Текст книги "Betting on You: A Danvers Novella"

Автор книги: Sydney Landon

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 7 страниц)

Chapter Seven

“Morning, kid.” Mia looked up from loading her messenger bag behind her desk to see her boss, Hank, walk into her office and shut the door behind him. She gave him a smile in return before she finished adding the last items she needed for her work at the Oceanix Resort that day.

She saw a cup of coffee sitting on her desk and alarm bells went off. Hank always brought food or drink with him when he had any kind of bad news to impart. Shit, had someone on her team quit? Giving him a wary look, she dropped down into her chair saying, “Er . . . something wrong?” He looked surprised before she gave a pointed look at the cup of coffee.

“You young people have me all figured out, don’t you? I feel like a grandpa trying to handle a pack of evil geniuses.”

Mia smirked. “Yeah, that’s a conversation for another day. By the way, you’re only in your forties, right? I don’t think you could qualify for my grandpa yet. So . . . what’s up?” He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and was that . . . my God, was he blushing? What in the hell?

“Um . . . kid . . . this is,” he stuttered before finally blurting out, “well, Suzy Merimon saw you and Seth Jackson going at it like rabbits at some restaurant last night. God damn, that was awkward as ass to say!”

Mia felt as if someone had just punched her in the gut. She knew she looked just as stunned as she felt. She couldn’t remember exactly what had happened during dinner last night. Things were a little hazy thanks to all of the wine that they had consumed. She did know that there had been some very hands-on moments, none of which would probably look innocent to a spectator. Hank was waiting on her to respond with what looked like equal parts curiosity and embarrassment. Denial wasn’t even an option here and they both knew it. She absently lifted a hand to massage the now pounding headache beating against her temple. Sighing she said, “This totally sucks. I color outside of the lines at work for the first time ever and get busted by my freaking idol, Suzy. By the way, how did she make the connection? It’s not like we are drinking buddies or anything.”

For the first time since he entered her office, he had a genuine smile on his face. “Those crazy-ass shoes of yours finally got you in trouble. I have been telling you that would happen. To be fair though I just thought you would fall on your face or down a set of stairs. I never thought of them getting you cold-busted in an, um . . . well, you know.”

Confused, she said, “I still don’t follow you. What have my shoes got to do with it?”

“Well, that’s just it, kid. Suzy called down this morning and said that she was dining at the Ivy last night with her husband, Gray, and a few friends. Gray saw Seth but did not know you. Suzy said that she recognized you. She always admired your ‘funky shoes’ when she saw you at the office. Gray knew that Danvers was in the middle of an installation at the Oceanix so he was going to go over and speak to Seth. Suzy managed to convince him that he shouldn’t disturb you two since you were obviously on a date. I guess she asked around and came up with your name and traced you to this department. She said that she intends to mind her own business even though she now knows that you were out with a customer you are currently working with. She hopes that you will keep things with Seth under wraps until the job is complete. She is kind of a nosy broad, isn’t she?”

She waited for Hank to add some comments of his own, but the silence in her office continued to lengthen until she knew he was waiting for her reaction. She looked him in the eyes and said, “It’s true, of course, you know that. It came about in a rather different manner from what you would think, but I was out with Seth socially last night.”

She really hoped he didn’t ask for clarification on exactly how the date had happened. Somehow, it seemed a little strange to tell your boss that your mommy had bought you a date for $18,000. “I know that this is a very bad lapse in judgment on my part. I . . . I didn’t mean for anything to happen with him until after my work was finished there.”

Hank ran a hand through his hair, looking like he wished he were anywhere else. “Kid, I don’t need any details here, either. I’m not your daddy or your girlfriend. You are a grown woman and damn good at your job. I know this situation bends the rules all to hell, but I’m just going to pretend that I don’t know anything about this. As far as I’m concerned, I’m taking Suzy’s line and minding my own business. Just please make sure this doesn’t come back to bite both of us in the ass, okay? If you and Jackson can’t keep your . . . whatever . . . off each other, then be discreet about it until we finish up there. We sure don’t need him getting pissed and letting everyone, including Jason Danvers, know about our lapse of policy, so be careful.”

Trying to lighten the mood because Hank looked so miserable, she smirked. “Be careful? You aren’t talking about . . . ?”

He wadded a piece of paper off her desk and threw it at her. “No, you smartass, I’m not giving you a condom speech!” Even though she still had the urge to crawl under her desk and pretend this whole conversation had not happened, she could tell that he appreciated her attempt at humor.

* * *

Seth jerked out of bed as his phone shrilled from the nightstand. The clock beside it showed 8:20. Shit! When was the last time he had failed to set his alarm or even needed the alert? His internal clock usually had him up long before he needed to be. He grabbed the phone and saw the office number on the caller ID. “Jackson,” he barked.

“Well, well,” drawled Margie, “are we sleeping in this morning? Your eight o’clock is here. Should I send him down for a free breakfast while you finish up . . . whatever it is you’re doing?” It was times like this when he wasn’t sure if he loved or hated her.

“Fuck,” he snarled into the phone. “Tell Marshall that something came up and reschedule him.” When Margie chuckled, he knew what she was laughing about. Grudgingly he smiled saying, “Don’t even think of commenting on that or I’ll fire you . . . again.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, boss. Are you going to be here for your ten o’clock conference call or do I need to move that as well?”

Seth looked around the bedroom for the first time, wondering where Mia had disappeared. He didn’t see any of her clothing on the floor and the bathroom door was open, showing no sign of life. Absently, he scratched his head while saying, “No, I’ll be there soon.”

When he didn’t immediately end the call as usual, Margie asked, “Was there anything else?”

He knew this next question was a bad idea, but he asked it regardless. “Is . . . um . . . Mia there today?”

Sounding deeply amused, Margie said, “Yep, she just walked in the door. Might I say, she is just glowing today.” He knew there was no way that she could possibly know that he had slept with Mia last night, but damned if she didn’t sound smug. He had long suspected that she stalked him just for kicks in her spare time. Now he was starting to believe that maybe he wasn’t just completely paranoid about that assumption. He took satisfaction in ending the call without responding. That woman was a pain in his ass.

When had Mia left and why hadn’t she said goodbye? Fuck, Jackson, you sound like a woman. Isn’t this what you prefer? Avoid the whole awkward morning-after scene? You should be grateful that she made the walking away part easy for you. The problem though was that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to walk away. Last night he had fallen in lust with her in a big way. She took everything he had to give her and then demanded more. She was insatiable and he was even more intrigued by her than he had been at the start. His cock was hard and throbbing remembering her waking him in the night with him in her mouth. She had proceeded to suck him dry. He had tried to pull out when he knew he was on the verge of exploding, but she had tightened her grip, swallowing every bit of his load before letting him collapse against the pillows. When he had recovered, she had climbed on top, seating his cock to the hilt. He could still feel her hot pussy gripping him as he stroked and pinched her plump nipples into taut peaks.

Damn, there was no way he could go into the office with the hard-on he was sporting. He walked to the bathroom and started the shower. With the steam rising over the top of the glass enclosure, he took his cock in his hand once again and squirted some body wash onto the hard length. Slipping his hand up and down, he imagined Mia’s hands on him. As his body was jerking in release he thought, I’m locking the door when Margie goes to lunch and fucking Mia in the control room.

Chapter Eight

Mia had enjoyed a quick cup of coffee with Margie before escaping to the control room to get started. She had tried to appear ignorant when Margie had called Seth about his missed appointment. Maybe she should have woken him before she left this morning. She wasn’t sure what time he usually started his day. She was typically up early and most mornings had a jog or a walk on the beach before work. She had called a taxi and left his place around six a.m. That hadn’t been easy since she hadn’t known his street address. Luckily, she had found a magazine with a mailing label, before she had to resort to digging through his wallet for his driver’s license. She was surprised to find her car sitting in its assigned spot when she got home. How had Seth managed that? She had to admit, she was impressed. Hell, the whole morning after had felt good, until the embarrassing talk with Hank. She didn’t know what was worse, Suzy seeing her or Hank fumbling over the whole incident.

What was she going to do about the situation? She had fully intended to keep seeing Seth if he was interested, but now that was on hold. She didn’t think he would be thrilled about the whole situation, either. It was only a few weeks until things wrapped at the Oceanix Resort, but that seemed like a year at this point. She had never been with a man so in tune to her body. He gave her everything she needed without having to ask. He was rough when she wanted it and gentle when needed. Even after last night, her body still burned for him. She had been pleasantly surprised at dinner. Before she had had one too many to drink, she had been surprised by how easy he was to talk to. Once he loosened up, he was funny and charming. She had never had this kind of rapid-fire connection to a man before.

The one thing she hated though was how unprofessional this made her look at work. Sure, no one other than Suzy and Hank knew, but they were probably the two people that she admired the most at Danvers. Hank was her mentor and Suzy was her idol. She took pride in her work and her reputation and she couldn’t have everything completely blown over a man. Especially one who was likely just in it for the sex. Shit. Thanks a lot, Mom. If you had resisted the urge to buy me a man, this might not have happened. Now that the pot was stirred, it was going to be hell to pretend that nothing had ever happened . . . but she could do anything after another couple weeks, right?

* * *

Seth walked into his office whistling and abruptly stopped when Margie smirked at him. He figured he had two options: ignore her and wait while she dropped hints all day or just ask her what was going on. Even as he opened his mouth, he knew he should have gone with the first option. “Good morning, Margie. Is there anything I need to know?”

“Good morning, boss. Marshall was a little miffed about missing his appointment with you, so I offered him a free meal downstairs one evening. He seemed thrilled with that.”

“Is that all?” he asked hesitantly.

“That’s it for now. Is there anything you need to tell me?”

He backed toward his office shaking his head. Shit, how did she do that? Surely, Mia hadn’t told her anything about last night. He would have to find a way to let her know nicely that he didn’t want any of his private business known to his employees. He also hoped that she wouldn’t tell her mother just how successful their date had been.

His eyes went directly to the control room. What he saw there brought to mind a particular fantasy that he had been having since he met her. She was standing with her back to him. She was reaching above her head to examine a set of wires. Her form-fitting black skirt stretched against her firm ass with every movement. She had on a sleeveless white top and a pair of fire-engine red heels. His cock throbbed as he imagined shoving her skirt up around her waist, ripping her underwear off, and taking her from behind. He would bring his hands around the front of her top and cup her tits through the fabric, teasing them with his fingers. He would then lower his hands . . . suddenly, he couldn’t wait any longer. He didn’t care if Margie smirked at him for the next damn month; he had to touch Mia . . . now.

Seth moved silently into the control room behind Mia, stopping to quietly shut the door and turn the lock. As if sensing his presence, she started to turn toward him, a look of surprise on her face. He stopped her progress with a hand on her waist. “No, baby, face forward like you were.” He reached lower to squeeze her ass, saying, “I couldn’t think of anything but doing this the first time I saw you in here.” He heard her breath hitch as he used his feet to wedge her legs farther apart. As his hand slid under her skirt, he had never been more grateful for thong underwear and women who refused to wear hose in the summer . . . God bless them. She rubbed against his hand, like a cat wanting to be stroked. He followed the line of her thong, sliding past the sensitive skin of her ass before finding her already wet slit.

She moaned as his fingers stroked through her heat before abruptly stiffening. Her legs tried to close against his hands as she said, “Seth . . . wait . . . we can’t.”

He lowered his head to her ear, nipping it lightly with his teeth. “It’s okay, baby, I locked the door when I came in. We just need to be quick before Margie starts looking for me.” When he attempted to move his hand between her legs again, she held firm even though he could feel her quaking.

“It’s not that,” she whispered. “My boss knows about us. I can’t let anything else happen until the job here is finished.”

“How?” he asked, wondering if everyone including Margie had been spying on them last night.

“Suzy and Gray Merimon were at the Ivy. Suzy recognized me from Danvers and Gray recognized you, although luckily not me. She told my boss, because she wanted me to cool things before someone else found out.”

He felt his cock scream in protest as he pulled back slightly. Having something you wanted literally in the palm of your hand and having it yanked away was sheer torture. He had only known Mia for a few days, but he had a feeling he would have a severe case of blue balls if he had to wait a day, much less a week until he had her again. He had never wanted another woman the way he wanted her. He had turned into a horny teenager seemingly overnight and his cock now ruled his head. Fuck! He still had one hand between her legs and one on her ass. Neither of them had bothered to move farther away from each other. “If we keep this quiet, no one would ever find out. We could avoid being seen together in public until the project is finished here. Hell, what I want to do with you would get us arrested in most states.”

She finally eased away from him, letting her skirt drop back into position. When she turned to face him, he could see the desire and the conflict on her face. “You have no idea how much I want to take you up on that. And you’re right, we could probably get by without being caught, but I would know. My job at Danvers is one of the things that I am most proud of. I got it on my own, without my parents’ help or their approval. It just seems . . . wrong to sneak around. Could you wait for me until we’re finished here?”

Seth looked into her big blue eyes and knew he would agree to whatever she wanted. He might need to ice his lap by the end of each day, but he could make it if it meant another night with her. Giving her a smile, he said, “Yeah, I guess I can do that if you can do something for me?” When she gave him a questioning look, he looked down at her skirt and said, “Please don’t wear anything like that again. Nothing is going to stop me from fucking you if I walk in this room and see you like that again.” With those last words, he went back into his office, pulling the door to the control room closed behind him. He needed the visual out of his mind if he was to survive the day.

As he settled into his chair, preparing for his morning conference call with his family at the other Oceanix Resorts, he felt a trickle of unease. What was he doing with Mia? Hadn’t he decided to avoid romantic hassles and just keep things casual? Of course, he had only agreed to wait until she was finished with the installation project before they had sex again, but that was still a commitment of sorts. When Margie buzzed his phone to let him know the others were ready for the morning conference, he shrugged his paranoia aside. It was just no-strings-attached sex. Nothing had changed for him and he needed to remember that.

Chapter Nine

Mia knocked her head against the wall in frustration. Her installation at the Oceanix Resort was now running into the fourth week. It seemed like there was something that happened daily to push them further behind schedule. Of course, no one else at Danvers was complaining because the cause of most of the delays was the Jackson family deciding to upgrade more of their communications and security equipment. Even Seth had contributed to the project delays. He was having monitors installed in his top-floor penthouse so that he could view any area of the resort from there. She understood his reasoning. It was a lot easier for him to look at a camera in the evening rather than walking through the hotel and being stopped ten times on his way.

Today the finish line was finally in sight when the latest problem cropped up. Their last shipment of cameras had been damaged upon delivery and were going to have to be returned and another set ordered. They could have them overnighted, but she still cursed the delay. She was horny and oh-so-frustrated. The one good thing to come from it all was the additional time she had been spending with Seth.

They had kept to their word and there had been no sex and just a slight blurring of the lines between business and pleasure. More days than not, they managed to find the time to have lunch together in the dining room downstairs. They also usually had a cup of coffee together in his office in the mornings and sometimes a snack in the afternoon. At first, she had done most of the talking. She had told him about going to Brown University and then getting a job at Danvers. He knew her parents well enough to know how they felt about their daughter being a technology geek who was determined to find employment without their help. He constantly asked questions and seemed genuinely interested in her life. After a few days, he opened up to her about his parents and his family. She learned that out of all of his brothers, he was the closest to Ash who ran the Oceanix Resort in Charleston. He laughed as he told her about all of the hell they had raised when they were young and about his mother wanting to send the lot of them to military school. He was glad that his father had put his foot down and said that boys should be boys. Sadly, that seemed to be a saying that his father had continued to live by in his personal life until the very end.

She knew it was only supposed to be lust between them, but somewhere along the way, she had really started to care for Seth. Maybe if they hadn’t been forced to put off having sex, things might have been different. Now, she had gotten to know him more as a person rather than just a sexual partner and that could be bad. Despite the obvious enjoyment of each other’s company, he hadn’t suggested anything beyond sex. Never had there been the mention of an actual date. She was afraid that the delays at the Oceanix Resort could well end up breaking her heart.

It was Wednesday, and the official finish date for the installation was Friday. Mia hoped to finish on Thursday afternoon and surprise Seth that evening. She knew that he was having some painting done at his beach house, so he was spending every night at the hotel. She could barely control her need for him. Her desire for things to go further was also getting harder to ignore. Shit, maybe the old saying was right; Why buy the cow if you’re getting the milk for free? In this case, she was the cow and Seth had already tasted the milk. That was one saying she dearly hoped wasn’t true.

* * *

Seth was wired and edgy. Having Mia close for weeks had been somewhere between heaven and hell. She had done as he asked and not worn a skirt, but it didn’t help. She would look hot in a burlap sack. His cock had been hard so much that he felt like every drop of blood in his body stayed pooled there. He had missed meetings and was scattered on his calls. He cancelled anything that threatened to interfere with his lunch with her each day. He knew he sat riveted as she told stories of her childhood and later years. His brothers had actually been making fun of his unorganized state. His life seemed to be in some sort of free fall lately and he placed the blame squarely on Mia’s beautiful shoulders. Even Margie had long since stopped smirking at his behavior and now just gave him pitying looks. Hell, he had a longer relationship with his dry cleaner than he had with Mia, so why was he letting her practically take over his life?

As he sat brooding, his personal line rang and he absently answered. When he heard Ashley’s sultry voice on the other end, he couldn’t help but smile. They had grown up together and dated for about a year before she had moved away to California to pursue her true love: acting. She was now a regular on a daily soap opera, which she seemed to love. Their relationship had always been more a friends-with-benefits one rather than a great love affair. She was blonde, beautiful, and sexy, but best of all, a genuinely nice person. When she was in town, more often than not, they had dinner and sex. No strings, nothing exclusive, just two people who enjoyed each other both in and out of bed. He hadn’t seen her in well over six months so he was pleasantly surprised to hear her voice. He also shot a quick look toward the control room to confirm that Mia was still in the penthouse with her team working on the installation there. Fuck, why should that matter?

“Seth! It’s been so long, darling, I’ve missed you!” He smiled at the southern twang that working for years in California had never quite taken away. She told him that it was one of the reasons the producers of the show loved her so much; she was different.

“Ashley, it’s great to hear your voice. I thought you had forgotten about your friends here. I hear you are doing well, though.”

“Oh, I am,” she laughed. “We can save all of that for tonight, though. I’m in town visiting my parents for a few days and I would love to see you before I leave.” She lowered her voice to a purr, adding, “How about I come over to your place around seven?”

“Shit, Ashley, I’ve got a dinner meeting tonight that will probably run late. How about tomorrow night?”Margie walked into his office just as he was finalizing his plans for the next evening. When he ended the call, he couldn’t miss her frown of disapproval. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he asked, “What have I done now?”

Ignoring his question, she asked, “So Ashley is back in town?”

He smiled, knowing Margie had always liked Ashley. “Yeah, just for a few days, though.”

“You’re going out with her tomorrow night?”

He was puzzled by her sudden interest in his old friend. Other than making a few off-color remarks through the years about his fuck-buddy, she had never shown much interest in Ashley’s visits when she came by the office. “Yes, I am. Do you have a point?”

“Yes,” she snapped, “that you’re involved with Mia. Don’t you think it might be a bad idea to see Ashley?”

Beyond irritated now, he said, “I’m not ‘involved’ with Mia and there is no reason I shouldn’t have dinner with a friend if I want to. Now if that’s all, I need to get back to work.” He knew a verbal dismissal never worked on her and this time was no exception. He could see her physically digging in her heels.

“Oh, well, excuse me for misunderstanding. I guess the fact that you have been running around here like a schoolboy with his first crush the last few weeks doesn’t mean anything at all. I’ve never known you to put a woman ahead of work and yet you have cancelled at least five meetings lately so that you are free to eat with her. Heck, at this point, she probably thinks you don’t work at all. There are more hormones raging in this office between you two than in a strip club at happy hour.”

Seth could feel his face color at Margie’s comments. The fact that she was right about all of it made it even worse. He was helpless to hide his defensive tone when he said, “Can we stop making this into a big deal? Ashley and I are just having dinner. As for Mia, it’s just casual. Stop trying to see something that isn’t there.”

He almost preferred the anger in her eyes to the sympathy that filled them now. “You’re going to screw this up, and short of locking you up in the trunk of my car, there is nothing I can do about it. Mia is a nice girl, Seth. Give yourself a chance to have someone like that in your life.” With that parting line, she quietly closed the door behind her. Shit, he would have preferred if she slammed it.

When Mia walked in an hour later, he had once again moved his schedule around to have lunch with her. He knew he was a distracted companion at best with Margie’s words still echoing through his conscience. Was he grabbing onto Ashley’s visit like a lifeline to get some distance from Mia? Whether he admitted it to Margie or not, he knew where his evening would go lead with his friend. Making a date with her wasn’t only agreeing to dinner. He felt guilt eat at him as Mia sat across from him giving him her usual easy, genuine smile. She was so fucking beautiful his heart stuttered just looking at her. Could there be more between them than sex? Was he even interested in finding out?

“I’m not wearing any panties.” His body jolted as Mia’s words caught his attention. She gave him a devious smile as she watched him struggling to recover his composure.

“Honey, now might not be the best time to tell me that.”

She gave a soft chuckle before admitting, “It’s not true, but I had to say something to get your attention. I’d already asked you a question three times, but you were staring off into space.” Her amusement turned into a look of concern as she asked, “Is everything okay?”

He allowed himself a small show of public affection as he rested his hand over hers briefly. “Yeah, it’s fine. Things have just been hectic this morning. Speaking of, I heard about the latest delay with the cameras. Are you still looking at finishing on Friday?”

“That’s the plan. I know you’re ready to have your office back,” she joked.

“I’m also ready to have you under me again. Is that also part of your plan?”

Mia took a sharp breath, looking completely floored by his comment. He had been a bit surprised when he said it out loud as well, but it was the truth. It had been far too long since they had been together and he could barely think of anything other than sliding into her hot body again. “Yes, that is a big part of my plan. I would love nothing better than to go back to your office and fulfill your fantasy of bending me over the desk.”

Seth felt his cock harden at her provocative comment. She even had the gall to lick her lips in a slow, tortuous display. Fuck! It looked like the gloves were coming off. The next forty-eight hours were going to be a strain on his self-control, especially if Mia wanted to tease him. He had started a verbal wordplay with her that might just end up burning him. He discreetly adjusted himself under the table before telling her, “Be a good girl or Margie might see more than she bargained for this afternoon.”

Mia grimaced, saying, “Something tells me it wouldn’t offend her.”

“That’s an even more disturbing thought,” Seth groaned. “How about we try to keep it together until Friday night and then all bets are off?”

She ran her hand over his thigh for a brief moment before whispering, “Oh, you are so totally on.”