His hips flex against me, his erection digging into my belly.
“Because I wanted to fucking stay, Leighton. I wanted to crawl back into that bed so fucking badly my balls still ache when I think about it. I wanted to spread those milky thighs of yours and lick every inch of your body. I wanted to spend years inside of you.”
His nose nuzzles the side of my face.
“I don’t do years. Hell, I don’t do days. I don’t do repeats. Ever. There are too many different women in this world to waste my time on leftovers.”
I can’t help the cringe on my face at his honesty. What a horrible thing to say.
“I’m not fucking married, Leighton. I don’t have kids. I use that ring to scrape off women when they get clingy.” He takes a step back, and I feel relieved and desperate all at the same time. “I saw clingy in your eyes that night, but more importantly, I felt that tug of clinginess myself. I had to get away from you because I knew how goddamned dangerous you were. So get over that guilt you’re feeling from last night.”
I do the only thing I can in this moment. I slap the shit out of him. His eyes go wide, palm reaching up to his cheek.
“You egotistical fuck! The only reason I wanted a repeat was because you know how to fuck. I didn’t want to waste my time at the bar a second night in a row. You didn’t see hearts or clinginess in my eyes because my heart is as black as a moonless night. Now get the fuck out of my hotel room.”
He stands there, stunned.
Then he kisses me, hard, tongue tangling with mine, cock pressed into me, and fuck if I’m not a fool and let it happen.
“There’s my girl,” he whispers against my lips before turning around and leaving.
Chapter 19
Gaige
“Things must be going well,” Deacon says as I drop into the chair across from his desk.
“They aren’t,” I assure him.
“Yet, you’re smiling.”
I let the grin fall from my lips, and he chuckles.
“We haven’t been able to get one person on board, and as you know, Dr. Cox wouldn’t even take our meeting.”
“Her mother is gravely ill. Family first. You know that.”
“This female team isn’t going to work.”
“It’ll be a great addition to BBS.”
“I’m not saying it won’t be. I fully understand your vision but building it will be impossible.”
“I believe in you.”
“Just hearing those words from your mouth sounds patronizing, Deacon,” I say with a groan as I rub my hand over my face.
Walking out of that hotel room after confessing my lies to Leighton was extremely difficult, but I needed to give her time to work through what I told her. She may never want to touch me again, but I couldn’t keep dancing around her with her thinking I was an adulterous piece of shit.
“I don’t mean it to be.” My boss leans back in his chair. “I want BBS to be as diverse as possible. Tell me more about Leighton Redmond.”
“She likes white wine and steak. Weird combination, right? She chews on her bottom lip when she thinks something is funny and she’s trying not to laugh.”
Silence fills the room, making me realize that’s not exactly what he was asking for.
“I mean, red wine with beef.”
He shakes his head.
“She’s tenacious. A hard worker. We almost lost Janine Miller.”
“We don’t have a signed letter of intent from Mrs. Miller.”
“We don’t, but there’s a possibility for a contractual agreement. Mrs. Miller isn’t going to give up her company or uproot her wife to move to Missouri, but right on the spot, Lei—Ms. Redmond—asked if she’d be willing to handle some jobs we get on the west coast. I’m going to pull some stuff up this afternoon.”
He nods his head. “That could work.”
Mentioning this to him makes me want to grin. Leighton specifically told Janine that I didn’t pass the bar in California. What she failed to say, no doubt in her attempt at a jab at me, is that I’ve never even tried to take the bar in California. It’s never been on my radar. That’s just one more thing we can talk about the next time we see each other. That is if she ever shows back up. I don’t know if the news I shared with her earlier is going to scare her away or make her want to stick around.
My cheek still stings from where she slapped me, and that little hint of pain makes my cock ache. I shift in my seat, trying not to think about how amazing we were together last night. I went to sleep with no regrets, only waking up with the one that I wish we’d done it completely sober so there were no hazy parts.