“You’ve made your point.” Avery’s face was as red as a tomato. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
She broke eye contact and crossed her arms, putting space between us. “Was it the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen?” Finally, she gazed directly at me.
I jerked her against me and captured her mouth in a heated kiss, my hands finding her ass and giving it a tight squeeze before my lips grazed her ear. “Sexiest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.”
“Oh.” She blushed an even deeper shade of red.
“But,” I said, sighing, “I may need to do more research in the field. The first session was so fleeting that the results could be skewed.”
“Is that your nerdy way of asking if you can see my boobs again?” She grinned.
“That depends. Does nerdy Lucas work better than dominant Lucas?”
“I’ll let you know.” She grabbed me by the shoulders and swayed.
“It’s okay to kiss me,” I whispered, touching her chin with my fingertips.
Emotion flickered across her face. What had just happened? A second ago she was laughing, and now she looked ready to burst into tears.
“No, it’s not.” She swallowed and pulled away. “Because that was a one-time thing. It’s Thursday, after all.”
“Avery?”
“Hmm?” She looked so insecure, hugging her body, refusing to let me in. I hated that I didn’t know why, although I assumed I was probably the cause. But I didn’t know how to fix it.
“Let’s get back to work and we’ll discuss this later tonight.”
She nodded and quickly walked out of the office, but not before snatching her chewed straw from the chair, glancing back over her shoulder, and giving me one last heated stare.
The minute my door clicked shut, I breathed out a curse and adjusted myself. I’d been ready to close the blinds and do just about every wicked thing to her my mind could conjure up.
With a groan, I walked around my desk and sat down in my leather chair, rubbing my temples with my fingers.
How the hell was I supposed to face her family?
As if the universe needed to remind me of my many sins, my calendar popped up with a reminder to find a new Thursday—and to make reservations for Nadia and me for Friday.
I heard a few raised voices.
And then Avery saying, “I said he’s busy, don’t—”
I heard a knock at my door as it jerked open. “Come in?”
Nadia grinned at me. Speak of the she-devil.
Well, at least Avery no longer looked sad. Nope, she looked ready to stab me with the nearest sharp object.
“I have missed you, Lucas Thorn,” Nadia purred. Her red lipstick was like a magnet; it drew a person in to the shape of her mouth and then caused you to look lower as her breasts jiggled in the barely there black dress she was wearing.
Frustrated, I stood. “Nadia, this is a surprise.”
She crossed her arms. “A good surprise, I hope.”
“It’s Thursday,” I said pointedly. “Not Friday.”
Her lips formed a pout, then she uncrossed her arms and swayed closer to me. “I was lonely.”
“You know that’s not how this works, Nadia.”
She kicked the door shut behind her and arched a brow. “When have you ever said no to me, Lucas Thorn?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say “Now.” Instead, I sighed and pointed to the chair. “You’ve brought up a good point. Sit. We need to talk.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
AVERY
The minute the door clicked shut, my entire body shook with rage. The bastard son of a bitch was going to have an accidental death if he touched her mere minutes after kissing me!
I was hurt.
And embarrassed.
The mixture of both was almost too much to bear, and my stomach roiled and tensed.
Ten minutes later, and the witch was still in his office.
I went and grabbed a bottle of water from the hospitality room and slowly walked back to my desk, praying I’d find Lucas’s door open and the gorgeous woman gone.
When everything looked exactly the same, I checked both calendars, his whore one and his work one. Neither said anything about a meeting with Nadia, plus it was Thursday! Did the woman not know her place? Her designated day?
Then again, even if I had a day, I’d want more time.
Maybe that’s what this was about, a friendly negotiation during which she would beg for more time.
Not that that was an acceptable explanation, since it still meant they’d be seeing each other.
I groaned and pressed my forehead against the keyboard of my computer, praying for the phone to ring so I had an excuse to interrupt their meeting.
An hour later the door finally opened. Thank God, I’d been minutes away from pulling the fire alarm.
Nadia’s eyes locked on mine. At least I had the good sense to roll my chair far away from the door as she glared at me and then turned around and planted a horrible, nasty, openmouthed kiss on Lucas’s lips.
He didn’t grab her.
But he also didn’t push her away.
“Good-bye, Lucas Thorn.” She arched a brow at me and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Maybe it made me a bad person—but I may have prayed that the elevator would break and send her and her giant boobs careening headfirst into the lobby. I smiled at the thought.
“Sorry.” Lucas sounded exhausted.
My heart wasn’t prepared to see lipstick on his mouth. I’d seen the kiss, but the lipstick? The remnant of what they shared? My brain didn’t know how to process what just happened, even though it wanted to. Because if I could justify it, then everything would be okay. We could move forward, carry on, skip into the sunset, and have a picnic.
But he was wearing her lipstick.
And she’d been in his office for over an hour.
And he looked guilty.
I knew that look.
It used to haunt me.
The last time I saw that look he was stumbling out of bed with the wrong Black sister.
Thank God the phone rang. I knocked over the receiver in an attempt to grab it, then fumbled with it against my ear and said, “Lucas Thorn’s office. How can I help you?”
“Hi, this is Molly. Can I please speak to Lucas Thorn?”
And the hits just keep on coming.
I clenched my teeth. “Just one minute.”
I slammed the receiver onto the desk twice before sweetly calling over my shoulder. “It’s your Monday.”
“I’ll call her back.” Lucas wiped the lipstick from his mouth with the back of his hand.
I held out the phone to him, but he shook his head.
With a sigh, I hung up without an explanation.
“Avery!” he yelled. “What the hell? You can’t just hang up on people!”
“Just did,” I fired back. “Now, is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Thorn, or can I get back to work?”
“Don’t”—he shook his head—“nothing happened.”
“Whatever you say. I just work here.”
“Avery Bug—”
“Not now. I can’t do this here. Remember, I need this internship.”
Lucas swore, turned on his heel, and slammed his office door. I flinched when the blinds were aggressively pulled up so I could see directly into his office.
But I wasn’t sure if what I saw should make me feel better or worse.
One of his office chairs appeared to have been knocked over, and papers were strewn everywhere.
It would be a nightmare to clean up.
I smiled and decided to enjoy imagining Lucas Thorn on his hands and knees, cleaning up the consequences of his sin.
I ignored him all day.
And learned one thing.
Lucas Thorn was not easy to ignore. Not easy at all. I never realized how much of a presence he had, until I was trying not to notice.
He smelle
d nice too. He wore only enough cologne to give you a little bit of a tease, which of course made you want to lean in more and take another good sniff.
Oh good, so now I was daydreaming about sniffing him. That was not healthy for my sanity, not at all.
I think the worst part of the day, so far, was that it was just lunchtime. I couldn’t escape—I was at my desk, after all—and the bastard ordered Thai food, then proceeded to eat it in the lobby.
Directly across from me.
As slowly as humanly possible.
While licking his lips with that . . . tongue.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Nope.” My stomach growled in protest. The heart might want what it wants, but the stomach? It wanted Thai food, and it was completely willing to tell the heart to shut the hell up so it could get fed.
“You sure?” The man just wouldn’t leave it alone!
“I’ve got a protein bar.” My stomach growled in irritation. Chill, stomach. I’m not exactly thrilled about the chewy concoction I found in my desk either.
“Because I ordered extra.”
Stand your ground, Avery! You will not fall to his charms again because of food.
“Hey, you like peanut sauce, don’t you?”
I jerked to attention, and my eyes widened, mouth watering. “Nope.”
“Oh, because I’m just going to throw it out, so—”
“No!” I wailed and charged toward him, ready to save the peanut sauce and sacrifice my body if necessary.
I tripped over my own feet, stumbled against the chair, and barely grabbed the peanut sauce from his hands before he dropped it into the trash can.
“Someone should hold out a piece of bacon and time your sprints,” he joked.
I glowered down at his perfect face and stupid chest and sexy smile—and I prayed for all his teeth to fall out, except for one. Because then I could call him Toothclops—like a Cyclops of teeth!
Clearly, my blood sugar was dipping.
“Avery”—his eyes pleaded with me—“sit.”
“I’ll stand.”
“Fine.” He handed me a carton of pad Thai and a fork.
“Fine,” I repeated like a six-year-old.
He sighed.
We ate in silence.
I stood, moaned, made a few whimpering noises, and nearly licked the box. Lucas sat and watched me.
Normally, I would care about having food on my face.
But today wasn’t normal.
Nope, today was the day that a Friday came in on a Thursday and reminded me why sleeping with Lucas Thorn was a bad life choice.
“Nothing happened.”
“Not my business.”
“I broke it off with her.”
This, this intrigued me. “I’m sure you’ll find a replacement soon enough, you always do.”
“Funny, since I’ve met you, I’ve done nothing but lose girls.”
“I’m not interviewing potential whores for you, Thorn. I don’t give a rat’s ass that you kiss like a god. I will not be sucked in”—I fidgeted with my hands—“again.”
“Not even for a hamburger?”
“STOP BRIBING ME WITH FOOD!”
“STOP ACCUSING ME OF CHEATING!”
We were chest to chest. How did that happen? Again?
He grabbed my hand and tugged me into his office, slamming the door behind us and causing the blinds to slam against the windows—all before his mouth was on mine.
He tasted like peanut sauce.
So I licked.
Because that’s what starving women do when they’re placed in a situation like that!
Low blood sugar.
Bad choices.
Thai food.
And Lucas Thorn.
Nobody had a right to taste that good after having lunch—it wasn’t fair. I ran my hands over his cheeks, and currents of desire washed over me as his mesmerizing eyes searched mine. He sighed. “I didn’t kiss her.”
“She kissed you?” I hated how weak my voice sounded. “You know it doesn’t matter.”
“It matters.” He gave my body a little shake. “Believe me, it matters.”
Sighing, I tried to pull away, but he locked his arms around me, and I was powerless. “Today may be Thursday, but tomorrow’s Friday.”
“And I’m never seeing Nadia again.”
I tried to calm my racing pulse.
“And you don’t have a Saturday anymore either. Should we hold auditions at the homeless shelter?”
He slapped me on the ass. Hard. “Why do you have to be so difficult?”
“Me? Difficult? Why all you have to do is feed me, and I’m calm, cool, and collected—while also being sexy and downright aloof when I want to be.”
His eyes raked me over before he silenced me with another kiss and released me. “This isn’t over.”
“This?” I hid my shaking hands behind my back. “Thorn, there isn’t anything to be over. Remember—one day?”
“I owe you a burger tonight.”
“It’s just a meal, breaking bread—not sex, Thorn. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“If you wouldn’t wear such a tight skirt, my brain wouldn’t be functioning at such a dirty level, Avery Bug.”
I hated that his comment had me smiling all the way to my desk, until I looked at his calendar again.
He was bored.
He wanted sex.
I was available.
And convenient.
Nothing more.
Chapter Thirty-Five
LUCAS
“Right. There.” I moaned and then broke out in a cold sweat. “Wait, just a little to the left. No, right! Left!”
“Did you FAIL when you were taught direction in first grade?” Avery asked. “Just tell me where it is.”
“You were just there. Damn it!”
“Right or left!”
“RIGHT!” I pointed to the nightstand, not that she could see.
Avery made a triumphant noise, clearly forgetting she was under the table and giving me the show of a lifetime. She bumped her head while attempting to jump to her feet, no doubt to celebrate her ability to locate the penny she’d dropped.
“Ouch.” Avery rubbed her head and then thrust the penny against my chest. “Heads we go with the death scenario, or tails we power through, man up, and make them think that we are together for real. We eat the food, we talk to the people, we wave, we kiss for pictures, and”—her eyes widened—“Uh-oh. I don’t have a ring.”
“We haven’t even flipped the coin yet.” My hands moved to her hips in a vain attempt to pull her against my body.
“Stop that”—she swatted my hands—“I’m off-limits, remember?”
“I keep forgetting.”
“How convenient for your penis.”
“This is a bad idea.”
“Thank you!” She threw her hands in the air. “Finally, you get it. Sex? Always a bad idea.”
I reached for her again, only to be shoved back.
“Not the sex, the sex is always a solid plan—I mean, going home for the so-called engagement party.”
Hurt clouded her eyes. “Which is why we decided to flip the coin.”
“No, you decided to flip the coin after I fed you a hamburger and you declared that the beef inspired you.”
She shrugged. “Foodspiration. I called it foodspiration, Thorn.”
Groaning, I positioned the coin on my palm. “Fine. Are you ready?”
“I’ve never really thought about planning my own death—so, no, I’m not ready, Thorn. But what other choice do we have? You said my mom cried! She cried and hugged your mom! They’re finally back together! Peace has been restored. If we fess up now, we’re completely screwed, and you know it. Suddenly, we’re back at square one, and they’ll think you somehow brainwashed me to go through with this plan and”—she was starting to hyperventilate—“Kayla, will hate you all over again. And it’s not fair, not when—”
I swallowed and
looked away.
Not when it always takes two.
The truth loomed over both of us.
“Clearly, sticking to the plan has caused a domino effect,” I said.
She shook her head.
“But going to the engagement party and continuing on with this plan . . . Well, the last time we said yes to one of the mothers, you were spread-eagled on the doctor’s table and—”
“I was there, Thorn, don’t need a recap.” She covered my mouth with her hand. Her skin smelled like coconut. “Stop looking at me like you want to eat me.”
“I do want to eat you.”
“Lucas . . .”
“Oh, so it’s Lucas now?”
“Flip the damn coin.”
I held my breath and tossed it in the air. Once it hit the ground, Avery and I stood over it and simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.
“Tails!” we said in unison. I reached out and grabbed her hand, rubbing her skin softly.
When she looked into my eyes, tears were already filling hers. “We’ve come this far. They can’t know the truth.”
“The truth.” What was the truth anyway? That I was falling for her? That I didn’t know what the hell I was doing? That I was a cheating bastard who fell for her long ago even though I’d asked her sister to marry me?
Avery squeezed my hand. “Here’s our story: I was your intern, one thing led to another . . .” She chewed on a fingernail. “Love at first sight. I sharpened your pencils, saved the day by fixing the copy machine—we shared a laugh in the break room, hah-hah.” She was bordering on delirious. “And then we kissed. End of story. No, I’m not pregnant. Yes, we’ll eventually get married. No, I don’t have a ring because it’s too conventional. Done.”
“Wow, you’ve thought of everything.”
“I have.” She exhaled, looking pleased with herself. “I really have.”
“You barely started your new job, Avery Bug.”
“Curses.”
“So unless we were dating in secret, that part of the story isn’t going to work. It’s going to seem like we’re moving too fast. It may have worked when we told my parents, but they’ve been too busy thinking about grandkids to actually process the whole time line.”