She leaned into him, her breasts coming up against his bare chest. Her cheek went to his, and she whispered, “Watch me.”
Then she flexed her hips, and he groaned loud.
“Mila, slow—”
“Too slow?”
“No.”
She was going to kill him.
“Faster?”
“No. Yes.” He wanted both. He wanted it all.
“I can do faster.”
He tried to protest, tried to tell her, tried to explain that there was fast and then there was fast. But it all came out as a groan of despair as he fought hard for control.
“Oh, Troy.” Her breathing was rapid, while whimpers started down in her chest.
He realized she meant fast. She meant very fast.
He stopped fighting it, letting himself go, taking over the rhythm of their lovemaking, anchoring her, going faster and harder while the headlights blurred and she cried out in ecstasy.
He followed her over the edge, his heart all but exploding with the effort. They slowed and stopped, wrapped tight in each other’s arms. The heat was blasting from the car vents, and the two of them were covered in sweat.
She was limp against him, and he didn’t know what to say. Should he apologize? Was she going to be angry? Disappointed?
Her hands went tight on his shoulders, and he braced himself for recriminations.
But her voice was breathy soft. “I guess we can’t pretend that never happened.”
* * *
Mila’s breathing was still deep as she gazed at their naked bodies, latched together on the leather seat in the hazy glow of the dashboard lights. There was distorting reality, and then there was smashing it into a million pieces.
She couldn’t pretend to be one of the guys when she’d just had wild, shameless sex with the boss. There was no dressing it up this time, and there was no glossing it over.
“I’m not expecting anything in return,” she told him, feeling as though she needed to state that up front.
“You can have anything you want in return. Name it, and it’s yours.”
“That’s not how I’m getting a job.”
“Except a job.” He softened the words with a light kiss on her neck. “I can’t give you a job.”
“So, anything except what I really want?” She could joke about it because she would absolutely never let him hire her that way.
“I was considering jewelry or clothes, maybe a trip. Hey, you want to take a trip? Maybe a weekend in Cancun?”
Another set of headlights flashed in the mirror. Then it stabilized, grew brighter, shining directly on the back window.
She all but leaped from Troy’s lap. “Someone’s stopping.”
“Huh?” He swiveled to see.
“Get dressed,” she called out, pulling down her skirt and fumbling for her sweater that was wedged between the seat and the door.
At the same time, Troy yanked up his pants.
They heard a car door slam shut.
While he scrambled for his clothes, she jerked her arms into the sleeves of his jacket, stuffing her bra and panties under the seat.
Then she smoothed her hair, tucking it behind her ears.
Someone rapped on the driver’s window.
Troy looked at her. He reached out to rub his thumb beneath her lower lip.
“Smeared,” he said.
She quickly scrubbed her hand back and forth across her mouth and shrugged down deeper into the jacket.
Troy unrolled the window.
It was Charlie.
“You guys okay?” he asked, glancing past Troy to Mila.
She gave him what she hoped was a benign smile.
“We’re fine,” said Troy. “How did you do? Did you follow him home?”
Charlie straightened so Mila couldn’t see his face. “I lost him at Metro Center. He parked and took the subway.”
The statement surprised Mila. Had the man known he was being followed?
“He could be anywhere. I got the vehicle license. But it’s registered to a numbered company. The corporate address is an abandoned building. This guy knows what he’s doing.”
“Can you trace it further?” Mila asked.
She was trying desperately to forget she was naked under her skirt, and that she’d just had the best sex of her life. Kassidy was what mattered here. They needed to figure out who this Jack guy was and his connection to her.
“Not tonight,” said Charlie. “I’ll be on it first thing tomorrow. You all okay? Car trouble?”
“We were arguing,” said Troy. “The more we learn, the more I think this has to be about me. She’s convinced it’s all about Kassidy.”
“He’s stubborn,” said Mila.
“She’s closed minded.”
“Me?”
“Sometimes your first instinct is wrong.”
“It’s not wrong. It might be complex, but it’s not wrong.”
“Whatever,” Charlie drawled. “I’ll leave you to it.” He gave two taps on the door and left.
Mila waited until the interior light came on in his car.
“You think he guessed?” she asked Troy.
“Guessed that you and I can’t keep our hands off each other?”
“What else would I mean?”
Troy checked the rearview mirror. “Could be our incessant arguments are throwing them off.”
She realized he was probably right. “Why do you suppose that is?”
“Because they think we hate each other.”
“No. I mean us. I mean, how can we fight so much and then...” She pointed back and forth between them. “And then that?”
“Beats me,” he said.
“Do you secretly like me?” The question was out before she realized how pathetic it sounded.
He didn’t miss a beat. “I’m a man. I don’t have to secretly like you to—” He squeezed the steering wheel, staring through the windshield. “Scrap that. Yes, I like you. I don’t mean it to be a secret.”
She hated how relieved she felt. She shouldn’t need his validation. Sex could be sex without worrying about the whole emotional package. She certainly wasn’t looking for the whole emotional package. She was only looking for a job.
“You know I’m not going to die. I’m no more likely to die than Vegas or Charlie.”
He turned to look at her, genuine pain in his expression. “I can’t talk about that now.”
She gave a sharp nod. “Sorry. Yes. That was out of line.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I’m not going to use this against you.”
His voice went sharper. “That’s not what I—” He stopped talking and buckled his seat belt. “It’s late. Let’s get you home.”
She followed suit as he flipped on his signal light and pulled onto the road.
“My car’s at Pinion,” she reminded him.
“I’m taking you straight home.”
“But—”
“No point in you having to double back at this time of night. Plus, you’ve been drinking.”
“That was hours ago.”
She didn’t know why she was arguing. Why would she want to go to the Pinion office, warm up her car, then make the twenty-minute drive back to her apartment when Troy could simply drop her off?
“Shut up,” he told her mildly.
“Shutting up,” she agreed, leaning her head back against the seat and shutting her eyes. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He made a right turn.
“You know where I live.”
“I know where you live.”
She’d put her address on her employment forms. But she’d had no reason to assume he’d checked them.
“Off the top of your head?” she asked.
“Off the top of my head.”
“Why?”
“Because I read your file. And I’m capable of holding dozens of facts up there all at the same time.”
She couldn’t help but smile to herself. “Dozens?”
“Some days, I amaze myself. You know where I live. Fair’s fair.”
“Where you live is relevant, and it’s also kind of cool.”
“Cool?”
“A penthouse at the top of a fortress. I know why Kassidy feels safe there.”
“She is safe there.”
“I feel safe there. Then again, I also feel scrutinized when I’m there. You have a lot of cameras in that place.”
“Not in the apartment.”
“Thank goodness for that.” She couldn’t help remembering the first time they’d made love, in his office.
“Here we go.” He pulled to the curb in front of her apartment building, setting the parking brake and shutting off the engine.
“Thanks,” she said again. Her hand felt heavy as she reached for the door handle.
He angled his body, stretching his arm across the back of the seat. “You mind if I come up and have a look?”
The question took her by surprise.
“I’m not asking to spend the night.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m getting up in three hours anyway. I just want to see where you live. I feel like you know me way better than I know you.”