She smooths her hands down the sides of her skirt, trying to harden herself for what she’s about to say. “Now what? You finished your last job...We’ve had a few private moments?—”
I smile at that, almost laughing, but move my palm across my mouth to cover it. “And that’s good enough for you? A few private moments?” I ask, rubbing my hands down the tops of my thighs. I need her closer.
She tips her chin up. “That’s not what I’m saying.”
Relief washes over me with those five words. I can work with that.
“’Cause that’s not fucking good enough for me.” I reach for her, my hands gently wrapping behind her thighs and pulling her closer. I need to make sure she really hears me when I say this. I pinch the ends of the black silk tie hanging in a looped bow at the center of her blouse—the material soft and smooth. Tugging on it, I urge her closer as I widen my legs and make space for her to stand between. “I told you already, I’m here, because I choose to be.” I search her eyes to make sure she’s hearing me now. “I have no problem taking my time, Crowne. I can be a patient man,” I say honestly.
“I find that hard to believe,” she teases. Her bite back makes my lips and dick twitch.
“The things I’ve learned to do take an incredible amount of focus, attention to detail, time, patience...” I drift off, getting lost in the way she’s looking at me, hearing me. “If you knew the willpower it took to let you lead the other night.” I hum as I gently pull at the tied bow and watch the knot come undone. “Or the way I held back.”
She inches a fraction closer, her hips brushing against my inner thighs, on the cusp of either shoving me away or putting me out of my misery and kissing me.
“You may not have been the reason I came here, but you’re why I still am.” I swallow, knowing I’ve just laid all my cards out on the table for her again. “I know what I want, Crowne.”
Before she can say anything in response, there’s a double tap on the door.
She pulls back, just out of reach as she looks over my shoulder. I don’t turn around until I hear a man’s voice. “Everything okay here, Wyn?”
I recognize the country drawl. “Reed, hi.” Clearing her throat, she adds, “Of course, everything is fine. What did you need?”
This fucking guy.
I stand to my full height and turn around.
“Julian, right?” he asks, pointing at me. “Good to see you, again.”
I don’t answer. Instead, I stare back at him. Navy suit pants and white dress shirt. Loafers and glasses. He isn’t a bad-looking guy, and I’m not sure he’s a bad guy at all, but I don’t fucking like him. And she might have called him a friend, but I know what it looks like when someone wants more.
Wyn glances at me, looking surprised at the fact that I’m not going to say shit to him in response. If I blinked, I would have missed the way her lips twitch in amusement.
“Alright,” Reed says slowly, turning his attention back to Wyn. “We were going to discuss the lecture series I have planned for the incoming freshman. You said you wouldn’t mind giving me feedback and then perhaps we could swap?”
She stays quiet, looking at me again and keeping her attention there for a few beats as if she’s trying to work something out. “I—um— Actually, Reed. I can’t do that today.”
“I’m sorry, what?” he says with a disbelieving laugh. He looks at me, and I stare right back.
Asshole.
Out of my periphery, I watch her reach down, grabbing her oversize bag and moving around her desk to pluck things from it and then stop next to me. “I just can’t today. Something came up, and I need...I just need?—”
“To get out of here,” I finish for her. Her eyes meet mine in surprise, searching for how I would know that’s what she needsright now. I lean closer to her, taking the heavy bag from her hand, and say, “Ready, baby?”
I know calling her that threw her for a loop by how her mouth parts slightly, but she doesn’t seem to mind when she says, “Ready.”
Wyn walks past Reed, giving him a tight-lipped nod, who still looks like he’s missing what just happened.
I don’t smile or rub it in his face that she wants to get the hell out of here, and with me. But I’m happy to usher her away from whatever or whomever is making her feel stifled and anxious right now.
Once we make it to the parking lot, she pauses, looking at her car and then toward my truck. “I’ll worry about mine tomorrow. Mind driving?”
I shake my head, my lips tilting up into a smile when I ask, “Where are we going, Crowne?”
She exhales, “Just drive.”
Chapter Twenty
