JAX
We spend the next few hours deep in discussion.
Kat has gone into work mode. It’s as if yesterday never occurred.
Her only tell is her pendant sliding first left, then right, then back again, along the chain around her neck. It’s something she did when she was lost in thought or anxious.
It was her twenty-first birthday present from her parents, and as far as I know, she’s never taken it off.
I stretch up and out, my back cracking from being sat in the same position for too long.
Kat does the same, her hand going over her shoulder to knead a muscle knot. It’s something she used to get when she was caught up in her assignments.
I stand and move behind her, pushing her hand out of the way and digging my thumb into the tender spot above her shoulder blade.
Kat moans.
“You always were good at this,” she says, moving her head to the side.
I gaze down at her exposed neck. In the past, I would drop my lips to her exposed skin. A massage like this would end upwith my cock buried deep in her body, both of us hot and sweaty, begging for release.
I harden at the memory, and I’m glad for the long t-shirt hanging over my shorts.
The muscle knot gives under my thumb, and I move away. Kat moves her head from side to side.
“Thank you,” she says. “That feels much better.”
“Why don’t you try out the spa? Get a massage,” I say, my voice a little rougher than I would like.
“Maybe I will,” she says, turning her head and smiling. “We’ve got a lot done this morning.”
“We’re definitely close to having a workable proposal.”
Kat smiles. She looks refreshed, the dark circles under her eyes have been replaced by the healthy glow of a tan. I was not that lucky.
After dinner, I stayed in the bar as long as I could, escaping into my thoughts, replaying every scene and event over in my mind. By the time I dragged myself back to the villa, it was late, and Kat was sound asleep, her breathing deep and even. I’d got into bed, but sleep evaded me. Instead, I lay watching her for hours, caught in a vicious cycle of what-ifs.
She tilts her head, her gaze connecting with mine. She smiles again, and my heart skips a beat.
“I want to say, thank you,” she says. “I know I was ungrateful when you first came on board.”
I stay silent, not sure how to reply.
Kat continues.
“You’ve dug me out of a deep hole.” She runs a hand through her hair and gives me a small smile. “I’ll admit, these plans are a thousand times better than the original proposal. Your insight into what I’m trying to achieve is amazing. It’s like you’ve been able to read my mind.”
“We make a good team,” I say at last.
We always did.
But that was a lifetime ago. We’re different people now. Why does that feeling leave me cold?
Kat nods, but I don’t miss the faraway look in her eyes.
“What’s next?”
“What do you mean?”
