moved to the sink to wash his hands, she spoke again, and this time her voice was tentative.
“So…it’s none of my business, but you opened the door earlier so I’m just going to ask. When you said you haven’t gone out with anyone since me, does that mean you haven’t slept with anyone else either?”
Because the two were very different things.
She didn’t say the words, but he heard the silent question just the same. Grabbing a dishtowel, he dried his hands as he turned to face her. In that moment he was struck by how innocent she looked. He hadn’t thought he wanted that in a woman, hadn’t thought he wanted to settle down at all, but being in Athena’s kitchen now…he could see getting used to this, being with a woman like her day in and day out. Hell, not like her, only her.
“I haven’t slept with anyone else. Haven’t wanted to.” Confessing that took a lot more effort than he’d realized, but he was glad she knew. He wasn’t done pursuing her, not by a long shot.
Her lips parted just the slightest fraction, as if he’d truly surprised her. Good. Taking a chance, he covered the short distance between them and moving slowly, reached out and tucked a few stray strands of her dark hair behind her ear.
She sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes flaring with an emotion he recognized well; lust. He wondered if she was remembering just how hot things had been between them. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head for two months. Hadn’t been able to forget the way she’d looked as she straddled him in his truck, the little moans she’d made when he’d gently teased her nipples with his fingers—unfortunately over her lacy bra. She’d been so sensual, so reactive, and he couldn’t get enough.
When she swallowed hard enough for him to hear, he let his hand drop.
Not because he thought she wouldn’t be receptive if he kissed her. He could tell she was. Their attraction wasn’t the issue. But he didn’t want her to ever come back and say she’d made a decision under stress, that she regretted it. The next time they came together it wouldn’t be because of a situation where they were forced together and she’d just been terrified by an asshole.
Because the next time, they weren’t stopping at just kissing and he wasn’t letting Athena go. Clearing his throat, he took a step back. “I’m going to grab a shower, but the timer should go off in an hour.” He’d be back down before it did, but needed some distance or he was going to forget his good intentions.
Chapter 6
One week later
Athena peeked through the peephole of her front door and let out a little sigh of relief to see Ivan Mitchell waiting for her. She was flying out on one of Red Stone’s private jets today and he was her escort to the airport. Harrison wanted her in Vegas a day before the tradeshow started and that was fine with her.
The past week she’d practically lived at the office, mostly because of work, but she’d also been taking all her lunches in the lobby deli because of ‘the incident’ as she’d begun to think of it. She’d literally just gone from home to work and back again. Since the past week had consisted of a lot of conference calls and other types of planning that she could work on in-office, the schedule had been fine. But it wasn’t a long-term option and she wasn’t screwing up her new job because of this thing with Glenn White. If she needed to meet a potential client out for lunch—which she knew would happen often—she was doing it.
On top of everything else, she’d spent one night at her parent’s house because her mom had freaked out when Stephanos—the traitor—had broken down and told her about what happened. Not something Athena wanted to repeat any time soon. Whenever she went home her parents treated her like she was twelve. To top it off, all her sisters were in high school now so it was constant World War III drama over there. Thankfully she, with Belle and Grant’s
“So…it’s none of my business, but you opened the door earlier so I’m just going to ask. When you said you haven’t gone out with anyone since me, does that mean you haven’t slept with anyone else either?”
Because the two were very different things.
She didn’t say the words, but he heard the silent question just the same. Grabbing a dishtowel, he dried his hands as he turned to face her. In that moment he was struck by how innocent she looked. He hadn’t thought he wanted that in a woman, hadn’t thought he wanted to settle down at all, but being in Athena’s kitchen now…he could see getting used to this, being with a woman like her day in and day out. Hell, not like her, only her.
“I haven’t slept with anyone else. Haven’t wanted to.” Confessing that took a lot more effort than he’d realized, but he was glad she knew. He wasn’t done pursuing her, not by a long shot.
Her lips parted just the slightest fraction, as if he’d truly surprised her. Good. Taking a chance, he covered the short distance between them and moving slowly, reached out and tucked a few stray strands of her dark hair behind her ear.
She sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes flaring with an emotion he recognized well; lust. He wondered if she was remembering just how hot things had been between them. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head for two months. Hadn’t been able to forget the way she’d looked as she straddled him in his truck, the little moans she’d made when he’d gently teased her nipples with his fingers—unfortunately over her lacy bra. She’d been so sensual, so reactive, and he couldn’t get enough.
When she swallowed hard enough for him to hear, he let his hand drop.
Not because he thought she wouldn’t be receptive if he kissed her. He could tell she was. Their attraction wasn’t the issue. But he didn’t want her to ever come back and say she’d made a decision under stress, that she regretted it. The next time they came together it wouldn’t be because of a situation where they were forced together and she’d just been terrified by an asshole.
Because the next time, they weren’t stopping at just kissing and he wasn’t letting Athena go. Clearing his throat, he took a step back. “I’m going to grab a shower, but the timer should go off in an hour.” He’d be back down before it did, but needed some distance or he was going to forget his good intentions.
Chapter 6
One week later
Athena peeked through the peephole of her front door and let out a little sigh of relief to see Ivan Mitchell waiting for her. She was flying out on one of Red Stone’s private jets today and he was her escort to the airport. Harrison wanted her in Vegas a day before the tradeshow started and that was fine with her.
The past week she’d practically lived at the office, mostly because of work, but she’d also been taking all her lunches in the lobby deli because of ‘the incident’ as she’d begun to think of it. She’d literally just gone from home to work and back again. Since the past week had consisted of a lot of conference calls and other types of planning that she could work on in-office, the schedule had been fine. But it wasn’t a long-term option and she wasn’t screwing up her new job because of this thing with Glenn White. If she needed to meet a potential client out for lunch—which she knew would happen often—she was doing it.
On top of everything else, she’d spent one night at her parent’s house because her mom had freaked out when Stephanos—the traitor—had broken down and told her about what happened. Not something Athena wanted to repeat any time soon. Whenever she went home her parents treated her like she was twelve. To top it off, all her sisters were in high school now so it was constant World War III drama over there. Thankfully she, with Belle and Grant’s
Similar Books
