She smiles as she puts her phone away and takes a step closer to me. I won’t even pretend to lie to myself. I want her. I always want her.
All I could think about when she interviewed with me was what it’d be like to work with her, to steal a kiss from her here and there. I imagined her in a sexy skirt, her legs spread on my desk. I’ve wanted her in my bed from the moment I found her. Her dating my brother didn’t change a thing for me. I still love her the same. I still want her as much as I always have — but not like this.
“Come on,” I tell her. “Let me take you home.”
She blinks in confusion, and I watch her emotions and thoughts dance in those beautiful eyes of hers. “I… how about we go to your place instead?” she asks. Her sweet smile is in contrast with the calculative look in her eyes, and something about it breaks my heart. When I eventually fuck her, I don’t want her to be thinking about Ryan, and tonight he’s all that’s on her mind.
“No,” I tell her, and the devastation in her eyes nearly wrecks me. She wraps her arms around herself, and it’s not hard to guess what she’s thinking. The sting of rejection is clear in her demeanor.
“I see,” she says, her voice shaky. She looks down at the floor and takes a step back. It only takes her a second to paste a smile on her face, and then she nods at me politely. “You don’t need to take me home, but thank you for offering. I think I’ll head back inside.”
I cross my arms and stare her down. “And do what, exactly?”
She grins. “Find one of Ryan’s childhood friends to spend the night with,” she says, shrugging. “Before the night is over, I’ll have hurt him in the best way I can, with or without you.”
This woman… she makes my fucking blood boil. “Like hell you are.” I grab her wrist and pull her along. She resists, but there’s no fucking way she’s going back in there. “You want to fuck the pain away tonight, baby? Fine — but you won’t be doing it with anyone but me.”
She’s still the same fucking psycho with a heart of gold that I used to know. Once she’s set her mind to something, there’s no talking her out of it. This isn’t how I imagined being with her, but fuck it. If it’s Alanna, I’ll take what I can get.
She’s quiet as I drive us to my home, parking into the elevator that takes us straight up to my penthouse. I glance at her, wondering if she’s changed her mind, but the glint in her eyes tells me she hasn’t.
I step out of the car and walk around it to open the door for her. She takes my hand, and when her eyes meet mine, I smile. I’ve missed her, and having her here in my home is a bit of a dream come true. She has no idea that I modeled it after the plans we made together.
“This… this is your house?” she asks, her voice filled with disbelief. I smile at her and nod. “This is my home. The house you came to for dinner is my family home. It’s where I grew up and where I might eventually live when I settle down, but this is where I live on a day-to-day basis.”
She nods and looks around, taking in all the glass and the beautiful skyline. The view is the main reason I bought this place, and I have a feeling she appreciates it as much as I do. When we were cooped up in that tiny room without a window, we both dreamed of large windows and a beautiful skyline. Now we’ve got it.
“Wow,” she whispers, and I grin. I walk over to the kitchen and grab a bottle from the wine fridge.
I hand her a glass and she takes it with shaking hands. “Changed your mind?” I ask, wanting to tease her.
She looks at me, her eyes slowly roaming over my body before moving back up. “No,” she says, placing her glass on the counter. She takes a step forward, pausing in front of me. I tense when she places her hand on my chest and slides it up, until she’s got it wrapped around the back of my neck. “Did you?”
I smile and tilt my face toward hers. “What will you do if I say that I changed my mind?”
She grins and rises to her tiptoes. “I’ll just have to seduce you,” she whispers, her lips brushing over mine.
Her eyes flutter closed as she kisses me, her touch cautious, hesitant. I smile against her lips and thread my hand through her hair, pulling her closer roughly. For a while, I wondered if I’d ever hold her like this again. I thought I’d lost her to Ryan, and I was too scared to make a move, too scared to hurt her. I thought I’d have to live off the memories we created for the rest of my life, the ones only I remember, but here she is, back in my arms.