“Did you scare him earlier or something?” Krista asked.
“Why?”
“Well, he seemed like he was on the run. Like he was hiding out in nowheresville with me.”
“Probably hiding from the sales superhero that followed him around all night,” Marcus said in a droll tone.
“Was that a dig at me or John?” Sean asked in a flat voice.
“Someone get that man a drink!” Marcus yelled. “He’s misplaced his humor.”
“You have to crack a joke that’s funny if you want people to laugh,” Krista shot back.
Judy slapped Marcus on the leg as she laughed.
“Now is a perfect time to mention a well-placed ‘I told you so, Sean.’” Ray said, taking a gulp. “I told you Krista could do it.”
Sean ignored him, not wanting to hear it. Ray had been right—Krista, left to her own devices, could charm even an unbeliever. Not only that, but she’d saved his ass tonight. Tory had smelled the ambush and went running, trying to dodge. Sean would’ve lost him; scared him away with his reputation alone. It was Krista who saved the day, and then Sean had ostracized her for it. He was the biggest kind of ass**le imaginable.
He was still looking out the window when he felt Monica’s leg press firmly against his. He ignored her, too.
Ray said, “I told him Krista knew the most and should sit next to him. But did he listen to me? Noooooooo.”
“You guys should have seen when I first met him at the bar,” Krista said as she looked at her lit phone screen. “I didn’t know who he was, but I did know I was supposed to be chatty and friendly with people, so while I was thinking of something to say, turned toward him, with my freaking mouth open, looking at the sky—just standing there, mind you …he finally asked if I was alright. He obviously thought I lost my brain or something!”
Everyone started laughing, except for Sean and Monica.
“Wait a minute. What is our little Kristie up to?” Marcus said.
That was about when Marcus flipped on the roof light. Krista looked up from her phone with a red face and guilty expression. She didn’t need to explain. Sean’s intestines shriveled.
Marcus started laughing. “Booty call, huh? Don’t feel bad about it, honey, I already placed mine!”
“I married mine. Tragic!” Judy laughed.
“Me, too,” Ray said with a slight slur. “Now it’s a booty beg.”
Apparently Sean was the only one in the party who kept himself sober for the precession. Well, him and Monica.
Everyone but Sean looked at Ray, stunned.
“Ray …dark horse,” Krista uttered into the din.
That started a whole new wave of laughter, which Ray joined in.
While Krista had been the last picked up, she was the first dropped off. She was also halfway down the small aisle, drunk, and slightly wobbly. Sean watched as she clambered out of her seat, stumbling and half crawling down the small aisle of the limo. Monica huffed at her amid the chorus of laughter, about to say something to Sean about it, but Sean was already up, positioning himself near the door to intercept, wanting to keep her from falling out on her face.
As Krista stumbled in toward him, she startled and met his eyes, unsure. Sean held out his hand, eyes connected with hers. The normal thing would have been for her to take his hand, steady herself, and let him help her out of the limo. Krista never did anything normally. Instead, she garbled that she was okay, which came out something like, “‘Mmm okiee,” then promptly dove toward the open patch of sky. Sean was expecting it.
He grabbed her quickly, stopping her before she completed the trip to her face. She swung away from the open door and landed in his lap, her face inches from his. Her sweet breath brushing his eyelids.
Krista leaned in an inch. Her control was ebbing. She was letting that other girl take over. The one that bit him. Sean felt his ardor rise, felt her heat soak into him. But this wasn’t the place. Not in front of these people.
Before Sean could rectify the situation, she bucked. Her little hands pushed at his chest, trying to get away. Her legs thrashed, caught in her dress. One dipped between his leg, nearing his dick. It would’ve hurt, especially with how hard he was, so he caught her thigh in his, holding her. Pinning her body to his chest. Squeezing her close, liking how she felt. Liking the way she tucked neatly into his arms.
“Careful Pet, wait for me,” Sean said quietly in her ear, half surprised he’d used the Irish term of endearment his grandma had always used with him.
Her body stilled. Then thawed into him. He breathed in her scent as he lifted her, maneuvering her out of the open door and onto the sidewalk. He put her down gently, letting his hands linger on her bare arms. As her face tilted up, meeting his eyes, he recognized a look of dazed wonder.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
She nodded mutely, those wide, fearful eyes looking intently up at him, touching him somewhere deep within.
“Sorry about back there. I got lost in the moment,” he murmured. They were cocooned in a web of intimacy, a deep, heavy thing moving in his chest.
“I fell on you,” her voice was barely above a whisper, her words floating softly on her sweet breath.
“No, uh, back at the winery. I didn’t mean to...get so close. Go against our deal. I’m sorry about that,” he said softly, consumed with her.
“Oh,” she sighed more than spoke, leaning heavily against his chest.
“Just do him already and fill me in later!” Marcus shouted.
Sean could see the words registering; her thick black lashes fluttering against her cheek. Her forehead knotted, a look of abject terror crossing her face. “Oh!”
It was a very different “oh” than before. A sobering sound. A curtain call to the night.
Krista jerked back, struggling in his grip. Sean shook his head, wanting to continue this moment, searching, wanting to figure out that felling, but knowing it wasn’t the time. He let go of her arms, forcing himself to step back.
“Who could blame a guy, eh? At least your slip up didn’t leave teeth marks.” Krista winked at him, a professional at getting back to reality, almost as if she constantly had experience.
He wasn’t so practiced. “You helped me out tonight. I owe the evening’s success to you, it seems. Really good work, Krista. Really good. Good thing you never listen to me.”
Sean didn’t want to leave. He wanted to tell the others to go ahead; that he’d make his own way home. But that was impossible, especially because it was at that moment that Sean noticed the figure walking up behind Krista.
Sean didn’t normally check out other guys, but this time he couldn’t help it. This time he noticed the handsome dark stranger as he walked up and put a territorial hand on Krista’s shoulder.
“Oh!” Krista flinched in fear before she saw Paul. “Paul, Jesus, I didn’t see you there.”
Paul didn’t say anything as he looked at Sean, but he didn’t have to. He had the girl.
“Paul, this is my boss, Sean,” Krista said, not shrugging off the hand on her shoulder. “Sean, you’ve heard about Paul.”
“Hey, bro,” Paul leaned over Krista to shake hands.
Right away Sean noticed the weak handshake. That was a loss of points in guy code. Too bad most women didn’t care about guy code. As far as women code was concerned, Paul had plenty going for him. It was a shitty end to the night.
“Hello. Okay, Krista, good night. See you fresh Monday morning.” Sean turned back toward the limo.
“He was hot,” Marcus said as Sean shut the door.
“That was Krista’s man?” Judy asked, launching forward to see.
“Must be. He grabbed her butt.”
“Paul, right?” Ray looked at Sean.
“Yes,” Sean said, wanting to be home and away from anyone connected to work or Krista.
“I’ve seen hotter,” Monica said in a voice laced with sex.
“Of course you have!” Marcus shouted. “I’m sitting right here!”
Judy and Ray burst out laughing. Sean looked out the window.
When they were dropping Marcus off across town, Sean felt Monica’s hand on his hip, hidden by their angle and the way he was sitting. Sean, still looking out the window, leaned his head back. He didn’t want her. Maybe when he’d first met her, but not anymore. She paled in comparison to Krista. But he had to admit that her hand felt good, and he was still turned on from having Krista that close to him. He couldn’t shake her off.
Sensing his acquiescence, Monica’s hands started kneading, staying out of sight. It worked farther in, toward his groin. Her efforts were getting him hard, but barely.
As they let Judy out, they shifted seats, Ray getting closer to the door and Monica moving in such a way that further efforts would be hidden. She had a streak of voyeurism. She wanted to be seen. She wanted others to witness.
She must’ve realized that Sean would never let that happen.
As Ray chatted amicably, Monica’s hand reached his inner thigh.
“Spread your legs a little,” she said in a hush.
Sean leaned and did as instructed, and was rewarded as her palm spread across his erection.
“Don’t you think, Sean?” he heard.
Ray was looking at him in the darkness, hopefully not realizing what was happening.
“What’s that?” Her hand started rubbing, sending shooting pulses of pleasure into his gut.
“I said, Krista did well tonight. She looked the part, played the part—she was top quality tonight.”
Sean’s zipper was pulled down. As a soft hand wrapped around his shaft, he tried not to moan. He knew what Ray was trying to do. Knew his friend didn’t want Sean to give in to Monica. Too late.
“She was, yes,” Sean muttered distractedly as Monica’s fist pumped over his skin.
“Okay, well…think it through,” Ray said as he climbed out. The door slammed behind him.
“Let’s get serious,” Monica said instantly, crouching between his legs and hiking up her dress.
“Condom.”
She practically dove into her purse. As he secured the latex, he was struck with a pang of guilt. This wasn’t right. He was being exactly the man Krista abhorred.
As Monica straddled him, ripping down her top so her br**sts tumbled into his face, he lost track of thought altogether.
Chapter Twenty-One
Two Mondays after the fundraiser, the team was summoned to Sean’s office, which was now just down the hall from Krista’s. Since Krista was done with everything on his list and then some, and had time to help her department with a few other reports, she was busily working on something for Mr. Montgomery when Sean popped his head in her office.
He had started dressing more casually after moving up to no-man’s land, and that day’s result was a pair of jeans that made his butt look like a Godsend. He had on a polo shirt that showed off his defined pecs and perfectly sculpted biceps. She now knew how good those pecs and biceps felt. As a result, her mouth started salivating.
“Hey Geegee, we are in my office in ten if you have a minute?”
The team had taken to calling her Geek Girl, or G.G. for short. It was a unanimous agreement that was not made so much as Marcus’s example was followed. Even Ray had jumped on the bandwagon. Minding would have taken too much effort, so Krista just went with it.
“No worries, Cap’n.” The team had also followed her example, and taken to calling Sean ”Captain.” Again, even Ray had joined in. Ray was starting to be one of the crew, rowing with everyone else, and they loved him all the more for it.
Sean nodded and walked off, his graceful stride taking him away too fast to get much of a stare at his butt. Pity.
Krista had seen Sean with Monica twice since she’d left them in the limo. Once in the break room when she obviously interrupted something, and another time in the street when they were coming back from lunch. They were shagging. It was obvious. Or at least, they had shagged. No telling how often.
Marcus, Judy and Krista gossiped about it a few times, and then got bored since they expected it of them both. They had moved on to other gossip after that. Krista was learning a lot about the company from those two. None of it essential, or even all that appealing, but it broke up the work time nicely.
Even though Sean was off-limits, Krista still got a twinge of jealousy every time she thought of Monica. She didn’t deserve him. Yes, okay, he was a jackass with women, but beyond the womanizer crap, Krista was starting to see him as an honest, trustworthy guy with impeccable manners and a soft heart. She was definitely getting to know Sean and his double.
The problem was, he was an upstanding guy when it came to everything but that one aspect. Which meant he was perfect except for that one, huge, glaring flaw that continued to make him untouchable for any self-respecting girl.
Still, that stupid Monica didn’t even deserve any crappy part of him! Dumb tart.
Krista finished what she was doing, locked her computer, and headed to Sean’s office. She was the first one on the scene because she was so close.
“Hey Cap’n, whaaaaaaaat’s happening?” she said in an imitation of Office Space.
“Hi Krista. How are you?” Sean asked, his full attention tuned in. “You look well.”
“Oh thanks. Yeah, I’m eating my Wheaties.”
“You still run by the beach?”
“I do, indeed, sir. Why?”
He shrugged, “So you are John’s new favorite.”
“Yeah, about that. What was the deal with telling him about the Sue comment? You realized that was not for his ears, right?”
“I told him about calling me a womanizer,” Sean’s comment was laced with a twinge of aggression.