Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“Me?” she said, incredulous. “Why didn’t you say anything? I hadn’t even started my job. You were meant to be going to Africa next week doing Medicine Sans Frontier. And your name was supposed to be Beau.”
I pushed my hand over my head and tried to fight back the memories of her fingers smoothing over my scalp. How she’d cried out about how it felt between her legs. Fuck, I could feel the stirrings of an erection.
This wasn’t the time. The mood she was in, she’d probably cut it off.
“I filled in for my brother,” I said. The thought of Beau helped negate my growing lust.
“You filled in?” she asked. “You weren’t renting a car.”
“I know, but he broke his nose, and he didn’t want to let down your friend . . .”
“Parker,” she added.
“Parker. He was doing her a favor—”
“Listen, I don’t need someone to go on a date with me as a favor.”
Of course she didn’t. Why was everything I was saying coming out wrong? “I didn’t mean it like that. I just—look, if I’d known you were about to start at the Free, there was no way I would have said yes to the date.”
“Yeah, well if I hadn’t thought you were going to be thousands of miles away in a few days, there was no way I would have slept with you,” she said.
Her words were like an icy wind, chasing a chill up my spine. I winced. I hated the idea that Saturday night wouldn’t have happened if she’d known who I was. I mean, if I’d known who she was, I would have had to walk away, but that would have been my choice.
“I don’t want a boyfriend,” she continued. “And I sure as hell don’t want the added hassle of wondering whether people are looking at me differently or treating me differently because I slept with one of the consultants.” She buried her face in her hands. “And not just one of the consultants. A Cove.”
“Fuck,” I shouted.
“Exactly my thoughts.”
I took in a deep breath and tried to steady my breathing. I was so pissed off at Beau. I was so pissed off at myself. And I was really pissed off that despite all that and despite my hard and fast rules about not messing about in the workplace pond, I really, really wanted to kiss her. Right now. I wanted to stalk over to her, push her to her back, strip off those leggings, and plunge straight into her and listen as she begged me to make her come.
But I had to shake that fantasy right out of my head. It wasn’t going to happen. I wouldn’t let it.
“Look,” I said. “If you don’t want anyone finding out and I don’t want anyone finding out, we can agree not to tell anyone. I’m going for a promotion—ironically, heading up the foundation program. If they know I slept with one of the doctors on the program, there’s no way I’m getting that job. And if I don’t get that job, that means—oh never mind. You don’t need to know. But we’re both screwed if it gets out that we’ve . . .”
“Screwed?” she added, and I couldn’t help but smile. She was most definitely still the woman I’d spent Saturday night and Sunday morning with.
Our eyes locked and I could feel her body heat from a meter away. I knew how those hands felt on me. How that mouth fit my cock. I knew what I could do to her body. Something told me I hadn’t discovered the half of what she was capable of doing to me.
“Right,” I said, pulling myself out of the haze that I’d descended into as a result of being so close to her. “Can we agree that no one needs to know about this then?”
“Agreed,” she said, holding my gaze again.
We were silent for one beat, then two.
“You didn’t reply to my text,” I said. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should just leave now. I’d gotten what I’d came her for—I was reassured that she didn’t want anyone to know about us. And I’d been able to give her the same reassurance. She’d agreed that we’d both keep it a secret.
There was nothing left to do here.
I should go.
“I was hungover when it came through and I was starting a new job the next day,” she replied. “I didn’t have a chance. And now . . .”
We both knew how the sentence ended. Now she was never going to reply to that text because continuing anything between us was completely impossible.
She got up off the bed and headed for the door. I followed.
“For the record, I had a really good time,” I said, pushing my hands into my pockets.
“For the record, I did too.” She paused. “Except I don’t want that on the record.”