Chapter 32
Chapter thirty-two
Tabitha
She could feel his hot breath on her. Was tuned in to the press of his rough fingertips into the soft flesh of her thighs.
It had been a lifetime since a man had been between her legs and she was about to combust with the anticipation of him finally getting that beard on her.
Finally having an orgasm that didn’t come from her same old boring routine.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-lingggg.
The sharp chime of her phone shattered the hazy glass dome that shielded them from the rest of the world. Reality nagged at her, but she shooed it away.
“I’m going to put it on silent,” she assured Zac, who grinned and lowered between her legs once more. His lips played a trail up the inside of one thigh. She nearly ignored the phone completely but didn’t want the interruption to frighten away the mood.
Pulling the infernal device from her purse, she jolted upright just as his tongue swiped her clit.
Fuck!
She pushed back from him and shifted her skirt back down around her knees.
The expression on Zac’s face looked like a starving man taunted with a big juicy steak only to have it ripped away before he could . . . well . . . get more than the tip of his tongue on it. Tabitha winced and gave him an apologetic look, but this call from her boss couldn’t wait.
“Claudia, hey.” She cleared her throat, trying to mask the lust crackling on her vocal cords.
“Handcock.” Her boss’s booming voice careened through the phone, and she pulled back in a moment of shock. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Tabitha lowered the volume a few clicks before replying. “No, nothing important. What’s up?”
She snuck a glance at Zac still kneeling off the end of the bed.
The mischievous glimmer in his eyes dimmed at her claim.
Oof. Probably should have worded that differently.
He rose, looking around the van and found his shirt.
Before Tabitha could say “bye bye, pecs” he was fully clothed and retying his hair into a neater knot.
Disappointment sat heavily on her shoulders, and it took everything she had to refocus her attention on the phone call.
“I’m checking in on you. How’s the adventure coming along?” Tabitha heard a crinkle of a wrapper in the background. That meant the crumbly granola bar was coming in three . . . two . . . one . . . crunch.
“Things are going really well. I met with the Millers earlier today and got a lot of content from them. They’re charming and will look great in this article—”
“What about you?” Claudia interrupted with a mouthful.
“What about me?”
“Are ya getting the climbing bug again? Doing the thing? Having fun?”
She was doing something all right. It didn’t exactly fall under the purview of the article but it was definitely fun.
“Yes, I am,” Tabitha offered. "I’ve done the lead class, went bouldering along the river. I even hiked Valhalla with one of the guides. The owner’s little sister actually.”
“And Lark? She pulling her weight?”
“Yes, she is ever the professional photographer.” The comment even had Zac pulling a face of skepticism. “But she got food poisoning, so I swapped the itinerary and did the interview today. Tomorrow is the multi-pitch excursion.”
“So no pictures of the owners, huh?”
“We’ll get some before we leave town,” Tabitha rushed to add, looking at Zac with pleading eyes. He stood toward the front of the van, leaning against the counter, arms crossed. He nodded, and she let out a silent breath of relief.
“Good.” Silence held over the line for a few beats—aside from the granola crunching—until Claudia launched a heavy sigh. Tabitha could practically see the woman pull off her glasses and run fists against her eyes. “There’ve been more cuts.”
“What? Who?”
“Marlee and Brynn from gear, Louise from editing, and Anya from marketing.”
“Shit,” Tabitha muttered. Four more layoffs in the last week.
“Do me a favor.”
“Of course.”
“Stay focused and knock this one out of the park, will ya? We’re losing too many good ones and I can’t bear the thought of losing you. You deserve to be here. You just lost your way a little. But this one’s going to secure your spot. I can feel it.”
“I’ll do my best.”
As the call ended, Tabitha was speechless. More people gone. And if she didn’t write an amazing article—really put her all into it—then she’d be next. Fuck, even if she did they might still decide to give her the boot.
“You ok?” Zac asked, worry peeking through his casual veneer.
“Yeah. I—” Tabitha had gotten so distracted when Claudia had interrupted.
She was about to get laid by one of the guides from the company she was supposed to write about.
That’s journalism 101 of what not to do.
For chrissake, she should be focusing on her career, not prancing around with her ex.
“I need you to take me back to Leavenworth.”
Zac uncrossed his arms, but hesitated as he started to come toward her.
“We have to end this.”
“We didn’t even get to the good stuff, tabby cat—”
“I’m being serious,” she clipped, possibly a little too harshly considering.
“I know, I’m only teasing.” He ran his hands over his neat-as-it’s-going-to-get hair and blew out a breath. “You’re right. It’s a bad idea. This is my work—both of our careers.”
“Exactly.” While she was relieved he understood, it wasn’t the resounding emotion she felt. Disappointment marred the moment as she thought about what she nearly had.
Not the sex.
Not the beardy fun.
But the connection. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“Let’s haul out.” Zac grinned sadly then turned and squeezed himself between the front seats and fired up the van. “You comin’, Tabitha?”
She flinched at the use of her proper name then mumbled to herself, “Apparently not.”