"You okay?"
"Just tired. Keeping busy, you know?"
The zing was back in Jared's voice, and the shadow of worry that had settled over Derek started to dissipate.
"Fair enough. We're at the airport, so I'll talk to you later."
"Get your ass up to the city. It's been too long."
It had, but Derek hadn't been in the mood for Manhattan lately. Instead, it had been Austin on his mind.
All he said, though, was, "Sure."
Chapter Four
As far as Amanda was concerned, the only real downside of her job was that she couldn't justify not answering her phone. She'd long ago decided against carrying two mobile phones, and that meant that she gave her number out freely to clients, potential clients, and other agents and brokers. Which meant that she ended up answering so many texts that she'd trained herself to dictate responses. It was either that or start wearing her nails short. And that really wasn't happening.
The phone calls were the worst, though. She was always happy to talk about real estate, even if the buyer was unqualified or just looking. After all, you never knew when their circumstances would change, and she wanted to be at the top of their call list. But that meant she had to answer all unfamiliar numbers, too, since it might be a potential client who'd been given her card.
As a result, she'd been on the receiving end of more scam calls and robocalls than any sane person should be subjected to. Calls about things she didn't care about. Calls about things she didn't want.
And sometimes, she even got unexpected calls about things she shouldn't care about, and things she shouldn't want. Like the call this morning. The one she'd answered, only to be serenaded by Derek's slow drawl. "Good morning, gorgeous. Do you know who this is?"
Did she?
No doubt about that. And apparently every part of her had known it, too. Because as he'd continued to tell her about how he was boarding a plane for Austin and he'd be free from his meetings and dinners by ten and could meet her at ten-fifteen, her body had begun to ache with unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, longing.
With a sigh, she stood in the ornate lobby of the Winston Hotel and looked down at the screen of her phone, checking the time for the thousandth time. One minute past when she'd last looked.
Amanda sighed, then waited.
It had been a month since she and Derek had met outside The Fix and shared that incredible night, and though she'd told herself over and over that it would be best if he never called again--best to not get involved--she couldn't deny the rush of heat that had coursed through her when she'd heard his voice. A heat that had morphed into anticipation when he'd asked her to meet him at the Winston at a quarter past ten.
"Room 715," he'd said, naming a room on the same floor they'd gone to last time, and she'd promised to be there exactly on the dot.
Now it was seven after ten, and she kept checking the clock on her phone like an idiot. "Eager, much?" she chided herself softly. Because, of course, she was.
That was the reason she'd almost told him that she had plans tonight. Because despite essentially suggesting that they should see each other again, she really hadn't expected to hear from him. Had, in fact, thought it would be best if they both just backed away slowly.
Yet she hadn't said no. On the contrary, she'd very eagerly said yes. And all because there'd been such intense sparks between them. And not just sexually. They'd laughed and talked. They'd clicked.
And the sex had been off the charts.
Which, of course, was why she was here. And why she kept telling herself she should go away.
Derek was the kind of guy who could get under her skin, and she had no time for a relationship.
Not that they'd talked about any of that last time, but she was going to have to say something tonight. They needed to be clear. If this was going to be something they repeated, then it needed to be about the sex. Nothing else.
She just hoped that they reached an agreement ... not to mention a mind-blowing orgasm.
* * *
She knocked at exactly ten-fifteen, and he opened the door ten seconds later. The moment he did, Amanda knew there'd be no trouble granting the orgasm part of her wish. The man looked as hot as sin in black jeans, bare feet, and a pale gray T-shirt that clung to his chest and showed off his well-developed arms.
Not a bad view to be faced with, but it was the expression on his face that made Amanda certain she was going to suffer no regrets for keeping this date. An almost feral intensity that had her pulse pounding and small beads of sweat popping up on the back of her neck.
"Hi," she said. Or, rather, she tried to. She didn't actually get the word out before he'd tugged her into the entry hall, kicked the door shut, then pinned her against the wall.