Yes, please remind me again so I don’t reach across and slap her because it’s so damn tempting.
“Yes,” I exclaim indifferently, knowing I should thank her properly but not wanting to. I pause for a moment, but my manners finally prevail. “And Corporate Cares is appreciative of all of the hard work you’ve put behind this,” I say with sincerity.
“You’re welcome,” she says, her eyes never leaving Colton’s although she is addressing me. Does he not see her infatuation with him? It’s so obvious it’s ludicrous. “We’ve already landed some sponsors, but we have a few more irons left in the fire for some big name corporations. We’re wrapping that up right now and most likely will get that magic number to solidify the funding for the project.”
“Incredible,” I say, trying to express my enthusiasm while hiding my complete disdain for her as she oozes—yes oozes, for that’s what she does—her charm all over Colton.
I observe her watching Colton, and it irks me that I suddenly feel like an outsider. She turns slowly to me, a snarky smirk on her face, and I have to remind myself it was me that Colton was just doing inappropriate but hot as hell things to in the stairwell. Not her. And with that mental reminder, I’m more than ready to play this game.
“If you think you can contribute in any way…Rylee, right?” she asks apologetically as I just tilt my head to the side and bite my tongue at her catty barb because she damn well knows my name. “Please feel free to let me know.”
“Thank you—but I’m sure that any help I could provide…would be…” I look up in thought as I search for the perfect word “...inconsequential.” My eyes shift from her to Colton as I speak. A smile plays at the corners of my lips, and I arch an eyebrow in question. “Don’t you think, Ace?”
“Inconsequential,” Colton mouths, a smirk on his lips as he shakes his head at my word choice. He holds my stare and I can see that even with this stunning woman beside me he desires me.
Me.
The air between us fills with an electricity as our gazes hold. I can sense Tawny’s discomfort as she shuffles from foot to foot in the charged silence. “Thank you, Tawny,” Colton says dismissing her without breaking our connection, “Rylee and I have somewhere we need to be,” he concludes, standing and reaching out for my hand.
And hopefully that someplace he needs to be is in me.
“You know, Rylee, you sure are changing how I look at certain things in the world,” Colton comments as we pull into my driveway.
“Why’s that?” I murmur distractedly, my mind still trying to process the events of the day—that Colton is here—with me.
“I’ll never wipe down the hood of my car or trudge up a stairwell again without thinking of you,” he says, flashing his megawatt grin at me. “You’ll forever be the one who made me look at mundane things in a new light.”
I laugh out loud as he leans over to give me a chaste kiss before getting out of the car. I watch him come around the hood to open my door, and I’m suddenly shaken by his comment. A part of me smiles at the knowledge that he will never be able to forget me while another part saddens at the notion that this won’t last forever. Even if we could, I don’t think he’d ever accept it. The problem is that I’m the one who keeps getting pulled under, deeper and deeper. I’m the one trying to stay afloat. I’m the one who needs a pit stop.
Colton swings the door open and the comment on his lips dies when he sees the look on my face. I’ve tried to mask my sudden sadness, but obviously I haven’t been too successful. “What is it?” he asks, stepping into the doorway of the car between the V of my legs.
“Nothing.” I shrug, shaking it off. “I’m just being silly,” I tell him as his hands slide up my thighs and under my skirt to where my naked sex is.
I sigh at the feathered touch of his fingertips over my skin as I look up at him. The smirk on his face draws me from my mood, and I smile back at him. “You know, we need to do something about this habit you have of ripping my panties off.”
“No we don’t,” he murmurs as he leans down and slants his mouth over mine.
“Don’t distract me.” I giggle as his hands slide farther up my thighs and his thumbs brush at my strip of curls, my body arching into him in reaction. “I’m being very serious.”
“Uh-huh…I prefer you distracted,” he says against my lips. “And I also like you when you’re very serious.” He imitates my tone, causing me to giggle again.
“You’re starting to put a dent in my drawers,” I respond breathlessly as his thumbs graze lower this time.
“I know and I hope to be again very soon.” He chuckles against the side of my neck, the vibration soothing.
“You’re a hopeless case.” I sigh as I run my hands up his chest and loop them around his neck before claiming his lips with mine.
“That I am, Rylee...” he sighs when we part lips “...that I am.”
We enter the quiet of my house. Haddie will be working late at an event tonight so the house is all ours, and I intend to take full advantage of that. “You hungry?” I ask him as I lay my stuff down on the kitchen counter.
“In more ways than one,” he smirks at me and I just shake my head at him.
“Well how about I fix us something and take care of your first hunger, get you nice and fortified, and then I’ll make sure I offer up some dessert for your second hunger,” I tell him over my shoulder as I bend over and peer in the refrigerator.