Ten

Dylan was cranky as hell when he got to the office on Monday morning. He hadn’t seen Zoe since he dropped her at home after the party on Saturday and took a cab to his place. He’d wanted to spend the night, but he’d had an early meeting on Sunday morning that he needed to prepare for. They had a few brief phone conversations and some texts, but that was it. He’d arrived at work a few minutes early this morning to see her before his first conference call, but apparently Dana had opened today and Zoe wouldn’t be in until later on. Wasn’t that something he should know as her . . . whatever the hell he was?

He’d felt so good about where things were between them a few days ago, but now he wondered how he’d ever see her with the hectic lifestyle they both lived. Zoe had been right about one thing—they spent a lot of time at their respective jobs. Zoe was the owner of a growing business and she was very hands-on, which was crucial in those first years. Dylan completely understood and supported that. And his family was very much the same. Not a one of them was a goof-off playboy. They all worked their ass off handling their properties. He tried to make time to blow off steam whenever possible, but some of his weeks were just downright hellish and this was shaping up to be one of them. His brief spell of playing Angry Birds while he tried to figure out what Zoe was doing last week had landed him behind on some presentations. So in between numerous meetings with what seemed like everyone in Florida, and a constant load of telephone and video conferences, it promised to be even more hectic than usual.

When he reached his office, he took a moment to pull his cell phone out and shoot Zoe a quick text. Missed you at the shop. Dinner meeting tonight. I’ll try to come down at some point to see that beautiful face. It hardly conveyed what he was feeling, but it was the best he had right now. They were on uncharted ground and each move was a learning experience. He wasn’t comfortable with coming on too strong, too soon. So he thought a balance between their usual relationship with a bit more thrown in was a good place to start.

Hell, he shocked the shit out of himself Saturday night when he’d told her some of how he was feeling. He was still terrified that he was making a mistake, but there was no way he could stand around while the Joshes of the world took the woman who he’d become so possessive of out on dates and God only knew what else. And sadly, Josh was bad, but then he’d had an even scarier thought. She was bound to eventually meet a nice guy. One who had thoughts of her, a white picket fence, a minivan, and a couple of kids on his mind. Even he knew that she fit in that picture perfectly. Maybe that made him a selfish bastard because he had no clue if that was something he could ever offer her. Hell, he’d never even seriously entertained the thought of getting married, much less having kids. But dammit, he couldn’t let her go without knowing where things could go between them if they gave it a shot.

One thing the other evening had taught him was that he needed to clean up his backyard pronto. He couldn’t have a repeat of the Carey/Kristen episode. It wasn’t as if he had women throwing themselves at him all the time. But he’d been known to kick back by having sex with some of the women who ran in his crowd. Not all were as outspoken as Carey and Kristen, but there were enough of them to give him a case of anxiety. He hated to say it, but possibly he needed to cultivate some new friends. He’d gone to college with most of the ones he hung out with now and some had never left the frat brother stage. The more settled ones tended to meet them for a beer once a month, but skipped the parties for obvious reasons.

He was still mulling it over when Lisa knocked on his door and stepped inside a few moments later. “Good morning, boss,” she grumbled as she came forward and took a seat in front of him. He grinned as he almost always did at her snarky mood. He’d learned early on that Lisa wasn’t a morning person, which suited him perfectly. She came in every morning for a brief hello and to see if he had anything urgent for her to take care of. They tended to leave each other alone after that until after lunch, when they’d run through the schedule for tomorrow and any other matters that needed to be addressed before the next day.

“Morning, sunshine.” He smirked, thinking he must be insane to enjoy this so much. “How’s my favorite assistant on this early Monday morning?”

“Peachy.” She grimaced before taking a big drink from her coffee cup. He saw Zoe’s logo on the side of it and grinned like the sap he was becoming. “So I guess we’re actually working this week, huh? I kind of enjoyed your slacking for those few days. Plus, I noticed you got a high score on Angry Birds. I’ll load Candy Crush for you today if you want to try something new.”

He laughed, shaking his head at her. “I’d love to, but I had to work half the night to make up for that so I guess it’s business as usual for both of us.”

“Well, that sucks,” she sighed. “You might as well give me the list of what you want taken care of first and I’ll attempt it after I’ve woken up.” He handed her some notes for another presentation she was helping him with and she got to her feet. She was almost at the door before she turned, giving him such a smug grin that alarm bells were going off inside him. “So . . . you and Zoe, huh? I’d like to say it’s a surprise, but not so much.”

Staring at her in surprise, Dylan asked, “How did you know?” He wasn’t sure why he was shocked. For such a big place, the employees of the Oceanix seemed to stay well informed on all the latest gossip. Hell, Lisa usually caught him up on anything he’d missed in that area at least a few times a week. He hadn’t known that she was friends with Zoe, though. Dana. It had to have come from Zoe’s friend and employee. That made perfect sense.

Shrugging, Lisa said, “Oh, you know, I just heard someone mention it. Anyway, that’s not important. I think it’s awesome. You two are perfect for each other.” Wagging her finger, she added, “Try not to screw it up. She’s not one of your . . . usual types, so it’ll require a little more from you than dinner at McDonald’s and thirty minutes at your place.”

“Thirty minutes?” he choked out. “I think you’ve got me confused with someone else. I’m thirty-four, not seventy.”

She giggled, knowing she’d hit her mark in questioning his stamina. What man didn’t get defensive about that? “No judgment,” she called out as she left. He could still hear her laughter from the outer office. Maybe it was worth the insult if it put her in a good mood this early in the day. Then a thought occurred to him and he picked up his phone and buzzed her desk. “What? I just left.”

“Calm down, this won’t require anything major on your part. Could you please make sure that I leave around twelve for lunch?”

“Sure,” she agreed. He heard her fingers clicking on her keyboard before she said, “I don’t show anything scheduled, though. Who is the meeting with and I’ll go ahead and key in it?”

“I—er . . . it’s personal,” he stumbled, feeling strangely embarrassed. Some men might have their secretaries send flowers and gifts to the woman in their life, but that had never been an issue for him.

There was dead silence for a few seconds before he heard the humor return to her voice. “Ohhh, I see. I’ll just put Zoe’s name in. And don’t worry, you’ll make it if I have to drag you out by your tie.”

Dylan shook his head ruefully as he pulled up his e-mail and got started with his day. Apparently, having a significant other was something everyone in his life would have to adjust to. He had a feeling that his well-ordered existence was about to be turned up on its ear and he’d never been happier at that prospect.

•   •   •

“Lover boy was here looking for you this morning.” Dana smirked before making a kissy face. “He was so disappointed when I told him you wouldn’t be in till later. He said he’d try to come back during lunch.”

Feeling her mood lighten considerably, Zoe said, “Really? Did he say anything else?” God, I sound like a teenager.

“Nope, that was pretty much it.” Dana smiled knowingly. “I will say that he was looking flipping fine in that suit. That man certainly knows how to pull off the GQ look. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s no Paul, but then again, who is?”

Zoe smiled as she wiped the counter down before refilling the blueberry muffins that had flown off the shelf that morning. “I take it things are still going well between you two?”

Wiggling her brows, Dana said, “They’re amazing. We’re getting along far better this time. I think we really needed some time apart to appreciate what we had together. He’s really making an effort to spend more time with me. Last night we went out to dinner with Mike and had a great time.”

“Wait.” Zoe gaped at her friend. “You spent the evening with the man that you left Paul for, but then left to go back to Paul? And you had a great time?” When Dana nodded as if not understanding the big deal, Zoe rubbed her forehead in amazement. “You guys are really nuts, or you’re the most understanding people I’ve ever met. I don’t think I could do that. Heck, I basically had some kind of jealous tantrum when we had to sit with two of Dylan’s ex-bimbos at the party Saturday night. I sure wouldn’t want to go have a drink with them.”

“What?” Dana screeched out, and then lowered her voice when Zoe shushed her. “You didn’t mention that. I thought things were all lovey-dovey. It sounds as if you left out the best part.”

Zoe motioned her to the corner so that they wouldn’t be overheard before saying, “We were eating and these two Barbie dolls sat down at our table. They were hanging all over Dylan and asking to go back to his place for a repeat performance. They let it be known that they didn’t mind doing him at the same time.”

“Okay.” Dana shrugged. “Don’t let stuff like that bother you, honey. You know Dylan’s given a ride or two. But he’s never been in a relationship before, so you rank far above them. I hate it when women lower themselves to act like that, but unless he was encouraging them, you have to let it go. Just because you were a virgin the first time doesn’t mean that he should be penalized for not being one.”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Zoe admitted. “And he was very uncomfortable with what they were doing. He kept trying to talk to me and ignore them. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I left. But he followed me quickly, so he couldn’t have said much to them. It might not have bothered me as much had I known at that point where things stood between us. But we didn’t have that talk until later. So I was depressed that he might meet up with them later after having slept with me the night before.”

“I can understand that completely.” Dana patted her shoulder sympathetically. “That’s always the hardest part of being with someone new. You have to deal with the uncertainty of whether they like you as much as you do them. And with men it’s even worse because most are so paranoid about commitment that you have to watch what you say or you’ll scare them off. Unless there’s some amazing sex involved to take your mind off the other stuff, it can just plain suck. Mmm, speaking of that, lookie what’s coming your way, girl.”

Zoe’s head flew up and her eyes connected with Dylan’s. Oh God, he looks good. I want him to take me upstairs and do dirty things to me right now. She grinned at him as he drew closer, then wondered, Do we hug? Kiss? High-five? Thankfully, Dylan saved her from further obsessing by walking right up and dropping a gentle kiss onto her surprised mouth. “Good-bye, Dana,” he called out, then waved without looking away from Zoe. She heard her friend huff in mock annoyance before walking back to the counter. “Can you have lunch with me, beautiful?” he asked as he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger.

Even though she’d been at the shop for barely an hour, she agreed without thought. “I’d love to, handsome. Want me to fix us some sandwiches and we can eat in my office?”

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.” He smiled. “I’ll get the drinks. Lemonade?” He knew she had a weakness for the tart drink so he was already shooing Dana out of the way and adding ice to two glasses. Zoe hurried into the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients for gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. She’d made them so many times that it required no more than a few minutes before she was plating them along with potato salad and a pickle spear. Dylan was waiting for her when she stepped through the double doors and led the way to her private space. She set their plates on the desk and turned to close the door behind him. Dana gave her a thumbs-up, which had Zoe biting back a smile. She was retracing her steps when Dylan reached out and pulled her into his lap. She laid her arms loosely on his shoulders as he nuzzled her neck. “Mmm, you smell good.”

“It’s the coffee,” she sighed as his tongue circled the shell of her ear.

“I’ve missed you, sweetheart,” he surprised her by admitting. “I’m sorry things have been so crazy since Saturday. I thought about coming over last night, but it was already midnight and I knew you’d be in bed.”

“You have a key,” she pointed out. “You could have let yourself in. I’d be happy just to have you near.”

“Yeah?” he murmured as he kissed the corner of her lips before fitting his mouth firmly over hers. Their lunch was quickly forgotten as he moved her around until she was straddling his lap. She’d worn a short summer dress today, which left very little fabric between her damp core and his now hard cock. “I want you so fucking badly,” he hissed as he pushed her hips down while raising his to meet hers. “Shit, we need to stop while I can.”

When he slowed, Zoe grabbed his wrist, saying urgently, “I need you now. Don’t stop.” He looked at her in awe before setting her gently on her feet and getting to his own. He unzipped his pants and pushed them along with his boxer briefs down around his ankles. He ran a hand under her skirt and growled his pleasure when he found her wet and ready for him.

“Bend over the desk,” he ordered, suddenly all alpha male.

Heat surged through her body as she scrambled to comply with his demand. Considering this was only the second time she’d had sex, she felt like she’d gone from training wheels to a Harley in the blink of an eye, and she absolutely loved it. The men in the books had nothing on the one currently palming her ass before flipping her dress up. “My panties,” she whispered as she attempted to move away long enough to pull them off.

“They stay,” he insisted. Oookay. Granted, she didn’t have a lot of experience, but she was pretty sure the tiny piece of silk separating them needed to go in order to connect the boy and girl parts together. Maybe he was simply going to finger her again, and while that was exciting, it wasn’t what she had in mind today. But why would he have taken his pants off for that? Well, she’d never gotten a hand job nor had a guy jack off in her office. He was definitely giving her some more firsts today. When he nudged her panties to the side and she felt the head of his cock pressing into her, she jerked in shock. Yes! She was pathetically eager to discover that they were indeed having sex and a little sheepish that she hadn’t thought of the whole moving-the-underwear thing. “Ready?” he asked as he circled his hips against her.

“God yes,” she moaned, sounding like some of the women she made fun of in porn movies. She had to think, though, that maybe they hadn’t been acting after all. The fit was incredibly tight as Dylan pushed into her slowly. The pressure was so intense that she wanted to widen her stance, but he kept her legs firmly between his own, controlling her movements. “Ohhh, Dylan,” she cried, then bit her lip, not wanting anyone in the shop to hear them.

He seated himself the last few inches, then paused for a moment to let her adjust. She moved her hips back against him impatiently and he chuckled before swatting her ass. “Patience, baby. I’ll take care of you.” Then without warning, he pulled almost completely out and plunged back in. “Fuck yeah,” he groaned as he set a fast rhythm. His balls were slapping against her as he bottomed out on each hard thrust.

Zoe was so close that she was shaking with the need to come. She ground against him, trying to get the friction that she needed to push her over the edge. She gritted her teeth and whimpered as she continued to climb higher. Her body was as taut as a bow as she chased her release. “Dylan . . . I need,” she gasped out, not knowing how to put what she was feeling into words. He seemed to know, though, as his hand reached around her and found her clit. With a few firm strokes to the sensitive bud, she was shattering around him.

“Shhh, baby,” he reminded her as he continued to pump into her wet heat until she felt him stiffen and jerk inside her. He moved in and out in a more leisurely fashion now as they both rode out their peak until he dropped a kiss onto her shoulder and pulled out. He grabbed a tissue from the box on her desk and wrapped his condom up in it. She hadn’t even seen him put it on and was grateful that he’d had the presence of mind to protect them, because she certainly hadn’t thought of it. Maybe it was time to go on birth control so that they always had a backup in place. She was glad to have a small adjoining bathroom so that she could clean up quickly. She pulled the door closed behind her, not quite ready to share so much intimacy with Dylan even though they’d just had sex.

When she walked back into her office a few moments later, he had one plate arranged on the desk and both of their glasses. “Have you already eaten?” she asked, wondering if she’d been gone longer than she thought.

Giving her a rueful grin, he pointed to the trashcan. “One of our body parts ended up in it. I thought we could share this one.” Zoe laughed, hardly able to believe that they’d rolled on her grilled cheese while having hot sex in her office. It was official, she was a wild woman. She took the chair beside him and reached up to smooth his hair down without thinking. He looked surprised by the gesture, but not unpleased. “Thanks, babe.”

“You go ahead and eat the whole thing. I’ll make something for myself after you’re gone,” she offered.

Waving the sandwich in front of her, he asked, “Are you sure? This looks amazing.” She motioned for him to take it all and he devoured his meal as if he’d worked up quite an appetite. When he was finished, he stood and pulled her into his arms once again. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have a busy afternoon. I think I can get away at a decent time tonight, though, if you want to have dinner.”

“I’d like that,” Zoe said softly. “How about I cook something for us so you can relax?”

He tucked her hair behind her ear as his finger stroked her cheek. “You’ll be on your feet all afternoon, sweetheart. Why don’t we have dinner at the restaurant here? Maybe you can run home and pack a bag so you can spend the night. Then we’ll both be close to work tomorrow.”

Zoe hesitated as visions of Carey and Kristen sleeping in his bed flashed through her head. Then she remembered Dana’s earlier advice and realized that she was going to have to let that go if she was going to be involved with Dylan. She couldn’t judge him for having a sexual past just because she didn’t. Giving him a big smile, she nodded, saying, “That sounds perfect. Call me later on when you know what time you’ll be free.” They shared one last kiss before Dylan pulled away and opened her office door. He took a few steps, then stopped so abruptly that she plowed right into his back. “What?” she asked in confusion.

“Well, there’s my daughter and her . . . friend.” Zoe cringed when she peaked around Dylan’s shoulder and saw her mother standing there with a knowing grin on her face. Dana stood off to the side, shooting her an apologetic grimace.

“Hello again, Vivian.” He turned sideways to Zoe, saying, “I had a meeting with your mother earlier to go over the restaurant budget and projections for the next quarter.”

“That’s um . . . nice,” Zoe muttered as she met her mother’s amused gaze.

“Dana told me that you two had gone out for lunch, but I was almost sure I heard . . . voices from this direction. Decided to eat in?” Oh, good Lord, what was her mother doing? Surely she hadn’t meant that last question to sound as dirty as it came out. Of course, knowing her as Zoe did, she was probably enjoying watching her daughter squirm. A quick glance at Dylan showed that he was thinking the same thing. Instead of looking embarrassed, his lips twitched as if fighting back laughter. “So while I have you two together, I wanted to ask if you’d have dinner with Marcus and me tonight. It’s not going to be anything fancy. I thought I’d grill some steaks and maybe twice-baked potatoes with green beans. How does that sound?”

“I . . . er—don’t you have to work late tonight?” she asked Dylan, praying he would take the hint and play along.

But apparently, the man had no self-preservation skills because she looked at him incredulously as he said, “No, I told you I’d be off in time to have dinner. Since we were going to eat in the restaurant anyway, this actually works out well. Thanks for the invitation, Vivian. What time should we be there?” Has he lost his mind? My mother knows we just had sex in my office and he’s willing to go eat dinner with her now?

Her mother actually clapped her hands, which was rather alarming to Zoe, before saying, “Perfect. Can you make it around seven? I know how busy you and Zoe get sometimes.”

Was it her imagination or was there an extra emphasis on the word busy? She saw Dana biting her tongue and figured the other woman had noticed it too. Dylan continued to prove that he was completely oblivious when he said, “That should work well. I’m looking forward to it.” He then turned to her and brushed a kiss across her startled lips before saying, “I’ve got to get back to work, sweetheart. I’ll call you later.” He smiled at her mother and Dana as he walked by. “Ladies. Have a good day.” And with those parting words, the bastard was gone and she was left to deal with two of the nosiest people on earth.

Holding up her hand, she said, “I swear I don’t want to hear a word. Dylan and I were just having lunch. There’s no need to stand there looking like you caught me in the act.”

Dana cleared her throat before handing her a napkin. “You might want to wipe the potato salad off your neck, sweetie. You were really a messy eater today.”

Zoe felt her face flush with color as she wondered how she’d missed that when she was in the bathroom. She had her answer as to what happened to the other plate now. Obviously, she’d lain in it at some point.

Her mother stepped forward and pulled something from the bottom of her dress. “You might need this sticky note. I believe it’s about ordering supplies.”

Closing her eyes in resignation, Zoe officially threw in the towel. Between the food on her chest and the sticky note stuck to her crotch area, there was no easy way to play this one off. If she was going to have sex in her office again, then Dylan would have to start looking her over before she went back out into public. “I give up.” She tossed her hands in the air. “You caught me. Dylan and I rolled all over my desk. Happy now?”

Dana fell against the wall laughing while her mother gave her a satisfied smirk. “There, that wasn’t so hard, was it, dear? It seems like when I’m not in the shop for a day, I miss a heck of a lot. When did you and Dylan go from being buddies to being butties?”

As Dana cackled at her mother’s crude attempt at humor, Zoe shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Really? I’m your daughter. I’m not even supposed to be discussing stuff like this with you, much less having to deal with your off-color humor. I swear you better not say stuff like that around Dylan tonight.”

Dana tossed her arm around Zoe’s shoulders. “Sweetie, this is your first time with a walk of shame. Don’t fight it. Just go with it. Trust me, it gets easier after a while. Well . . . I’m not sure, though. since generally you hide that stuff from your parents.”

“I’m trying!” Zoe snapped. Turning back to her mother, she added, “Dylan and I have decided to date and see where it takes us. We like each other as more than friends, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. So don’t go knitting baby booties and Photoshopping him into our family pictures. No matter how things turn out, we’re committed to remaining friends, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t scare the hell out of him and send him running.”

“Oh, pooh,” her mother said, and laughed. “That boy isn’t the least bit intimidated by me. He would have pulled his zipper up in front of me without batting an eye.”

“Oh, brother,” Zoe moaned. “I need to get back to work. I’m sure we can discuss this later—or God willing, not.”

As if conceding that she’d embarrassed her enough, her mother gave her a hug before saying, “I need to run along anyway. I’ll see you tonight. Oh, and you might want to fix that hair a bit; you look like you were caught in a stiff wind.” With that parting shot, she was gone and Dana was once again clutching her side at her mother’s word choice.

“I absolutely love that woman,” her friend giggled when she could catch her breath. “My parents are so uptight, but your mother is awesome. You’re so freaking lucky.”

Zoe felt some of her tension from being busted by her mommy fall away as she conceded that the other woman was right. She was damned lucky to have the mother who was always cool. When her friends had complained about their parents, she’d shrugged it off because she never had those issues. It wasn’t that she was allowed to run wild or get away with everything. It was more that her mother allowed her the room to be a kid without tons of rules. Somehow that freedom was what kept her from going through the usual teenage hell years. She never had anything to rebel against so acting out seemed rather pointless. “She is pretty amazing,” Zoe agreed. “She’s not above humiliating me when the opportunity arises—shit, forget I said that.” Could none of them speak without using some code word for sex or a dick?

As they walked back toward the counter, Dana grabbed her arm, bringing her to a halt. “Just so you know, you and Dylan need to bring the sex moans down about two levels the next time you get nasty. I couldn’t hear you in the main shop, but you better be glad that Gladys in the kitchen is deaf as a doornail. Otherwise, she’d have been going home with quite a story to tell tonight.”

“Good Lord,” Zoe groaned before dropping her head. While her first public sex outing had been hot, it had also been somewhat of a disaster in the secret department. She wouldn’t be surprised if the hotel concierge winked at her when she left this afternoon. From now on, when they did something like that, Dylan would simply have to gag her. But as crazy as things had been since they’d opened the office door, she couldn’t regret it. She was actually living now instead of standing on the sidelines while everyone around her did. If that meant she had to suffer a little embarrassment every now and again, then it was a small price to pay to have Dylan and all that he had to offer in her life.