Chapter 21 Thane
THANE
The computer screen before me was a blur of lines, my mind somewhere far beyond.
With Regan. I could still smell her perfume, feel the slide of her silken hair across my skin, feel the tight, hot sheath of her.
My want for her was driving me to distraction.
While I was a man, and there was a part of me that got off on sneaking into the annex each night to be with her, I couldn’t rid the dread that had settled over me since we’d agreed on our sex-with-no-strings arrangement.
In fact, the dread had only worsened since that first night. The only reprieve I had from it was when I was inside Regan. Nothing else penetrated my thoughts but the overwhelming need that consumed me in those moments.
“Thane!”
Jarred from my now daily daydreams about my kids’ nanny, I turned from my computer screen to see Keelie standing in the doorway, frowning at me.
“Sorry for shouting, but I said your name a few times and you didn’t respond.”
Fuck.
This was getting out of hand.
“Sorry about that.” Then it occurred to me Keelie was in my office. On this floor. “What brings you down here?”
She closed my door and walked over to my desk.
I felt awkward. When I hadn’t called Keelie back, I’d presumed she’d understand what that meant. That was how the dating game worked. Unless she was here about something else.
Keelie perched on my desk and gave me a somewhat self-deprecating shrug. “My friends told me I should leave it alone, but I like to know for certain where things are at. I can’t play the usual bullshit dating games. I’m not very good at understanding the rules.”
Oh, boy.
“I thought we had a really nice time at dinner, but … you haven’t called. So … I just thought I’d check if maybe I was supposed to ask you out next? And if so, would you like to go on a second date with me?”
I admired her courage and straightforwardness.
To be fair, her self-involved nattering on our first date could have just been nerves.
And in another life, maybe I would have gone on a second date with her.
But she deserved honesty. “I had a nice time, Keelie, but I think we’re better off as friends. ”
Disappointment darkened her eyes, but she smiled through it. I felt like shit. “Oh. Of course.” She pushed off my desk, smoothing her skirt. “Well, I appreciate you being up-front.”
“I’m … sorry.” I winced as she winced. An apology was the wrong move. It was pitying. Fuck. “I mean—”
“It’s fine.” She backed up toward the door. “I need to … I need to get back to work.”
Keelie fled my office as if the hounds of mortification were nipping at her heels.
I buried my head in my hands and muttered a string of curse words. Regan was right. I’d used Keelie and hurt her. What an arsehole.
The rest of the day passed painfully slowly.
Now I was distracted by my own bad choices.
Regan noted at dinner I seemed troubled.
I waved off her concerns as I pondered what the hell I was doing with my life.
With Regan. The chances I was taking with my family with this affair.
But when she gave me a sultry look before she left the house for her annex, my addiction to her took over.
And when I let myself into the annex that night to find Regan lying naked on the bed, waiting for me, everything else ceased to exist.
Regan Penhaligon had seduced me past the point of no return.