She let out a sigh, disappointment visible in her expression even if she seemingly tried to hide it. “Good-bye,” she said dryly, then slid out of his car.
He contemplated running after her, but his brain was too busy rationalizing their weekend, their conversation. He couldn’t make any decisions, and that stillness nauseated his stomach. He usually was a quick thinker, a risk taker even. What was so different about Crystal that scared him?
A strange emptiness crept over him, and as the driver returned and drove off, Lucas tried to will it away. Surely, all he needed was to take a cold shower and catch up on some sleep. Clear his head. Tomorrow, he’d go back to work and all these unfamiliar doubts would dissipate. Tomorrow, everything would go back to normal.
* * *
“You have a nice tan,”Walter said when she walked through the revolving doors of the imposing lobby area. “Did you change your hair too?”
“Thanks, Walter,” Crystal said in a voice that wasn’t thankful at all. She had tried to style her hair as usual, but the lower layers kept straying from her ponytail, so she decided to leave her hair free. It tumbled to her shoulders, the waves moving as she strode into the elevator. Still, that and the light tan on her face and limbs were the only thing she allowed herself to bring from Brazil.
She wore a black pantsuit instead of the more daring ensembles he’d bought for her. She hadn’t been able to part with them quite yet, but wearing them for work would guarantee to give him the wrong message.
It would tell him she still wasn’t over him, even if that was the truth. When he took her home the previous night, she’d thought she sensed hesitation from him. She’d foolishly hoped that pause meant he’d begun to care for her enough to forget about their bargain. At this point, she no longer wanted him to take her to the high school reunion party. She was done pretending. Who cared if she didn’t have a significant other?
Well, she did. Because those days with Lucas made her long for a relationship. Companionship. Sex.
The elevator pinged, warning her she’d arrived at the top floor, and she exited.
Crystal turned on her computer, opened her drawers, and put her bag away. A creature of habit, she made two cups of coffee—one of her and one for her boss, even if she secretly wished he didn’t come to work today.
He could be out sick. No, that was mean. What if he needed her to pick up something in his penthouse? That would only make things even more awkward between the two of them. The espresso machine beeped, and she glanced at the black contents. She brought her cup to her lips, while waiting for Lucas’s.
“Crystal?” a deep, manly voice called, and she jumped.
She jerked quickly, the coffee splashing out of the mug and spraying her shirt. “Oh. Hi. Sorry.”
“You okay?” Lucas asked, gesturing at the droplets of coffee on her chest.
She stretched to her full height, hoping the neutral expression in her face hid the embarrassment filling her chest. “Yes. Of course…” she trailed off, then took a chug of the black liquid. “Want some?” she pointed her index finger at the mug she’d filled for him, but for some reason her voice came out rougher, sexier.
He inched closer, and she sucked in a long, deep breath, inhaling his woody scent in the process. His hair was still damp, and she imagined he’d showered not too long ago. Her nipples hardened like diamond tips, and heat coiled low in her belly.
Pent-up tension crackled the air. She slid her gaze down his face to his delicious lips. Memories of him closing his lips around her breasts, his tongue playing teasingly with her bud, made her moan. Moan! Get it together, Crystal.
She stepped back, moving out of the invisible danger zone. Oh what was she thinking? Anywhere close enough to him turned into hazard, whether she wanted to or not.
A flicker of challenge sparked in the depths of his brown eyes. Did he want her to own up to her desire? Or was he mocking her because falling back into work mode wasn’t as easy as either of them had imagined?
“If you excuse me, I need to freshen up,” she said, and without looking back or waiting for his reaction, she marched away from him and into the women’s restroom.
Remember what happened last time he followed you into a public restroom? Her clit throbbed, a clear message if she wasn’t willing to admit to it, her body had no problem refreshing her mind.
No matter how she sliced it, today was about to be a long fucking day.
