Page 41 of Out of Bounds

“You disagree?”

“I do.”

“You seemed to think I was pretty damn special last night while I was buried deep inside you.”

Shit, he did not just say that! Panic rushed through her whole body as she threw a look to the group in front of them, who were still somehow deep in conversation and not paying attention to them at all.

“Knock. It. Off,” she growled.

“What is the matter with you? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you needed to get laid,” he quipped, his eyes narrowed at her in confusion.

Those last words hit her like a ton of bricks. What the fuck was wrong with him? So much for all his “I respect you” and “I see you, all of you” bullshit from last night. If he really did respect her and everything she was working toward, he wouldn’t be standing here, goading her like this at work, in an elevator that they were currently sharing with her brother and two other colleagues. A pang of disappointment in herself cut through her as she realized just how wrong she’d been about him. She’d fallen for the apology crap hook, line, and sinker—when really, he’d just wanted to see if he could get in her pants.

Felicity opened her mouth to respond, ready to cut him down, but was interrupted by the ding of the elevator announcing that they had reached the executive floor. Not even trying to be polite, she pushed past the three men standing in front of her and out of the small space, marching toward her office. She could hear the motorcycle conversation still going on behind her as she left them in the dust. She was so angry she felt like she could actually spit nails at this point. This was not how she saw her morning going.

Stopping just outside her office door, she took a deep breath. She was a smart, strong woman. It didn’t matter to her what other people thought of her. She owned her actions, both personally and professionally. She decided who she slept with and when, and she didn’t owe anyone any kind of explanation for that. No one would ever treat a man that way. She was not going to let herself be bullied for her choices.

Spinning back around on her heel, she steeled herself once more.

“Gunnar,” she barked, her voice as stern as she could make it right now for all the anger rippling through her. He turned away from the group, looking over at her, another look of confusion on his face. “A moment, please?”

Without a word, he walked toward her, stopping only briefly as he waited for her to enter her office. She gestured for him to walk in first, flipping the light on as she entered behind him and closed the door.

“What the fuck was that?”

* * *

Gunnar took a step back, almost as if the words that Felicity had just hurled at him would have actually hit him had he not gotten out of the way. Standing in front of him now was not the smiley, relaxed woman who he’d spent last night with. The one who had fallen asleep on his chest like a cat in a sunny window. In her place was a fire-breathing dragon—who looked like she would destroy him without a second thought.

“Effie, what—”

“Don’t fucking call me that!” she snarled, cutting him off.

“Are you okay?” he asked, knowing full well the answer was no. There was no way she would act like this if there wasn’t something bothering her. But what could have changed between her dozing off last night and now?

“No, I’m not fucking okay!” She stomped her foot and flailed her arms, making her look like some kind of angry bird. Had all this anger not been directed at him, he would have been tempted to laugh. “What the fuck was that just now?”

“In the elevator?”

“No, out by the pool. Yes, in the elevator!”

“I thought I was saying good morning to the beautiful woman I hung out with last night,” he answered, giving her a smile and stepping closer as he reached out to grab her by the waist. She stepped back before she was even within his grasp, stopping him in his tracks. His gut clenched a bit, finding her still very upset expression. “But I take it I was wrong.”

“That’s how you say good morning? By trying to feel me up and recounting how many orgasms you gave me? Which, by the way, was only two, not three. Learn how to count.”

Whoa…shots fired…

“I was trying to be funny. To bring out that happy-go-lucky girl I know is in there behind all that armor you wear.”

“In front of our colleagues? Including my brother, who is our boss! In case you forgot.”

“No, I didn’t forget. That’s why I was whispering, so only you could hear me. The three of them were too busy talking to each other to even know we were there.”

Is that what she was worried about? Did she really think that he would do that to her? After everything they had talked about last night—after he’d told her that he saw her—she still didn’t trust him. He'd thought they’d made progress last night, that he’d seen the real her, but maybe not. Maybe the real her was this prickly shrew.

“I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Oh, so that’s it,” he said, seeing where she was going with this. “Can’t have anyone think you’re slumming it with the coach.”