CHAPTER TWENTY

Trevor

I kissed her shoulder before reluctantly getting out of the bed. I’d have preferred to spend the night instead of leaving shortly after sex, but I had to abide by Emma’s rules if I was to have any chance at winning her.

She rolled over to look at me. “You’re leaving?”

Emma was every fantasy come true. Sexy, funny, and beautiful. But her anxiousness at the restaurant had made it very clear the only way I’d be able to hold her, literally and figuratively, would be through sex. Not that most guys would complain—each and every time we were together, I couldn’t get enough. But there was something else I was after.

Her heart.

“Yeah, I should get back for Rufus. Big guy isn’t used to spending the night alone.”

“Right. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She was chewing on her lip, her tell for feeling insecure or awkward.

It seemed silly that after a matter of days I found myself falling for her, but it was the truth. Maybe it was infatuation, but I didn’t think so. And if it had been all about the chase, I’d have been sated instead of more intrigued. The challenge was not freaking her the fuck out. One mention of feelings, and I knew she’d be gone. Yet I believed there was more here than just sex.

There had to be.

“Actually, I’m taking off early for Houston. Spend some time at home. But I’ll see you when you come in.”

“Oh.”

The disappointment on her face made me ask the next question without thinking.

“You want to drive with me tomorrow?” It would be Saturday, and so we’d have the weekend together.

“No, um, thanks. I’m flying in on Sunday to secure our temporary office space.”

I recalled Simon mentioning that fact. “In the same building as the prospective company?”

“Yes. There are two options. One small space on the eighth floor and one huge floor on the seventh. The software company has the second floor.”

“Do you mind if I meet you there? I’d love to get a sense for that part of the process.”

“No. I don’t mind. I have an appointment with the building manager on Sunday at two o’clock. We’ll meet in front.”

I dropped a quick kiss to her lips. “Sounds like a plan. Have a good weekend.”

“You, too.”

***

On Saturday morning, I took off for Houston with Rufus in my truck for the three-and-a-half-hour drive. Although I was disappointed Emma hadn’t wanted to spend the weekend with me, I reasoned it might be good to have a little separation. Perhaps she’d miss me by Sunday.

As I walked into my childhood home, I sighed. It was always bittersweet coming back here to the sprawling mansion. Memories of my mother here were so poignant I had to choke back emotions. Her brain cancer had hit out of the blue, and after a short battle, she’d succumbed. I’d been seventeen, and looking back, that year was a blur. As soon as I’d graduated high school, I’d gotten the hell out. My father had been much the same, throwing himself into his work and doubling his travel schedule. Guilt seeped in that my little sister Avery had been left on her own during such a difficult time.

But now she bounded down the stairs, all smiles. “Hey, you’re early.”

I engulfed her in a big hug. “I hoped to miss traffic.” The truth was I hadn’t wanted to be tempted into asking Emma again if she’d come with me. One rejection was enough.

“Are you staying here or in a hotel?”

“Here. Definitely.” As hard as it was, it was important to relive some of the memories and spend time with my sister.

“Awesome. So dinner tonight—maybe old movies?”

“Sounds good.”

She lit up at the idea. “So hey, Dad mentioned he’s home on Thursday and wants to have your team over for dinner on Friday. But I told him I’d check with you first.”

I knew Emma would probably freak out at the thought, but if we hadn’t been sleeping together, I’d have extended the invitation without hesitation. “Wait, what kind of invite?”

Ever since my father had announced his run for mayor, he’d turned allegedly social dinners into political events.

She sighed. “You know him. I can’t make any promises it won’t end up a fundraiser or some other big deal.”

“I’ll ask Simon and Emma if they want to come.” I’d have preferred not to have Tom in the mix but knew I might have no choice since he’d be in town.

Okay let me know. How are things with Emma?”

Although it was tempting to tell someone about our newfound relationship, my little sister wasn’t that person. “We work well together, but other than that, there isn’t a lot to say.”

“Damn. Never thought I’d see the day you couldn’t charm a girl out of her panties.”

I made a face. “Don’t say that word to me.”

“Panties?”

I full on cringed. “Yes. I don’t want my little sister having a conversation with that word ever.”

She grinned mischievously. “Hey, I could’ve said thong.”

I did an impression of a five-year-old throwing my hands over my ears and started to sing-song, “La, la, la.”

We both laughed, and then she knelt down to pet Rufus who had laid down on the cool marble floor. “Come on. I’ll make a big breakfast with plenty of bacon for you, too, Rufus.”

Since she’d been the one to volunteer at the shelter and beg me to foster him, she was responsible for me meeting and ultimately adopting him.

“How’s work at the shelter?” One reason Avery’s outburst at the gym had been so uncharacteristic was that she was unbelievably generous when it came to most things.

“Good, but sad. I wish I could adopt them all.”

So did I. But we’d have to settle for donating money and time, hoping they’d eventually find forever homes.

***

At two o’clock on Sunday, I pulled up to the structure on the outskirts of Houston which housed Big Town Fantasy Sports. It was a twelve-story building in a commerce business park. With the exception of a few cars, the lot was empty today.

Once my motorcycle was off, I swung my denim-clad leg over the seat and hung my helmet on the handlebars. It had been a nice day, inspiring me to ride the Harley instead of taking my truck. I walked towards the entrance and saw Emma standing there, stunning in a navy dress with nude pumps. I might not be a fashion-conscious type of guy, but I knew when a woman wore it well, and she definitely did. Too bad good taste in clothes made me want to undress her more than admire her in them.

“Hi,” I greeted her, my voice husky and low.

She looked beyond me and appeared taken aback. “You ride a motorcycle?”

“Yeah, when I can.”

“A Harley?”

She was starting to wear her turned-on expression. “Yes. Why? Are you a fan of motorcycles?”

She swallowed hard. “Yeah. I—”

We were interrupted by a female voice accompanying the click-clack of heels on the floor coming towards us.

“Hello. You must be Ms. Brown.” She greeted Emma and then turned towards me. “And you must be Mr. Newhall. So nice to meet you in person. I was happy when Emma emailed me to tell me you’d be coming. I’m Adrienne Jones.”

Adrienne was a leggy blonde with the skirt to show off her assets and a mega-watt smile. She had a Texas accent along with a designer suit and jewelry. In all, I might have thought her attractive if I wasn’t already halfway in love with the woman beside me. I took Adrienne’s offered hand. “Please, call me Trevor.”

She held my hand a bit longer than was comfortable, ignoring Emma.

“And please call me Adrienne.”

Emma spoke up. “We’re ready to see the two floors.”

Adrienne glanced at her, smiling. “Oh, you’re British. How adorbs.”

I had to bite my lip. Emma was probably gritting her teeth at that little comment. But that was nothing compared to the next half hour while we toured the two spaces. Adrienne went out of her way to touch me any time she could.

I didn’t wish to be rude, but either she was super friendly or flirting, neither of which made me very uncomfortable. For a third time, I moved my arm from under her hand and pretended to get lost in the space around me, speaking about the square footage and other details.

“You’re originally from here in Houston, aren’t you, Trevor?”

“Yes, I am.”

“And you’re in town for how long?”

I busied myself with walking around as if I was inspecting the molding. “Maybe the next few weeks or so.” We couldn’t say anything about the possible purchase or why exactly we were in town as the details were confidential.

“My family is in Houston, too. I went to the University of Houston.”

I smiled, trying to keep things pleasant. “My sister graduated from there, too. I’m a University of Texas in Austin man myself.”

“I thought you went to Harvard.”

Awkward to realize someone had looked you up. “That was for my MBA.”

“Aw. So you decided to try out the East coast for a few years before coming back?”

I turned to see Emma pretending not to pay attention to the conversation. It was friendly but definitely uncomfortable given all the signs Adrienne was putting out that she was interested. “Something like that.”

“Is your sister by any chance Avery Newhall?”

“She is. You know her?”

“Yes. What a small world.”

Yes, it was.

Emma spoke up. “Can you tell me more about the lease terms? Are you willing to go month to month? Provide furnishings?”

I thought Adrienne had figured out it was Emma she needed to deal with, but when she brought out her two books and spread them on a table in the center of the large room, she addressed me instead. “Yes. Of course. Let me show you what we have to offer, Trevor.”

She crowded my space. With her hip next to mine, she leaned over me and put her hand on mine to show me photos of the furniture. I stepped back, but it didn’t help as she took it as an excuse to move in front of me, sliding her ass against my front. Aggressive didn’t even begin to describe her method.

I cleared my voice and glanced up to see Emma’s eyes narrowing. I literally had to go around the other side of the table to get some space. “You should show Emma. She’s the one in charge.”

Adrienne flashed her smile while Emma didn’t return the sentiment.

I didn’t miss the way Adrienne bent over to show her cleavage.

“Do you mind if Emma and I go back up to the other space?” I asked.

“No. Not at all. I’ll take you up there to the eighth floor.”

“Actually, I’d prefer the privacy, so we can talk about how this may or may not fit into our plans. Why don’t we meet you down in the lobby after? Maybe give us fifteen minutes.”

She tried not to look put off. “Certainly. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Emma fell into step beside me, wordless until we got into the elevator. “Well, that was fun.”

“I can only imagine if you hadn’t been there. Jesus, she was, uh—”

“Aggressive,” she supplied.

“Yeah.” We stepped off the elevator onto the eighth floor. It was the smaller of the two spaces, but I preferred it.

Wandering around for a few minutes, I felt the windows for a draft and paid attention to the craftsmanship, scanning for any signs of sloppiness. If I intended to get into commercial real estate investments someday, I wanted to be certain I paid attention to the details.

I walked towards Emma to find her studying me. “What is it?”

“Nothing.” She turned to leave.

Clearly, it wasn’t nothing. I snagged her wrist, pulling her back. “It doesn’t seem appear to be nothing. What’s going on?”

She huffed. “Are we exclusive?”

I was shocked she’d ask that question here and now. “Do you want to be?”

“Do you? Because I kind of wonder what Ms. Adorbs would’ve been like if I hadn’t been here. She probably would’ve laid herself instead of the furniture samples out on the table.”

My mind was finally catching up with what was going on. “Are you jealous?”

Wrong thing to say as she turned and walked quickly to the elevator.

“Wait.” I caught up with her inside before choosing the floor.

“It’s none of my business.” She lifted her chin up with pride.

“You do know I was doing nothing to encourage that downstairs, don’t you?”

“Yeah, because I was standing right there.”

I crowded her against the wall and took both of her hands in mine before lifting them above her head. I could tell the possessive action was turning her on by the lust that clouded her fiery eyes. “If I’d been alone with Ms. Adorbs, I would’ve done the same as I did today, which was avoid her. Because this is what I crave.” I kissed her, capturing her lips boldly. “What I think about far too many minutes of my day.” I dropped another kiss, this time behind her ear, which made her shiver. “And what I can’t wait to taste when I’m away from you.” Another kiss, this time with a slight bite. “And if you can’t believe anything else, believe me when I say I’m a man of my word. I don’t lie, Emma. And I don’t share. That goes for both of us.”

I pushed the stop button on the elevator, taking her mouth again, unapologetic in the taking, and used my one free hand to plunge under her dress, finding her hot and wet for me. Wasting no time, I circled her piercing, pressing down on her clit to make her come within minutes.

“Don’t ever say it’s none of your business when another woman hits on me. Because I want it to be your business.”

Her eyes lifted to mine as I let go of her arms and she came down from her climax. “This is insane.”

I grinned. “Insane would be pounding deep inside of you about now. As it is, I don’t have a condom. Otherwise, I’d most likely be doing just that.” I pressed the button to put the elevator into motion.

“Please tell me you have nothing scheduled after this. I kind of have a thing for motorcycles.”

“Nothing after this. And I’m glad, because I kind of have a thing for British chicks who dig them.”