Chapter 5

Three weeks later, Sonya left the office of her latest temp posting and headed for the bus station to ride home to her apartment. She set her bag over her shoulder and lifted her nose to the breeze. She caught a hint of summer when she heard a roaring noise coming down the street behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see a huge gleaming Harley storming down the street.

She rummaged in her bag for her bus pass. She never gave the Harley a second thought until it slowed and rolled up at the curb next to her. She only glanced up between snapping her wallet closed to catch sight of the black helmet concealing the rider’s head.

The rider stared at her from behind his tinted visor. Sonya found her pass and kept walking. The engine noise followed her down the street. That’s just what she needed right now, some biker freak stalking her.

The Harley’s engines exploded to life once more, and she was just starting to relax into the assurance that he was driving away when she saw him drive a few feet ahead and stop again. He shut off the motor and waited for her to catch up.

She compressed her lips and squared her shoulders to deal with this creep when he whipped off his helmet. A tussle of brown hair fell over his eyes, and he combed it to one side with his gloved fingers. He looked back over his shoulder at Sonya as she came up to him, and she recognized Cameron O'Toole.

She stopped dead in her tracks and stared. What was he doing here? His padded leather jacket made his shoulders look wider and bulkier than ever, right down to his steel-toed boots. He rested his helmet on his hip and crossed one arm over the dome. “Hello, Sonya. How are you?”

She looked him up and down. “What's this, your Halloween costume? I didn't recognize you without a suit on.”

“Actually, this is what I call my Harley. How would you like to go for a ride?”

“I don't think so.”

“Why not? You'd be perfectly safe with me.”

“Safe with you? Yeah, right.”

He bit back a smile. “That's what I like about you, Sonya. You never pull your punches. I only meant I would drive safely. I've got a spare helmet here.”

“No, thanks. I'm going home. I'm glad to see you're doing well. I'll see you later.”

“When will I see you later? I haven't seen you in three weeks.”

She started walking again. He hopped off the bike, hung the helmet on the handlebars, and came up next to her. “Why won't you even talk to me? Did I do something to offend you?”

“You didn't do anything to offend me. I just have to go.”

“If I didn't do anything to offend you, why did you quit like that, without a word to anyone?”

She rounded on him. “You know very well why I quit. I quit because we had wild sex in your office. I told you I don't do that sort of thing at work. I couldn't work for you after that.”

“If I had known you were going to quit, I never would have touched you.”

She set her hands on her hips. “Like you said, you didn't have to touch me. You could mess around with me sitting behind your desk, and I would have no assurance you wouldn't do it again if I kept working for you.”

He leaned back. “All right. If that's how you feel about it...”

“It is. I better go.”

“Just tell me one thing before you go, Sonya, if you don't mind.”

“What is it?”

“Did you like it? Was it good for you?”

“You know it was.”

“If I knew, I wouldn't ask.”

“Well, it was. You don't have to worry about that. I'm sure you have all the girls drooling over you. You can put your mind at rest. Your reputation as a lady killer remains untarnished.”

“I don't have a reputation as a lady killer, and I don't want all the girls drooling over me. I  just want to know if I pleased you, if you enjoyed your time with me.”

“I did. I liked it a lot.”

“But you never want to do it again?”

“I want to do it again, but not with my boss.”

“Then why don't you come for a ride with me? We could do it again, now that you're not working with me.”

“I don't want to do it again with you at all. Thanks for the offer, and thanks for the good time.”

“How are things going with Liam?”

She started to walk away, but at the mention of Liam, she glanced back over her shoulder. “I dumped him.”

Cameron stopped walking. He didn't say anything. He stayed where he was and let her walk away. She got halfway down the block before she paused. She looked around. He wasn't with her anymore. She looked back and saw him standing far away.

She turned around and walked back to him. “What's the matter? What's so shocking about me dumping Liam?”

“What made you do that?”

“You did. Don't you know that?”

“How could I know? What did I have to do with it?”

“You changed everything. You made me see what I was missing. I couldn't go back to Liam after that.”

“I didn't think what we did was that earth-shattering for you.”

“Yeah. I never knew it could be like that. I never thought it could be about my own pleasure instead of keeping some shallow relationship going. You changed my whole way of looking at myself and my life.”

“Do you have a new boyfriend, or do you have other guys you're seeing now, to please you?”

“No, I don't have any other guys.”

“If you're not with Liam anymore and you don't have any other guys, how have you been satisfying yourself?”

“By myself.”

His eyes popped open. “By yourself? What do you mean?”

“You showed me I could do it to myself, that I could tap into my own desires and satisfy them with no help from anybody, so that's what I've been doing.”

He smiled down at her. “I see.”

“I suppose you think that's really funny. You probably think I'm turning into a hermit or something.”

“I don't think it's funny. I just wish I could be a part of it.”

“Well, you can't. You did your job. Now go find someone else to be a part of.”

“You don't have to do it by yourself all the time.”

“I know, but I'm not going to waste my time with any guy I don't know can really do it for me. I'm not going to sell myself short with any OKCupids or anything else. If someone can't get me off as well or better than I can get myself off, I won't bother.”

“What about me? Do you think I can get you off as well or better than you can do it yourself?”

“Oh, I know you can.”

“Then what's the problem?”

“The problem is we have a history together. That will get in the way of me really giving myself to you—I mean, to the situation.”

“Isn't that history the same thing that tells you it would be good for you? You had a good time with me once. Maybe you would have a good time with me again.”

“You never give up, do you? You never take no for an answer.”

“I don't give up—not ever—but if you really are saying no, I'll let you walk away and never bother you again. I just want to know I'm doing the right thing by you.”

“You are. You already have.”

“I'm glad I could give you that. I'm glad you're happier now.”

“I am.”

“Okay. Goodbye. Have a nice life.”

She didn't move, but regarded him. “You're just going to let me go like that? You're giving up?”

“You said you were happy. That's all I want.”

“What will you do if I do go with you?”

“I haven't thought that far in advance? You haven't said yes. You probably never will.”

“I don't want to settle. That's all.”

“Would you be settling with me?”

She put her head on one side. “I guess not. You're not like any guy I ever met before. I mean, I've met executives like you before at work, but I've never been involved with one before.”

“How am I different?”

“You care about making me happy. You would willingly walk away from me if it meant making me happy. That's exactly the opposite of what most guys do.”

“I'm not most guys, and I do care about you, but I'm not here to tell you what will make you happy. If you say walking away from me will make you happy, I have no choice but to take your word for it. I'm not going to tell you any different.”

“That's not what you did last time. I said I didn't want it, but you convinced me to go through with it so I would realize I did want it. Maybe the same thing is happening now. Maybe what will make me happy isn't the same thing as what I think will make me happy.”

“Are you happy pleasuring yourself alone? There's nothing wrong with it if you are.”

“I'm satisfying myself. That's certain.”

“Would you rather have a guy to please you?”

“Of course I would.”

“Tell me what you're doing.”

“Doing?”

“With yourself. What are you doing when you please yourself?”

“I got some toys like the one you showed me.”

“The dildo?”

“Right.”

“And?”

“And I sit on it and ride it, and I got some butt toys, too.”

His eyes burned. Why did he look at her like that? “Yeah?”

“And I sit on both of them at the same time.”

His nostrils flared. “I'd like to see that.”

She blushed and looked away. “I know you like to watch.”

“I've had enough watching you. If you come with me, I won't watch anymore.”

“I haven't said I would come with you.”

“What part of what we did together was the most life-changing for you? Was it the anal play?”

“Not really.”

“Had you done any anal play before?”

“No. I never considered it before you did it to me. I thought it was dirty and painful, but you showed me it wasn't. As long as I have something...I don't want to talk about this with you anymore. I'm going home.”

When she turned away this time, he hurried to fall in at her side. “If it wasn't the anal play, what was it?”

“I told you. It was just putting my own desires first. It was realizing my desires matter, and turning myself on enough first that I can cum every time, sometimes more than once. I never thought it could be like that. With Liam, it was just wham, bam, thank you, ma'am. He never bothered with getting me turned on beforehand, and I never bothered with it, either. I just didn't care.”

“I liked turning you on beforehand. I liked watching you play with yourself and listening to you beg me to fuck you. That was incredible.”

She smacked her lips. “Come on. You don't really expect me to believe we had anything special for you. I'm just a notch on your belt.”

“I don't have notches on my belt, Sonya, and I never do that sort of thing with just anybody, either. I don't want to settle, either. I haven't been with anybody else since you left.”

She drew up short and confronted him. “You're lying.”

He raised two fingers. “Scout's honor. I've been taking care of myself, but it's nowhere near as good as it was with you. You can probably please yourself with your toys as well as I could, but I can't please myself with my hand as well as you could with your body.”

“Shut up.”

“It's true. I've been going out of my mind since you quit, and I've spent you don't know how many hours tracking you down.”

“You didn't have to do that.”

“I did have to do it, and I did it, and I don't regret it one bit. If you walk away right now, I'm still glad I had a chance to see you again and hear it straight from you why you left. I can let you go now.”

“What will you do? Will you try to find someone else?”

“I don't try to find anyone. I wait for the right person to come to me. I thought the right person had come to me when you came to work for me, but I can see I was wrong.”

“If I was working for you, I wasn't the right person.”

“I understand that now. I see your point, and I respect you for sticking to your guns.”

She waited in silence.

“Well, aren't you going to go home?”

“Why don't you give me a ride home?”

His head shot up. “Are you sure?”

“Sure. What the hell.”