Casual Affair

Zane had been in the States about eleven months, but he had only recently started to truly enjoy it. No doubt because he had just discovered fried Twinkies.

Or perhaps because he had finally shagged Bea Paxton, and now he couldn’t get her out of his bloody head.

Mike was watching the football match on the tele, but Zane couldn’t find the will to care about sports. He couldn’t stop fidgeting with his phone on the table, wondering if he should call Bea or send her a text.

Two weeks had passed since their night together, and they had exchanged maybe three words during that time.

He had relived that night so many times in his head it was venturing into the land of obsession. Her sounds, her touch, her body, were all seared into his memory. And that damn southern accent of hers. Holy shit. Her voice had a direct line to his dick. One word out of her mouth and he was instantly hard.

Hell, it didn’t even have to be her voice. Just the sight of her had him pitching a tent. Or even the mere thought.

Like now. Lost again in the memories of that remarkable night. Recalling the way her silky hair fanned out across his pillows…

He hadn’t expected her to stay the whole night at his place, but he certainly hadn’t been complaining when he’d woken up the next morning to see her beautifully naked body still lying next to his. He had just lain there, enjoying the comforts of having a warm, soft woman in bed with him.

Until she’d woken up and bolted.

He’d politely pretended to be asleep when he felt her stir and jump out of bed. He’d known she wanted to avoid an uncomfortable conversation, so he’d remained silent as she scrambled around the room, gathering her things, and left without a word.

Now, he was wondering if that had been a huge mistake.

He didn’t want her to act as if nothing had happened between them. He was just giving her some space to let it marinate in her mind, hoping she’d realize how amazing it had been and want to do it again. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been a ton of work to do at the store for the past two weeks, waiting for their first big product shipment to arrive. So, aside from a few emails, they had barely spoken.

It was the longest he had gone without seeing her since they met.

He didn’t fucking like it.

The radio silence was made even worse when he couldn’t stop picturing her naked body writhing under his. She had been so willing to take direction from him, and he could tell his assertiveness had excited her. And fuck if that didn’t have a powerful effect on him. It was obvious she had never been with a real man before. A real man could read a woman’s responses. But every time he had, she’d faltered. She’d been surprised. In a good way, thankfully. And he’d been rewarded with her total submission.

The fact that he had been the first to pick up on her sexual cues satisfied a very primal part of him. He relished being the first man to open her eyes to all that she had been missing out on. That required trust, and he knew he had earned hers.

It had been the absolute best sex of his life, no question.

He just hoped it had been the same for her.

He intended to do it again—over and over—but the question was how to handle the situation? She didn’t want a relationship. She’d made that abundantly clear. Hell, he didn’t even know if he wanted a relationship. He was going back to England soon, so what would be the point? Aside from that, working together could present a problem, especially if they kept getting distracted…or if things went badly.

But not if it was just sex. Right?

What did Americans call that? A fling? He could really enjoy having a fling with Bea Paxton.

The odd thing, though? He actually liked the nonsexual part of their relationship, too. They argued more often than not when they were working together, but in a twisted way, he enjoyed that. It was almost frightening how often he thought about her when she wasn’t around. And how happy he felt when she was.

That didn’t mean they would work as an actual couple, though.

Did it?

Whatever he called it, he needed to make something happen with her soon or he was going to lose his shi—

“You falling in love with that thing or something?” Mike asked, breaking Zane out of his thoughts.

He looked up to find his friend grinning at him. Shit. He had totally forgotten where he was for a moment. At a pub, drinking away his sorrows.