Jess didn’t have a very high opinion of Steve, but then she didn’t have a high opinion of any man except Jake. Whom she admired.
“There is no effect,” Kim ground out.
“Hmm, and touchy as well. What’s going on here?”
“Nothing. Are we still going out for a drink?”
“Yes, and we’re meeting Dani as well. She needs cheering up. But don’t imagine you’re getting out of this—you can tell us everything over chocolate martinis.”
“There’s nothing to—”
The door opening interrupted her protestations of innocence. Kim sighed, but her relief was short-lived. Jake poked his head around the door.
“Could you come outside a moment?”
She peeked down at the towel, which was all she wore. “I don’t think so.”
When she didn’t move, he glanced around and then stepped into the room.
Kim had an immediate urge to sink through the floor. Or vanish in a puff of smoke. Instead, she stood there like an idiot, staring at him and trying not to remember that only half an hour ago he’d been on top of her. Inside her. Heat flared to life low in her belly. She forgot Jess was there as her gaze locked with Jake’s and she saw the same heat reflected in his eyes.
“Er, ladies’ room, boss,” Jess said, breaking the link.
Jake shook his head as though only now noticing the other woman was present.
“I need to talk to Kim,” he said.
She wasn’t ready to talk yet. Not until she worked out what she wanted to say and what she wanted to do next with regard to Jake. She needed to get some distance, let the memory fade a little so she could face him without dwelling on his mouth and his hands and his really enormous…
Get a grip.
“I can’t talk now,” she muttered. “We’re leaving.”
Jess glanced between the two of them, a puzzled frown on her face. “That’s okay,” she said. “I have to pick something up from my desk. I’ll meet you in reception.” She headed for the door. “I’ll leave you two to…talk.”
Fine friend she was—abandoning Kim to her fate. She stared at the door while she hunted for something intelligent to say.
“Are you going to look at me?” Jake’s voice was smooth, giving away no sign of what he was thinking.
“No.”
She did her best to ignore him as she crossed to her locker. One thing she was sure of—if she did have to have this conversation, no way was she doing it dressed in nothing but a towel. She could feel his attention on her as she opened the locker and pulled out her clothes.
He came to stand beside her, leaning a shoulder casually against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets. At least he’d buttoned his shirt and tucked it into his pants. But his hair was ruffled as though someone had raked her hands though the silky strands. No prizes for guessing who that was.
He pulled something from his pocket and dangled it from one long, elegant finger.
“You left these in my office.”
Her black cotton panties.
“Thank you.” She snatched them from his finger. “But you didn’t have to bring them all the way down here. I have a spare pair.”
He sighed. “Don’t you think we need to talk?”
“No. I have nothing to say.”
“Not even, ‘Thank you, Jake, for giving me three mind-blowing orgasms’?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You are such an asshole.”
“You have to admit it was good.”
“I have very little to compare it with. When I do, I’ll let you know.”
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed her clothes, dashed into one of the stalls, and locked the door behind her. She dressed slowly in the hope that he’d be gone when she came out. She knew it was a vain hope; Jake always liked to have the last word.
She emerged and found him leaning in the exact same spot. When he saw her, he straightened and waited for her to approach. He spoke when she was a foot away.
“You have sex with Steve, and he’s fired.”
She came to an abrupt halt. “You can’t do that.”
“Watch me.”
She wanted to argue but knew it would just be for the sake of arguing—there was no way she would have anything to do with Steve now. She’d spend the whole time comparing him to Jake, and she suspected he’d be a big disappointment. But she wouldn’t tell Jake that.
She gave a casual shrug. “Steve is safe from me.”
“Good.”
She licked her lips. What she needed was some indication that they could return to their old footing. But he didn’t reassure her and all her doubts loomed. What if he didn’t want to be her friend now? What if she’d crossed some invisible line into the lover category, which would eventually turn into the ex-lover category, and she’d lose him?
“I need a little time to come to terms with this,” she said. “I know it’s not a big deal for you, but for me it’s sort of huge.”
“It’s huge for me, too.”
Before she could ask why, he took the final step, which brought him close enough to touch her. She held herself very still as he reached out and stroked her cheek, then leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. She swayed toward him, but he released her and moved back. “I reckon I’ve given you four years. I can give you a little longer. But don’t make me wait too long, Kimberly, or I will come looking for you.”
“Will this change things between us?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Will you still be my friend?”
“I’ll always be your friend, but we can be so much more.” He bent, and she stood her ground as he lowered his mouth toward hers. She knew how this went now. Her lips parted, and his tongue pushed inside, hot and wet. Warmth stole over her, heating her blood, her skin. And she accepted a moment of defeat. She had no defense against how he made her feel.
But after a minute, he drew back. “There’s something else.”
“There is?”
“I didn’t use a condom.”
For a second, his words made no sense. “What?”
“When we made love, I was…overwhelmed. I didn’t use any protection.”
Her mind struggled to make sense of what he was saying.
“You don’t need to worry about catching anything,” he continued. “It was a first—I’ve never had sex without a condom.”
“Never?”