Clearly, the feeling hadn’t been mutual, his body language animated while he spoke to Raelle, one of my female bartenders who was never short of male attention. She was beautiful, dressed to maximize her tips, and able to make any cocktail no matter how complicated. It was no wonder he—like anyone else with a penis—wanted her attention. Wonder if he was planning on circling back to the bar after our little chat, picking her up after her shift was over and giving her a little taste of what I’d had the night before. After all, she didn’t have the complications I apparently did, so wouldn’t get the apology after.
Bennett approached him, Leighton’s hand rose in a wave as he said his goodbye—or see you later—to Raelle and followed Bennett back to my office. I didn’t move from my desk, watching their progression through the club on the colored screens until there was a brief knock at the door before it opened.
“Thanks, B, that will be all for now.” I pretended to be bored, my eyes moving slowly to where they were both standing in front of my desk. It was a big desk too, the wood imposing a five-foot distance between me and anyone I granted an audience. Total mind fuck, which was why I liked it so much, paying the ridiculous price for the custom piece out of my own pocket.
“Presley—”
I held my hand up, not allowing Leighton to say another word until Bennett closed the door behind him. “Well, well, well. Sneaking into Diablo, Leighton. Tell me, does your mother know?” My lips twitched into a grin, unable to help myself at landing the little jab.
His face morphed in confusion, probably wondering whether he should be offended or if the fact I was joking about it meant good things. Not that I was entirely sure what I was doing since my feelings for him weren’t clear either. It was hard to be angry at him, especially when he was standing in front of me and looking so goddamn delicious.
“I wasn’t sneaking in.” He tried to move closer, looking down at the desk separating us. If he wanted to close the distance, he was either going to have to vault over it or walk around, and I was curious which way he was going to go. Not going to lie, part of me wanted to see him make the leap, show off the athletic talents he’d so willingly treated me to the night before. “But your brother has friends keeping an eye on the place, and I didn’t want to deal with the questions it would invite if someone saw me.”
“Then why are you here at all?” I rolled my eyes, huffing out a breath. “If you’re concerned about me telling him, you could’ve saved yourself the trip. I don’t kiss and tell, Leighton.”
He shook his head, swallowing. “I don’t either. But obviously with you . . .”
“But with me, what? You’re worried I’m going to run to my brother crying that you fucked me and then left?” I scoffed, the laugh making its way up my throat. “Or maybe you think I’m going to get attached, fawn over you like a love-sick schoolgirl. You think I’m incapable of no-strings, Jared? You’re the one making a big deal out of it.”
Sure, I’d wanted more, but not in the way he probably thought.
Hell, I’d just gotten out of a relationship, there wasn’t a chance I was interested in another. But that didn’t mean a little fun with a guy I’d thought about naked more times than was probably reasonable, wasn’t an option either. And I could have totally kept it casual. Not that he’d given me the chance.
“You know it was different. Fuck’s sake, Presley, there’s a fucking lunatic after you for God knows what. Getting into your pants should have been the last thing on my mind. I’m not that asshole, Presley. I am not the guy who takes advantage of women, especially women I care about.” His hands curled into fists beside him, his muscles tight with agitation.
“Just stop right there!” Anger mixed with embarrassment bubbled in my gut, my skin probably flushing pink. “You want to pretend last night didn’t happen, that’s fine. But I am not some damsel in distress that didn’t know what the hell she was doing, Leighton. I invited you up to my apartment. I took you to my bed. And I was the one who took your cock—”
“Jesus, you trying to kill me here, Presley?” He cut me off, cursing under his breath. I was still mad, but liked how much I’d gotten to him. That his eyes had darkened, that his fists were twitching uncomfortably at his side and that his chest was moving faster.
Good.
“Tell me, are these thoughts of regret because I’m Justin’s sister, or Lewis turned out to be a psychopath?”
Not that either scenario would make me feel better, but only one would cease to be an issue. And neither was my fault.
He swallowed, waiting a minute like he was choosing his words. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”
“Leighton, you know me. There’s more of a chance of me hurting you than the other way around. Find another excuse.”
“You shouldn’t . . . I mean, with everything happening. . . you should be—”
I didn’t let him finish, not willing to sit there and have him or anyone else tell me how I should be feeling. “Let’s get one thing straight, Leighton. You can feel however you want about last night. Whether it’s a regret or not, is totally up to you. But you don’t get to come in here and mansplain to me on how I should be feeling and what I should be doing. Not you, my brother, Lewis, or anyone else gets that. That’s my choice. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit in a corner and cower.” Even if I am scared, I finished in my head. “So, if that’s all you came to say, you can go. I’ll find someone else to scratch that itch.”
That did it.
His eyes widening as his nostrils flared, picking up the edge of the desk and shoving it to the side to clear a path. “Then let me do this instead.”
The objects on my desk hadn’t even stopped rattling, papers tumbling to the ground as the heavy legs were planted back on the floor. His blue eyes filled with black, his big body filling the small gap he’d created when he hulk-lifted my desk, pulling me out of my chair. And I was in his arms with his lips on mine before I’d fully realized what was happening.
“I don’t regret it,” he groaned against my lips. “I know I should, but fuck me, I just can’t.”
I’d wanted to hesitate, to not kiss him back, refusing to give him the upper hand but somewhere in the shock, I’d forgotten to fight him. His hands were on my ass, the heat of his kiss burning up my core while his body pressed against mine. And he wasn’t subtle, his tongue exploring the inside of my mouth while his hands got reacquainted with what he apparently wasn’t going to touch again.
Famous.
Last.
Words.
The thrill of satisfaction heated my skin as I kissed him back, my fingers traveling down his spectacular torso before pulling him closer.
He was hard. The evidence of exactly how he felt teasing me through the fabric of my dress and the fly of his jeans. I loved it, unable to stop the whimper from escaping my lips as I bowed into him, lifting my leg against his hip so I could get better traction. And while I’d promised I’d never be that girl, the one who’d have sex in their office like some seedy cliché, I was really questioning how serious my resolve was.
Maybe it didn’t have to be sex.