West
I’d been with Shani almost nonstop since our dinner date and I was loving every minute of it. She wasn’t the same girl I’d fallen in love with. She laughed more. She wasn’t as guarded. It was obvious her life had changed for the better, and as much as I wished I could have been a part of the changes, I was just glad she’d figured things out.
After talking to one of her employees on the phone, she’d said she had some things to take care of at work. Since I didn’t have anything better to do after I hit the gym, I brought some coffees in, hoping to get a little more work done myself. But I didn’t expect to crash a party when I walked in.
There were six beautiful women in Shani’s office, talking and laughing and eating out of takeout containers that littered every flat surface in the small space. All eyes swung my way, and they gaped in unison, making me chuckle.
“Hey, ladies.”
“This is him?” A beautiful Hispanic woman with amber highlights stared at Shani, waiting for confirmation. “Are you freakin’ kidding me right now?”
Shani laughed, looking a little embarrassed as she set her chopsticks inside a white container and clapped once. “Okay, guys. This has been fun, but I have to get back to work.”
A few giggled, others groaned, but they all stood, collecting their belongings.
“This is West Travis. Like I said, he’s going to be helping us out around here for the next few months, so be nice.” She frowned as the ladies eyed me up and down like I was a double scoop of fudge chocolate ice cream piled high on a sugar cone they couldn’t wait to lick. “But not too nice!” As the ladies passed me, she recited off their names: “Tawny, Amber, Mila, Ashley, and Kylie.”
“I’d shake your hands,” I said, raising the coffee cups, “but mine are kind of full right now.”
The woman with amber highlights shamelessly patted my abs as she slipped past me. “We know they are, honey. We’ve heard all about it.”
I waited until they left before I kicked the door shut and tried to keep a straight face. “You’ve talked to your employees about our sex life?”
She grimaced as she sank back in her chair. “They’re more than my employees. They’re my family. But they have really big mouths.”
I chuckled as I passed her a coffee. “Not that I mind.” I winked. “As long as you had nice things to say.”
She rolled her eyes. “Pretty sure no woman has ever complained about your performance.”
“You’d be right about that,” I said, peeling back the lid on my cup. She glared at me, prompting me to ask, “What?”
“You really think I want to hear about your fucking sexcapades?”
Jealous much? “I don’t recall telling you about them.” Not that I could blame her for not wanting to think about it. Imagining her with other guys made me want to put my fist through a wall.
“Can we just get down to work?” She jumped up, collecting the remnants of their lunch and tossing it in a brown paper bag beside the waste basket. “Have you eaten?”
“Yeah, I grabbed something on the way over.” My eyes traveled over her body, taking in the faded skinny jeans and tight white tunic that outlined her lacy bra. “Why? Were you gonna offer to feed me?”
“You’re insatiable, you know that?” she asked, trying to keep a straight face.
“Only with you, baby.” It was true. She was the only woman I couldn’t seem to keep my hands off. As I’d said in the beginning, the girl was my addiction. And I didn’t want to quit her.
“Pretty sure our window has closed anyhow,” she said, raising her cup to salute me. “Thanks for the coffee, by the way. Caffeine is just what I needed.”
“Don’t get too excited. It’s decaf. Just in case.”
She groaned before tipping her head back. “Glad one of us is thinking straight.”
I stared at her, focusing on her earlier comment. “Are you saying you don’t want to sleep with me anymore just ‘cause you can’t get pregnant now?”
Her eyes darted around the room before falling on her phone. She picked it up, scanning it as though she needed something to do to avoid looking at me while she answered my question. “That was the deal, wasn’t it? You more than fulfilled your end of the bargain.”
“You can’t tell me you’re done with me.” I leaned forward, snatching the phone out of her hand and forcing her to look at me. “You were into it for reasons that had nothing to do with making a baby and you know it.” I knew I was pressuring her, which could backfire. But if she told me we had to work side by side for the next few months without touching each other… yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen.
“The sex was amazing. Always is with you.” She moved behind her tall leather chair as though she needed the shield. “But it’s not like we were getting back together or anything, right? We both knew when we hooked up again it was for one reason and one reason only—to make a baby.”
I’d let myself fall for her again. I didn’t know how or when. When did it happen? Must have been sometime between the first and tenth time I entered that sweet body and felt her welcoming me home. Or maybe it was the teasing or cuddling or just hanging out. Maybe it was the way she made me laugh as she dished out insults or how hot she looked waking up in my bed, wearing only my T-shirt and a sexy scowl because the sunlight was in her eyes.
“I know that’s what you want,” I said, my voice gruff. “But maybe I want more than that now. Maybe I want you.”
***