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“Do you think?”
“Do you know how hard it was to be cool in there and not sweep you up into my arms and kiss the fuck out of you?” I thumb back toward the conference room.
“I’m sorry I said I didn’t know you. I just blurted that out,” she groans. "I wasn't prepared to see you or answer questions about how we knew one another.”
“It’s okay.” I shake my head. “It shocked the hell out of me, too.”
We stand there looking at each other as I touch her cheek softly with my fingers. She folds into my touch and I know the magic is still there between us. There’s no way it was a fluke.
Then her face falls, as the reality dawning down on both of us cuts our brief reunion short; my ex trying to make some claim against my parcel of land she knows is the only thing I hold dear.
“I’m sorry we’re meeting like this under these circumstances and I wasn’t honest with you about moving,” she breathes. “I’m so sorry, Gray. You were right when you said she can be a very nasty woman. I can see it plain as day with this new stunt.”
I swallow hard. Yeah, it does still fucking cut like a knife that she’s got the balls to do this.
“It’s the typical behavior of a self-serving manipulator. Just when I thought she couldn’t stoop any lower.”
“It’s a bullshit tactic, and it only tells us that her lawyers don’t care about fighting dirty,” she says, gritting her teeth. Something about her being on my side and wanting to fight for what’s right here gives me a spark. A spark I didn’t have before she entered the room. It lights me up that she’s on my side, seeing this through to the end. It’s been stressful, to say the least. Just as we’re about to sign, she thinks of something else. I just want it over with.
“But guess what, Gray? We can fight dirty too. Regina will be all over that caveat, don’t you worry.”
“What about you?” I breathe, moving a strand of fallen hair from her eyes. “Will you be all over it, too?”
“Yes,” she says, placing her hand on my chest. I fucking love the way she feels comfortable enough to do that. She’s not being tentative at all. I love her touching me.
I bet if no one was here right now, we’d simply pick up where we left off. Hell, I’d love to bend her over this damn table right now…
“I’m so fucking glad you left that note,” I whisper, though I know no one can hear us in here. “I panicked that morning. I thought you’d run out on me.”
She bites her lip with a little laugh. “I couldn’t leave like that,” she says, shaking her head. “It didn’t feel right. I just knew we lived so far away, and one-night stands are supposed to be just that. You’re not supposed to pine for the other person…”
Pine for me?
My dick is rock hard hearing that.
“Hearing you say that…” I mutter. “You almost gave me a goddamn heart attack when I thought you’d skipped out on me. I only saw the damn note in my wallet at the airport. I practically harassed the staff at Casa Cipriani all morning. Not my finest hour.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t wake you, believe me.”
I can’t help myself any longer as I take her chin in my hand and hold it with my thumb and forefinger as I bend down to press my lips against hers. I taste her strawberry flavored gloss, her minty breath, and maybe even a little bit of her soul in that kiss. It’s soft, but holds the promise of more, just like when I made love to her for the last time that night, when I rolled on top and pinned her wrists above her head.
It’s as sensual as if I were making love to her right now.
She sighs into my kiss and the sound goes straight to my groin. If we weren’t in my lawyer’s office, and her father wasn’t sitting next door, I’d definitely be using this desk to its full advantage. For now, the kiss will have to do.
It takes every bit of strength to pull away, and we’re both breathless as we look at one another.
My heart is beating wildly and I’ve almost forgotten all the other shit going on.
She makes everything better.
“We’d better get back,” she says, reaching up to wipe some of the pink gloss away from my lips. “Dad will send out a search party.”
I smirk. “Ladies first.”
18
Hartley
