Professional Distance (Thorne and Dash 1)

Thorne fought the urge to scowl. Drew was being friendly. “Not really. Just catching up on work.”

Sandra frowned. “You should get out more.”

“You’re not the only one who thinks so.” Usually Thorne blew off comments like that, said something about working all weekend being a price he was willing to pay, but right then he wanted more weekend plans. He wanted to be like Drew and Sandra.

As soon as he reached his office, Thorne closed and locked the door. Then he pulled out his phone—his personal one, the one very few people had the number to—and called Dash.

“Hello, Thorne.”

Fucking hell. Dash said two words to him, and he was already horny. “I want you to stay the whole weekend.”

Silence.

“Dash?”

“I… I can’t do that.”

“Do you have other clients?” Thorne didn’t like the thought of Dash going from him to another man, which was absurd. He’d never been possessive about other men he’d hired.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.” Dash’s tone was clipped, but Thorne didn’t care. He was determined to get what he wanted.

Maybe that’s why you can’t do relationships.

“Tell them you’re not available.”

“Thorrrrrne.” At least now Dash sounded more exasperated than angry.

“I’ll pay double.”

“That’s not the point.”

Dash made a sound like a growl. Rather than deterring Thorne, it turned him on.

“You’re a businessman; profit should be the point.”

“I can’t blow off my commitments. It’s not just clients.”

“Do you have a catering engagement? We can work around that.”

“Thorne, you cannot just call and demand my time. That’s not how this works. Other people may jump to do your bidding, but you didn’t hire me for that.”

“No.” He lowered his voice to the barest whisper. “I hired you to make me do your bidding.”

“Fuck, Thorne.” Dash’s voice had gone all husky.

“At least tell me you’ll think about it and call me back.”

Dash exhaled. “Fine.”

Thorne was reeling him in. He was sure of it. “I’ll relax. Watch movies with you. Let you cook for me.”

“Let me cook for you?”

“You said you enjoy it.”

Dash laughed, the sound rich and sensual. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

“Think about it and think yes.”

“Go back to work, Thorne.”

Thorne ended the call. If Dash said no, he’d find some way to persuade him once he was at Thorne’s apartment.

RILEY STUFFED HIS phone back in his pocket, heart pounding. He’d stepped onto Susan’s porch to take Thorne’s call. Now he didn’t want to go back into the house. Thorne had rattled him, and Susan would see through him in a minute.

He racked his brain for an excuse to leave, but even if he came up with one, he couldn’t stick Susan with the rest of the work when he’d promised to help. He needed to call Marc. It would suck to admit that Marc had been right, that Riley had fallen for Thorne. He should have backed away as soon as he realized it, but no, he’d gone in for more, encouraging Thorne to let him stay longer, drawing him in by offering more than sex. Then the weekend had ended with that slow, thorough fucking from Thorne, and Thorne using his real name. Riley had nearly come apart.

He should’ve been angry. He should have told Thorne he wasn’t coming back. No matter how much Thorne seemed to truly like him, this was a business transaction to Thorne, nothing more. Thorne was an arrogant ass who wanted everyone to do his bidding. Riley believed he had a kind heart underneath the bluster, but even under the best circumstances, he’d be a bitch to deal with in a relationship. Besides, Riley was way too young to be on Thorne’s radar as an actual partner.

He’d stayed outside as long as he could. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back the screen door. Look calm. Look unconcerned.

“What’s wrong?” Susan asked as soon as he stepped back into the kitchen. He didn’t think she’d even looked at him.

“Nothing. Just a client call.”

“Is he giving you trouble?”

Riley shook his head. “No. Not really, not like you probably mean.”

“Riley?”

Her look said he better fess up. “He’s not harassing me or anything. In most ways, he’s an ideal client, considerate, respectful of me as a person, but he’s rich and spoiled and wants his way.”

Susan nodded like she knew the type. “And what way is that?”

“He wants to hire me for the whole weekend.”

“Hmmm. Sounds lucrative, but I’m guessing you have other plans.”

“Helping you with cupcakes for one.”

Susan waved that off. “I can handle that or get Lilah to help me.”

Her daughter, Lilah, hated baking, especially the more tedious jobs. “No, she won’t—”

“She’ll help if I need her to.” Susan’s tone said he wasn’t going to win that argument.

“I’m not going to break my commitments at the last minute just so my client can have his way.”

“I see.” Susan nodded. “There’s more to this than a change of schedule, isn’t there?”