to get her back to mine before I give in to what my body is yelling, and lay her on the bonnet of my car. But then her legs find their way up my body and circle my waist, trapping me against her. And I’m in a new kind of willpower territory. Oh shit, that bonnet is looking like a pretty damn fine place to put her down. “Lainey,” I mumble, biting her lip.
Before I know what’s happened, I’m at the front of my car, taking her down to the metal. “Lainey, I need to get you home.” My body follows her down until she’s flat on her back, legs still coiled tightly around my waist, mouth still working mine. “Oh shit.”
She nods, circling her tongue slowly, flexing her hips up, but she’s refusing to release me. Which would be fine by me, if we were in the privacy of my home. But we’re not. And that fact is quickly confirmed when a piercing wolf whistle sounds out, followed by a loud string of cheers. We both pull away quickly and look across the road in unison, finding an army of workmen taking a break from digging up a service road, some leaning on spades, others removing their safety goggles to get a better view.
“Go on, lad,” one hollers, performing some kind of groin thrust as the rest laugh their heads off.
“Oh,” Lainey breathes, scrambling to sit up on the car, suddenly embarrassed. I help her down and arrange her skirt while the peanut gallery of workmen continue to shout, cheer, and whistle from across the road. “I got a bit carried away,” she says quietly as I grin at her. “Quick, let’s go.” She’s around the car and in the passenger seat before I even move. I rearrange my trousers as I make my way to the driver’s side, earning another chorus of shouts, so I raise my arm in acknowledgment to the gang of men, smiling like a fool as I slip into my seat. I’m not the least bit embarrassed. Or I might be, I don’t know. There could be some embarrassment somewhere to be found, but it’s not likely it will be, since it’s buried in satisfaction. And maybe a little smugness, too.
I look at Lainey, unable to wipe the smile off my face. “I’d say someone is pleased to see me.”
She raises a brow, her hand moving toward my lap and finding my condition. I grit my teeth, biting back my groan as I watch her face coming closer to mine. “I’d say you’re rather pleased, too, Mr. Christianson,” she whispers, her expression challenging. I swallow. She smiles.
Home.
I slam my car into first and wheelspin down the road to the sound of Lainey laughing hysterically and workmen chanting in our wake. And when her dancing eyes fall onto mine, I just shake my head in wonder.
And then I ponder once again—what the fuck is happening here?
“Give me your things,” I say, taking the overnight bag from her before she offers it. “Help yourself to wine,” I call over my shoulder, heading for my bedroom. I quickly dump her bag on the end of my bed and go to leave but pull to a stop at the door when something comes to me. I look out the corner of one eye, and then the other, thinking. Then I turn and find her bag on the end of my bed, thinking more. Then I cast my eyes around my bedroom, taking in how tidy it is, thinking harder. My eyes complete a slow circuit of my room before finding Lainey’s bag again. My housekeeper has been today. My apartment is spotless. “Makes the place look untidy,” I tell myself, stalking forward and snatching Lainey’s bag off the bed. When I arrive in my man-infested walk-in wardrobe, I circle on the spot, searching for the right place. “There,” I say, heading for the chest of drawers on the far side. Dropping Lainey’s bag, I pull the top drawer open and remove the perfect pile of black T-shirts, relocating them in the next drawer down. I grab Lainey’s bag from the floor and take the zip, stalling for a second. “Never go through a lady’s bag,” I say out loud, hearing my father’s voice. So I put the whole thing in the drawer instead, having to ram it in for it to fit. “That’ll do.” I shut the drawer with some effort, brush my hands off, satisfied, and then wander back through my bedroom to find Lainey, smiling at my tidy bed with fresh sheets as I pass it.
“There you are,” she says when I find her in the kitchen with a glass of wine in each hand. “I was just coming to find you.”