Thorn

I stepped inside the conference room, a room surrounded by glass walls so anyone walking by could see directly inside. Autumn was visible before I even stepped into the room, wearing a burgundy blouse and black heels. I imagined she was wearing a pencil skirt under the desk—because that’s what she usually wore. She had the body to pull it off.

Actually, she had the body to rock it.

I stepped inside and smoothed out the front of my tie. A cart was placed off to the side, full of coffee, cream, and snacks. My eyes were on her, sitting on the other side of the table. Now I had to interact with her as a professional. The last time I saw her, I fucked her on the couch then told her I was a jealous man.

Now I was supposed to shake her hand like that never happened?

Autumn rose from the table and came forward to greet me. “Thorn.”

I wanted to extend my hand, but that felt strange. I’d shaken her hand before, but that was before I’d fucked her a dozen times. If someone else were in the room, I would have done it. But right then and there, the last thing I wanted to do was shake her hand. “Autumn, how are you?”

She didn’t try to shake my hand either. “Good. I’m excited to get started.”

“Then let’s begin.” I purposely moved to the other side of the table so there would be an appropriate amount of distance between us. If I got too close to her, I was afraid of what I might do. I might grab her thigh under the table because I couldn’t keep myself under control. People passed the glass doors as they traveled to their offices or the break room. We were like fish in a bowl, visible for everyone to see.

Why did Titan make all of her rooms like this?

“Can I get you some coffee?” I asked.

“No, thanks. I can get it myself if I want it.” She opened her folder and organized her notes.

I wanted to smile because she sounded just like Titan. “Of course.”

“So, where do you want to start?” She rested her hands together, her fingers interlocking.

“I’d like to know about your projects. That way Titan can determine what her focus will be. You’ll have to dumb it down for me because I’m not much of a science guy.” Titan might understand it more, but I worked primarily in the food industry.

“I don’t need to dumb it down for you, Thorn. People think science is complicated, but it’s not. It’s actually very simple.” She pulled out a few sheets and slid them toward me. “This is what I’ve been focusing on…”

She spent the next hour discussing her scientific findings along with the technology she was advancing. She gave me a list of industry purposes for every single innovation, which was very helpful. Once she opened up her world to me, I realized I was dealing with an intellect I’d never encountered before. Her genius was unbelievable. It made me wonder why she was wasting her time on me. I was an idiot compared to her.

“This will be a good advance in the industry,” she said. “These changes are cost-effective and affordable for any company, big or small. And in the end, it’ll save them a lot of money. I’m not sure how Titan wants to begin marketing this or what angle she’s going to choose, but I’m interested in finding out.”

I flipped through the pages again and added a few things to my notes. When I was absorbed in the world we were working in, I forgot about the obvious chemistry between us. Work seemed to be the only thing strong enough to distract me for a significant amount of time. But once the meeting was over, like any other man, I would return to thinking about one thing—sex. “Thank you, Autumn. That was very informative.”

“I told you I didn’t need to dumb it down.”

“I won’t pretend to understand the science behind it. I’ll just have to take your word for it.”

“I can always show you my lab, if you’re curious.”

“I wouldn’t mind, actually.” She had a few things in her office, but I wouldn’t mind seeing where she did the heavy lifting. I imagined it was the size of a warehouse, and all of her work was neatly organized despite the cacophony of information she was processing.

“Just tell me when and where.” She closed her folder then eyed her watch. “Is there anything else we should discuss today?”

“I think we’ve got it covered. I’ll go over this with Titan, and we’ll go from there.”

“When will she be back?” she asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. And I can’t ask. If I do—”

“It’ll make her anxious to get back to work,” she said. “I understand.”

A tapping noise sounded on the door before it opened. Diesel walked in, wearing a dark gray suit with a black tie. He showed a charismatic smile as he leaned in the doorway. “Can I come in? Or am I interrupting something?”

“Would it matter?” I asked like a smartass.

He stepped inside and turned to me. “How’s it going?”

“Good.” I rose to my feet and shook his hand. “Ms. Alexander and I just finished our meeting.” I didn’t go out of my way to greet anyone with the same respect that I did with Diesel because we had a unique situation. Diesel had been telling the truth, but I hadn’t listened to him. He never turned his back on Titan or me despite our negative opinion of him, and that earned a lifetime of respect. I’d always get out of my chair and greet him. He was a good man. “How are you?”

“I’m taking Titan to the doctor this afternoon,” he said. “Stitches should be coming out.”

“That’s great news.”

“Things are kinda tense between us right now.” He rubbed the back of his neck as his expression hardened.

“Why?” Did he tell Titan about her mom?

“We talked about starting a family, and that led to the dreaded conversation of changing her last name. She’s being very stubborn about it.”

I held back my chuckle but couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “Were you expecting something else?”

“I guess I thought it would be a little easier.”

“It won’t,” I said. “But keep pushing her, and she’ll do it. Trust me, she will.”

“You think?” he asked.

“Definitely. She loves you. I know she wants to be a Hunt. The only thing holding her back is her father. It’s a touchy subject with her.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“She’ll cave,” I said with confidence. “I know she will.”

“You do know her better than anyone,” he said with a chuckle.

I was her best friend, but I would never know her in the way Diesel did. Deep love like that was something I’d never experienced. Titan was important to me and I would do anything for her, but she wasn’t my whole world. “Not anymore.” I patted him on the back before I turned to Autumn. “Have you two met before?”

“I don’t think so.” Autumn came around the desk and shook Diesel’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Diesel dropped his hand and placed it in his pocket. “Thorn and Titan have told me a lot of great things about you.”

“That’s good to know.” She held her hands together in front of her waist then turned her gaze on me. She wore a smile, but that joy didn’t reach her eyes. There was something else in the look that I couldn’t identify.

Diesel turned back to me. “I’ll let you guys get back to work. But next time you see Titan…give her a nudge for me. She listens to you.”

He gave me way too much credit. “She listens to you more than you realize.”

He patted me on the shoulder and headed to the door.

“Let me know how the doctor visit goes.”

“Sure thing.” Diesel nodded to both of us before he walked out. He stepped through the glass doors then walked down the hallway, looking like he owned the building before he even tied the knot with Titan.

I turned back to Autumn. “I’m sure Diesel will be involved with a lot of things around here after they get married.”

“Yeah…” She continued to look at me with hesitance. The calm and confident woman that was there just a moment ago was long gone.

“Everything alright?” I’d been sleeping with her for weeks, and in that time frame, I’d gotten to know her well. I understood her body cues, her moods. I didn’t have it down to an exact science just yet, but I would get there.

“I’m fine.”

“You seem really tense all of a sudden.”

“I guess…never mind.” She returned to her seat and sat down.

“Never mind what?” I sank into my chair, my eyes homing in on her face.

“I guess I’m surprised the two of you are so close.”

“Who?” I asked me. “Me and Diesel?”

“Yeah.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” He was a great guy who was loyal and honest. I’d always seen Titan as a friend, but now that she was marrying him, it was like I getting another friend too. He would be part of our small family.

“Uh…because he’s engaged to your ex-fiancée.”

I kept forgetting that stupid lie was real to some people. “Yeah, but that was a long time ago.”

“It was less than six weeks ago…”

Shit, that was it? It felt like a lifetime had already passed. I couldn’t believe I’d only proposed to her a few months ago. The enormous engagement ring was still sitting in my nightstand because I didn’t know what to do with it. I could pawn it, but that somehow felt cheap. But I couldn’t keep it either. It’s not like it had any purpose. “Seems longer than that.” I wanted to change the subject because this was dangerous territory. The world was beginning to get used to Titan and Diesel being together, and they weren’t focusing on me as much. Maybe Autumn needed more time to forget about the whole thing.

“I’m just surprised you’re so close with him considering what happened. I don’t think anyone else would be able to handle the situation with such maturity. I mean, you loved this woman and wanted to spend your whole life with her…and then she left you for someone else. I know I wouldn’t be able to put on a straight face and shake hands with the woman who took my man away.”

I wouldn’t either, but I couldn’t tell her that. I was tempted to tell her the truth, but since the incident was still so fresh, I knew I had to wait a while. If she told anyone the entire relationship was bogus, it would ruin Titan’s reputation. Right now, people were focused on the brave way she fought off her attacker. She was considered to be a hero. I wouldn’t take that away from her. “I can spend my time being angry about it, or I can just let it go. I choose to let it go.” I turned back to my notes and wrote a few things down.

I knew she was staring at me across the table, those large green eyes glued to my face. Her dark hair was pushed back behind her shoulders, putting her pretty face right in the forefront.

I looked up to see her straight-on look. “What?”

She finally broke eye contact. “Nothing.”

---

The game was on the TV, and I sat in the living room with a bottle of beer resting on a coaster. It’d been a long day at the office, tons of paperwork and meetings. The only highlight of the day was seeing Autumn.

Damn, those eyes.

I loved the way they sparkled, like jewels. She was prettier than a doll and sexier than a model. She had everything the ideal woman should possess—brain and sass. I liked everything about her, not just the beauty between her legs.

That was why I was thinking about her now.

I missed her.

I grabbed my phone and sent a text. Thinking about you.

Yeah?

Yeah.

What exactly are you thinking about that includes me?

You naked on my bed.

Interesting. Now I’m thinking the same thing.

I grinned at her banter, loving the way she was naturally playful. Come over. I’ll make dinner. It was earlier than when we usually saw each other.

You know how to cook?

Not a Thanksgiving feast, but I can make a few things. What do you say?

Hmm…free food and good sex.

I grinned wider. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

I’ll be over in a bit.

Looking forward to it. I hopped off the couch the second the conversation was over and got to work in the kitchen. I didn’t want to do anything too basic because I wanted to impress her, so I made chicken Marsala on a bed of noodles along with mushrooms and broccoli. The second I was finished and the pans were soaking in the sink, the elevator beeped with her arrival.

I was there when the doors opened, standing in just my sweatpants. Anytime I was home, I was shirtless. Sitting in my own skin was the most comfortable position, so I enjoyed it when I wasn’t in the office. I was used to wearing a stiff suit all day, a thick tie wrapped around my neck.

She was in jeans and a tight black sweater, dressed casually but sexy at the same time. She could have come in just a towel, and I would have grinned just the way I was now. Dark red lipstick was on her mouth, and her eyelashes were thick and seductive. I’d never seen her without makeup, but I imagined she would look just as beautiful without it. I whistled under my breath and looked her up and down. “I like a woman in jeans.”

“Well, you’re going to like me, then.” She stepped into my penthouse then moved right in for a kiss. Her hand wrapped around my neck, and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me. The passion in her lips told me she’d wanted to kiss me for the last half hour, that she’d been thinking about me since I texted her.

I grabbed her and pulled her tightly against my body, feeling her perfect curves right against my hard chest. My fingers dug into her jeans then migrated to her ass. My hands dug in and gripped both cheeks.

I loved that ass.

She was the first one to introduce tongue, and she gave it to me with vigor. She pulled me deeper into her, like she hadn’t seen me in weeks rather than a few hours. After the tense way we ended things at the office, this was a complete flip.

“You really have been thinking about me…” I smiled against her mouth, feeling my self-worth double just like it was a holding in the stock market.

Her hand pressed against my hard-on in my sweatpants. “Just as you’ve been thinking about me…” She batted her eyelashes playfully then walked away from me, her hand sliding across my crotch until she passed me.

Dumbfounded, I stood there for a moment. Her confidence was sexy. I hadn’t met a woman who held so much power and wasn’t afraid to show her awareness of it. She didn’t pretend to be humble about her gifts.

When I could finally stop thinking about her hand against my crotch, I turned around and escorted her into the dining room. “Hungry?”

“Definitely.”

I pulled out the chair for her before I took the seat across from her. “Wine?”

She sat down and pushed her glass across the hardwood table. “Please.”

I filled both of our glass before I placed a napkin in my lap.

She picked up her silverware and stared at me instead of cutting into her food.

“You can’t stare at me all night. Come on, eat.”

“Do you always eat with your shirt off?”

“Whenever I’m home.”

“That looks dangerous…”

“How?”

“You spill a hot piece of chicken on your chest…and that will definitely burn.”

“Well, I don’t spill.” I cut into my food and took a bite.

“Alright…” She finally directed her gaze to her dinner and placed a bite in her mouth. “Wow…this is good.”

“Don’t be surprised.”

She continued to eat, enjoying everything on her plate and washing it down with some wine. “Who taught you how to cook?”

“My mom.”

She was about to drink from her wine again but stopped herself. She suppressed the smile on her mouth, but it couldn’t be contained behind those gorgeous, plump lips. “Your mom?”

“Yeah? So what.”

“I’ve never heard a man say that before.”

“My mom was a stay-at-home mom most of her life. Whenever I’d come home from school, I’d ask her for a snack. She always told me she wouldn’t make it for me, but she would always make it with me. I guess that was her way of making me more independent. She started doing it when I was five, which is a little young, but it paid off.”

“That’s cute.”

“Yeah, I’ve always been a bit of a mama’s boy. Make fun of me all you want. I don’t give a damn.” I’d also lived in a house with my brother and father, so it was all sports and activities. My younger brother needed more attention than I did, so my dad gave it to him. That left me to hang out with Mom.

“Why would I make fun of you?”

“Because no grown-ass man should say he’s a mama’s boy.”

“I don’t see the harm. I’m a daddy’s girl.”

“Not the same thing. That’s actually cute.”

“You’re cute too, Thorn.”

I drank my wine again, brushing off her comment. “You’re just saying that because you’re in love with my big dick.”

She chuckled. “I’m not saying that because I’m in love with your dick. I’m saying it because it’s true.”

“Whatever you say…”

“If I were just in love with your package, I wouldn’t be having dinner with you. I’d get my action and then take off.” She’d already eaten half of her food, and she was still going. “Keep that in mind.”

“That’s a good point. I don’t have dinner with women either.”

“Never?” she asked incredulously.

I shook my head. “I don’t think I’ve ever cooked for a woman before.”

“Not even Titan?” she asked in surprise.

“Well, except for her. But that’s a different situation.”

“Because she’s the only woman you’ve ever loved?”

“Uh…” I didn’t like the way she phrased that. It made me sound like a pussy. “No. Because we would work late at my place, and I would just whip something up. It wasn’t really romantic…”

She swirled her wine before she took a drink, her mood suddenly diving. “I know it’s hard right now, but it’ll get easier.”

Huh? What was she talking about? “What will get easier?”

“Getting over her.” She started to push her food around, obviously no longer hungry. Her eyes turned down to her food for a while before she raised them again.

My immediate response was to laugh at the absurdity of her words. I couldn’t get over Titan because I never felt a romantic feeling toward her. I wanted to blurt that out and tell her I’d never loved a woman in all my life. Just when I decided to, she kept talking.

“I’ve been through something similar. It’s one of those things that takes time. It’s different for everyone. Some people immediately bounce back, and some people don’t.” Her eyes were filled with painful memories, and her somberness escaped in her tone. The indications were subtle, but since I paid such attention to her, the signs were obvious to me.

Now I didn’t care about setting the record straight. All I cared about was what caused her to feel so much anguish. How could a man leave her for someone else when she was absolutely perfect? The guy would have to be insane. “You have?”

“Yeah.” She set her utensils down, obviously finished eating. “It’s been a few years now. But for the first six months, I was pretty upset about it. As time passed, it got easier. I’m in a good place now, and I’m very happy. But I’m so happy that I’m scared to lose it again. So that makes it impossible to trust anyone. I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to be in a relationship again. Not when it seems so risky.”

My heart tightened in pain, and I ached for this woman. I never wanted her to be sad. I never wanted her to be so hurt that she couldn’t trust again. Whoever this guy was, I knew he would regret his decision someday—big-time. “What happened?”

“The specifics don’t matter. I was in love with this guy, and we were happy together. He started a new job, met someone there, and unfortunately, it just happened. It wasn’t a situation where he was sneaking around behind my back and lying about where he was. He told me he was attracted to her. A month later, he left his job because he couldn’t be around her anymore. But that was when he realized that whatever they had was something he couldn’t ignore. So he left…” She said all of it with surprising strength, but there was a hint of the years of pain that she endured. “Months went by, and I constantly questioned if I was the problem. If I’d done my hair differently or worked out more, would he have stayed? But in the end, I knew it was out of my control. Perhaps this woman was his soul mate, and there was nothing either of us could have done about it. I saw him about eight months ago. They’re married and have a young daughter together. It took me a long time to look him in the eye and say I was happy for him…but I am happy for him.”

She was a lot more understanding than I was. I wanted to crush this guy’s skull with my bare hands. How could he possibly think this other woman was better than Autumn? How could he walk away from such a remarkable woman? “I’m sorry, Autumn.”

“Don’t be. It took me a long time to understand that being young is about finding the right person. I obviously wasn’t the right person for him, and he followed his instincts. He was always honest with me, so how could I hate him? I know the whole thing caused him pain too.”

Not enough pain, if you asked me.

“But now that I’m happy on my own, I don’t want to go down that road again. Being by myself feels a lot safer. I’m very protective of my happiness, and I’m not sure if I could risk it for someone again…”

Her perspective made complete sense to me. She’d loved a man, but that love wasn’t good enough for him. That kind of rejection stung forever. But I didn’t want to feel that way, to feel scared of loving someone. “You shouldn’t give up. He wasn’t the man you’re supposed to be with, because the real guy is still out there somewhere.”

“Maybe…maybe not.” Her eyes drifted away, leaving the conversation as her thoughts swirled behind her eyes.

I abandoned my food because I lost my appetite. Her pain shocked my whole system so I wasn’t interested in my dinner, no matter how good it was. Now I wanted to make her feel better, to do anything to pull her from this misery. “He made the biggest mistake of his life, Autumn.”

“I’ve seen them together, and I don’t think he did.” A soft smile formed on her lips. “I guess that’s why I’m okay with it. I wouldn’t go out of my way to be nice to the woman he married the way you are with Diesel…but I don’t hate her.”

Now I felt like a jerk for lying to her. She only told me that story because she thought I was going through the same thing. I wanted to correct her, but I thought that might embarrass her. I didn’t know what to do, so I didn’t do anything. “Thanks for telling me…”

“I see the way you are with Titan, and I know you’re going through it too. But it must be hard to see the love of your life on a regular basis…”

I hid my cringe as best as I could. “It’s…it’s not as intense as you think it is.”

“And I understand why you don’t want a relationship either. I can’t blame you. Having good sex with someone with no expectations is a lot easier. You don’t get your hopes up, you don’t get your trust up, and you know the arrangement has a deadline. It takes all the emotional bullshit out of it.”

I wanted the same thing, but for different reasons. I was incapable of love, so I just wanted lust. I’d never had my heart broken because I couldn’t fall in love in the first place. If I told her that, she would think I was crazy—as she should. “Do you want to have a family?”

“I do…eventually. I’m not sure how right now, but I’ve always wanted kids.”

That was something I wanted too, to have my own family. I needed a wife for that, but without love, I would never find anyone, unless it was a mail-order bride. Titan was different because she had the same desires I did.

But then I realized Autumn did too.

She wanted the exact same thing…

Autumn turned back to me, and her eyes narrowed as she looked into mine. “What?”

I knew she was commenting on the new expression I wore, the brightness in my eyes at my discovery. I didn’t know what to do with this information because I’d just uncovered it, but I definitely wanted to put it to use—just not right now. “Nothing.”