From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games 2)

“Hot and dirty?” she suggested.

“And then some.” They’d had sex in many inventive locations and positions before, but never in the middle of a workday when they both had to go back to an office. Somehow, the spontaneity had heightened the pleasure. And now he wanted her all over again.

He separated their bodies and turned her in his arms to lay a kiss on her lips. But as he started to lower his head, their gazes caught, freezing him. Vulnerability and tenderness flickered through her expression and he couldn’t look away. One strap of her sundress fell off her shoulder and he slid it back into place, resting his hand on her still-hot flesh in a moment of perfect harmony that rocked him to the core.

All at once, he remembered similar moments from Vegas. After coming down from the height of their climaxes, they’d roll together and hold each other. Then they’d whisper things in the dark, secret things, fears. Hopes. Dreams. It had made the whole experience of sex something otherworldly. It was in those moments that she’d given him peace.

And nothing had changed.

When he’d given in to his desire for Meredith, he hadn’t gotten just the wild and crazy he’d asked for. Maybe that wasn’t all he’d been looking for, either, despite the lies he seemed willing to tell himself. He needed her, if only to remind himself that he wasn’t cold-blooded. With her, he could be a man he actually liked.

“Meredith,” he murmured and drew her forward into the kiss he suddenly ached for. Her lips molded to his, and she snugged into his embrace. It was comfortable and sexy and right.

As he angled her head to take them both deeper, she pulled away and cleared her throat. “You know, normally a guy starts out with the kiss, but it’s fine if you want to do it the other way around.”

Gaze on the floor, she located her panties and disappeared into the bathroom as if he wasn’t standing there. At a loss, he drew his own clothes back on and pulled out his phone to check his email because it felt less pathetic than following her into the bathroom to demand an explanation for why she’d cooled down so fast.

She didn’t owe him peace. He certainly hadn’t given her any.

When she returned, the temperature hadn’t risen much.

“So about my idea,” she began and perched on the edge of the desk where they’d just had hot and dirty sex, as she’d dubbed it.

“That wasn’t your idea?” He nodded to the scene of the crime.

“Uh, no. That was totally your idea.”

Frowning, he searched her blank expression. “You seemed pretty on board with it.”

“Of course I was.” Impatiently, she flipped a lock of hair behind her back. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met. You pretty much just have to breathe on me to get me hot. But it wasn’t what I had in mind when I texted you. The condoms were in the bathroom after all, not on the desk.”

The compliment sounded decidedly uncomplimentary somehow. “Funny, I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“You wanna know what I’ve been thinking about? How to get the designs back from Avery.” The fierce scowl on her face piqued his ire in kind because he had no idea what had set her off. “And I have an idea how to accomplish that. If you’ll get your brain out of my panties, we can talk about it.”

“That’s rich, Meredith. You’ve been very free with the invitations into your panties, starting from second one in my office. Don’t act like I’m the only horny one.”

The oasis of peace vanished so fast, he wondered if he’d imagined it.

“What should I act like, then? Your wife?” She sneered. “Because that’s what I’m trying to do here. Give you what you want out of this marriage so we can both be done with it.”

His hands fisted at his sides as pure frustration threatened the careful grip he held on his temper. “Why are you picking a fight with me?”

“Because! I...” She deflated all at once and sank into one of the chairs at the table, her head down. After a beat, she said, “I’m not trying to pick a fight. I just want to do my job and go home. Can you give me a break, here? I need you to understand. I have to go home.”

Her gaze met his and all his mad drained away, as well. This conversation was upsetting her. But why? Did she want to get away from him that badly?

Clearly. And could he blame her? He’d held her up for an extra week already. She had a real life to get back to, just like he did. Obviously she didn’t crave a warm place at his side, where together they could combat the cold, harsh business of daily life.

“Tell me your idea,” he said, crossing to her and taking her hand so she could sense his sincerity. And because he wanted to touch her. “Really. If it works and I get the designs back, I’ll call it even.”