Chapter 2
Work in Progress
Sara
Dammit, Tom. I was going to get over whatever I have for Wyatt by getting under someone else. I swear, Tom doesn’t want me to have a love life.
“Coffee with your whiskey?” Finn asks.
I open my eyes and he’s holding a steaming cup of coffee out to me. “Thank you.”
I set it on the coffee table and pour the whiskey into it, because why not?
Finn sits close, but not right next to me, with his own cup. Wyatt comes over carrying the creamer. He pours a little in my coffee before sitting down, but he doesn’t add any to his.
For as much as the guy ignores me, he knows things like how I take my coffee.
That I prefer white wine over red. I’m always a little shocked at what he knows about me and that’s what kept me obsessed with him for so long.
I always thought it meant something, but it just means that we grew up around each other and he’s observant.
I drink my coffee and exhale. “What is Tom into now?”
“He’s been working with a new client.” Finn stretches and his pants dip a little lower, showing off his Adonis belt, that V that points directly to his cock. He has a totally droolworthy body. Fuck.
I blink and lift my gaze. I just need a good fuck to straighten my head out. Pretty sure that will cure whatever this is. But right now, I need to focus on Tom.
“Okay, new client, what do we know about them?” I glance at Wyatt, but he’s on his phone scrolling through something. His jaw clenches, and I can imagine how it would feel if I pressed my lips against that muscle.
“He’s been pretty tight-lipped about them.” Finn shrugs and takes a sip of his coffee. “He brought in a few new clients and hasn’t been real talkative about any of them, actually.”
“Is that normal?” I take a sip. The cream really makes it better, but I’ll never tell Wyatt that.
“No.” Wyatt doesn’t even look up.
“Okay.” I draw the word out. “So do you guys understand his note? Is he into something shady? Or was he dating someone shady? Is this all an effort to ghost some woman?”
“He hasn’t been seeing anyone that I know of.” Finn looks to Wyatt. “Do you know if he’s fucking someone?”
Wyatt’s dark eyes collide with mine and my heart squeezes. He doesn’t normally look at me, so to have his attention makes me long for more. My insides flutter.
“No.” He looks away and I can breathe again.
Fuck, I need a life.
“Okay, so maybe this has to do with business. Maybe something else. Can one of you try to call Tom? I tried after the texts and it went straight to voicemail.” I look from Finn to Wyatt.
“Already tried.” Dante steps out in a black t-shirt that clings to his muscles and dark jeans that cling to the rest of him. He’s barefoot and he’s pulled his blond hair back into a loose bun.
He’s never been easy to ignore, no matter if he has on clothes or doesn’t.
I push the heat that pulses through me to the back of my mind, just like I’ve done for the past six years. When I was younger, these guys were like gods in my eyes. They could do no wrong. But when I turned sixteen, my mind strayed to a slightly darker side of the gods.
By then they were twenty and I was still Tom’s kid sister. I’d always crushed on Wyatt and out of misguided loyalty tried to be true to only him. But Finn and Dante have always stirred something wicked inside me too.
After my friend admitted to having a sexual relationship with her four bosses, my dreams got a lot darker and starred all three of them. Wyatt, Finn, and Dante sharing me, fighting over me, fucking me.
Resisting the urge to fan myself, I swallow some more of my coffee with whiskey.
Fantasies that will never happen and I’m not even going to entertain anymore.
I’m going to fuck Drew because he actually wants me.
He doesn’t ignore me like Wyatt or act like a protective older brother like Dante.
He does flirt with me like Finn, but unlike Finn, Drew’s willing to take it further.
“Okay, what do we do?” I draw in a breath and look at the guys around me.
“We’ll look into it.” Wyatt doesn’t meet my eyes. “We’ll search the files and see if we can find out who he might run from.”
“You let us know if anything happens.” Dante steps forward, blocking my view of Wyatt. “Your parents are home, right?”
I swallow a sip of coffee and nod. No, they aren’t. They left yesterday for an extended European tour. Something my mom planned for years and decided now was the time. They took Caitlyn, my little sister, with them.
Tom knew that, which may be why he said don’t go home, but fuck him, I’m not locking myself in with these guys. I’d go insane.
And there’s no way I’m telling these overprotective bastards that I’m home alone. Because I made plans too. I’m dating Drew Young and I’m going to seduce him. Though that shouldn’t be too difficult to do.
Having an empty townhouse with just our Pomeranian, Peabody, is the perfect opportunity to have some alone time.
I finish my coffee. “If that’s all we have, I’ve made plans. As soon as you hear from Tom, let me know.”
“What plans do you have, pipsqueak?”
I walk over and rinse my mug before sliding it into the dishwasher. “Plans that don’t include you guys.”
I was so proud of myself for walking out of there. As I rode down the elevator, I texted Drew to come over tonight for dinner, to make up for ditching him earlier. I have a coffee date with my ladies this afternoon though.
The last thing I need is more coffee. When I walk into the corner shop, Madison Harris sits at one table and Cooper Graham is at the next. He’s turned in his chair, whispering something in her ear that’s making her blush.
Serious relationship goals right there.
Her blond hair is pulled into a loose bun like mine. When he draws back, her blue eyes stay locked on his blue eyes. His dark hair is pulled into a low tight bun. They look good together.
She doesn’t see me, so I go up and order a bubble tea. When it’s done, I walk over and sit across from her. She smiles. Now there are no shadows lurking in her eyes like before.
“How are you?” I ask.
Coop leans in and kisses her. “I’ll be back for you later, sweetheart.”
Madison waves him off and then turns to me. “So good.”
“Did Kayla’s flight get in?”
Kayla Wagner is the sister of one of Madison’s bosses and part of our group of friends.
“Blake picked her up and they’re on their way.”
The door opens and Hope Williams walks in. She’s shorter than me with brown hair and huge bright blue eyes. She sees us and comes over.
“I ran into Coop outside and he hugged me.” She looks over her shoulder like she still can’t believe it.
“He’s in a good mood.” Madison stirs her tea but doesn’t elaborate.
“My bitches!” Kayla bursts in the door. I laugh at her larger-than-life personality. She’s gorgeous with her dark hair and green eyes. After finding out Madison was dating four guys, she decided we should all date, even though she’s the only bisexual among us.
“So is it official?” I ask.
She dangles a set of keys. “Officially moved to New York City and unfortunately, alone. Bea and I broke up, but we agreed to stay friends.”
There’s a hint of sadness in her green eyes. She loved Bea but they couldn’t agree on where to live. Kayla’s work wanted her to move here. Bea wanted to stay put.
“Let’s get something to drink, Hope.” Kayla’s smile rebounds and she drags Hope up to the counter. They don’t take long and soon we’re all seated around the table.
After a few minutes of pleasantries and drinks, Madison looks at me. “So...?”
I smile.
“Yeah, how did brunch go?” Hope asks. She keeps looking at the door, like she expects someone to burst in. It’s been a few months since she got abducted, but the fear still clings to her. We usually meet at her brother’s bar, but we’re trying to branch out like her therapist wants her to.
“Did you fuck him?” Kayla drinks her coffee with a smirk. “I mean, I saw the guy at the benefit. Drew is hot. I bet he’s good in bed. Come on. Details. I need something to get me there tonight.”
“First off, ew, I’m not giving you spank bank material.” I hold my hand up in front of Kayla. “Second off, we didn’t get that far. We had a lovely brunch, and just when he leaned in to kiss me and I was going to invite him inside, Tom texted me.”
“Big brothers are the worst cockblocks.” Kayla shakes her head.
Hope nods in sympathy. “Jason keeps interrupting any date I have these days.”
“As long as Madison keeps Blake occupied, I should be free and clear to narrow the playing field of potential lovers this city has to offer.” Kayla winks. “So when are you seeing Drew again?”
“Tonight.” My cheeks flush hot. I really don’t know what I’m doing anymore. “Dinner at my house. But Tom sent me these cryptic messages. I’m worried about whatever he’s gotten involved with, but I’m also wondering if he just needed a break and took off.”
Tom is a hard guy to read most of the time. He’s good at his job, but he’s got this impulsive streak that he never really reins in. Am I shocked that he left without stopping by to say goodbye? Not really. Am I surprised his cell phone is off? Also no.
But he usually doesn’t leave behind orders to not go home and to have them protect me. If anything, Tom is the hugest cockblock of my life when it comes to Wyatt. Even Finn and Dante. There’s this whole no dating my little sister vibe that Tom puts out.
The others look around the table at each other. Unfortunately, we’re relatively new friends. So they know some of the backstory, but not all of it.
“Tom takes off sometimes. So it’s not completely worrisome.” But my gut keeps nagging me that something is wrong.
Madison reaches across the table and takes my hand. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
I hope so.
Something outside the window catches my attention. A guy in black stands across the street. He’s tall and thick. He draws on a cigarette and then flicks it at the cars going by before blowing out the smoke.
It looks like he’s looking right at me, but that can’t be the case. We’re not seated by the window, and the sun is probably glinting off the glass, blocking his view of the inside. A shiver creeps over me.
I shake it off.
Most likely it’s just Tom’s cryptic messages playing tricks on my mind. The girls and I talk about our dreams of the future. We’re trying to position ourselves to work together on something, kind of like Madison’s guys did.
They graduated college and formed Morrigan Technology Group.
Between the experience she’s receiving as their assistant and the mentorship with Deidre Bryne, a self-made millionaire with her company focused on women, Madison is primed to become a CEO.
Hope will make an excellent VP and Kayla is a marketing wiz. I’m the final piece. My master’s in accounting is complete after this internship and a few more classes. I just need more experience, which is why I begged Tom to let me intern with his company, meaning Tom, Dante, Wyatt, and Finn.
“You’re still good for your internship?” Kayla asks.
I nod. “Start on Monday.”
Which means I have two days to fuck those guys out of my system, so I can focus on learning and figure out what the hell Tom was up to that he had to run from.
Nervous doesn’t quite fit how I feel currently. Anxious gets closer. Pretty sure it’s not just butterflies zipping around in dizzying circles inside me, but bees, wasps, maybe a few hornets. Honestly, I feel a little ill.
Maybe it was all the caffeine. The whiskey earlier probably didn’t help.
The doorbell rings and I jump. Glancing at my video doorbell app, I see it’s Drew. I smooth down my skirt and brush my hair over my shoulders. I’ve never done anything like this before.
I just hope I don’t fall on my face.
With a deep breath, I open the door.
“Fuck, you’re breathtaking.” Drew’s dark eyes sweep over me and shivers work down my spine. He’s wearing gray slacks and a white buttoned dress shirt with the top buttons undone. It contrasts nicely with his golden skin. He takes my hand and lifts it to his lips. “Sara.”
Sparks float up my arm. “Come in.”
He steps into me and I back up a step, except he keeps coming until my back is against the wall. My breath catches. He shuts the door and tips my chin up.
“We got interrupted earlier.” His gaze drops to my lips.
I swallow hard around my thumping heart, which feels like it’s stuck in my throat. “Yes.”
His thumb brushes down my neck. “Should we make up for lost time?”
“Yes.” It barely leaves my mouth before his full lips brush gently over mine once, twice, three times. My insides turn molten. My hands cling to his arms, feeling the muscles shift beneath them.
“One taste before dinner.” He captures my lips, taking me hostage as I follow his lead.
This kiss isn’t the typical first kiss. It’s carnal and dirty and makes me excited for more.
I’ve been kissed before, but never quite as consuming as this. He explores the edges of my mouth before demanding entrance, which I happily give. He tastes me and slides his tongue against mine until my pussy throbs with need.
When he lifts his head, his darkened eyes search mine for a heartbeat. He could fuck me right here in the entryway and I wouldn’t care. If he fucks like he kisses, I’m in for one hell of a ride.
He brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “Dinner?”