Closer To You (Suits in Pursuit) (7 page)

He
nodded his head. “Thanks bro.” Axel chuckled.

Axel turned to Kerrigan.
“Baby, I’m sorry about that. We can exchange your ring for something bigger—whatever you want. The thing with Charlotte was a long time ago.” He searched her face, hoping she wasn’t angry or upset.

She looked up at him with her round hazel eyes, the edges of her mouth twisting in an upward cur
l. “Axel, I love my darling little ring with all its tiny little diamonds.” She placed her hand on his chest. “This is the one I want. I don’t need anything more than this.”

His chest tightened at the
dual meaning of her words.

Sunday, October 7

The cabin weekend ended late Sunday afternoon. They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. The ride back with Axel had been comfortable. She wasn’t sure how their relationship and interactions would progress once they returned to life as normal. They arrived in the city before nine o’clock in the evening. He had invited her to stay the night with him at his house, but she was hesitant. She didn’t want anyone from the office to see her and Axel ride in to work together. He pulled the SUV into her apartment complex and they sat in the parking lot.

“Kerrigan
, I don't like that you are living alone in this apartment. Besides, I think I’m getting used to you in my bed at night. I may have to kidnap you again. Things worked in my favor the first time,” he said, smirking.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Yes, things did work in your favor. What more could you possibly want?” She said.

He pursed his lips and nodded his head. “So much more baby. You have no idea.” The look he gave her sent a shiver up her spine. She wasn’t about to go down this path with him, so she didn’t say another word on the subject.

They walked hand in hand to her
front door, but when they stopped, Axel refused to release her hand. Finally breaking free of his grasp, she opened the door and walked into her apartment. She spun around in the doorway to face Axel, who was only inches away. He leaned down and brushed her lips lightly with a soft kiss.

“
I’m not inviting you in. I know what will happen if I do. Neither of us will get any sleep, and we both have lots of work to catch up on tomorrow.” She patted his chest gently, hoping to soothe him.

“Well, expect to be called up to my office tomorrow for a special closed-door meeting
,” he returned, giving her a sinister grin. Kerrigan felt a swarm of butterflies in her belly, and her cheeks warmed.

“You wouldn’t! Brenda sits
right outside of your office.”

“I will.
My office is soundproof, and I have an en suite bathroom, equipped with a luxurious shower for such occasions. Do you know how long I’ve wanted to have you in my office? I suggest you bring extra panties. I can’t promise you’ll leave with yours intact.”

He
pulled her close, gripped her behind and kissed her deeply. She could feel herself getting lost in his kiss, and she tore herself away. “Goodbye Axel. I have a lot to catch up on. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She pushed him away playfully.

“Goodnight baby. Lock your door. You never know who might come knocking in the middle of the night.
Don’t forget to bring the panties tomorrow.”

“I
’m not answering my door tonight, especially to sex-hungry lunatic boyfriends. I’ve had quite an active weekend, and I need to recover.” She giggled as she watched him walk back to his car, glancing over his shoulder at her every few steps as he mouthed the words ‘I love you’.

Later that night when she climbed into bed,
she checked her emails. He had already sent her two meeting invitations, each scheduled for an hour and a half long at eleven o’clock and then at five o’clock. They were simply labeled ‘Time Together.’ She laughed, turned off the lamp on her nightstand and fell fast asleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Monday, October 8

Stepping off the elevator on the eighth floor, Kerrigan caught Megan’s icy glare as they walked past each other in the elevator lobby. Amanda from accounting leaned against the counter in the break room. Staring, Amanda walked out with a huff when Kerrigan entered to make her ritualistic morning coffee. On the way to her office, she caught the wide-eyed gaze of Matthew, one of the account reps, who turned in his seat doing a near 360-degree head spin as she passed by his cubicle. Although difficult, she managed to ignore them all.

She sat down at her desk, checked her email and learned that a
meeting with McBride had been finally scheduled for the following week. Ages had passed since she had thought about the account. She needed to get back into the normal flow of her routine again and pull off a victory with the McBride account, which would not only validate her in the role that she had been promoted to, but would also get certain co-workers to back off.

At ten o’clock,
Ashley peered through the door, and Kerrigan motioned her in. She closed the door and tossed herself into the guest chair.

“Hey girl
! Word on the street is that you and Axel went away together last week, and not just for business. So?”

She rolled her eyes and huffed.
“Ash! How do these people have time to be wrapped up in my personal life! How do they know?”

“Well, Marie
found out that you and Axel would be out of the office last week. Brenda wouldn’t tell anyone where the two of you had gone. The rumor mill was crazy. I heard, at one point, you and Axel ran off together, and he was selling the business.”

             
“That’s ridiculously absurd!” She sneered.

The last couple of weeks had been a whirlwind, and she had avoided thinking about what returning to work would be like.
She hadn’t thought to make up a cover story, but perhaps she could improvise.

“We were conducting research for the McBride account. We
held focus groups on fishing products. How does that sound?”

Ashley pondered it a
minute, scratching her temple. “For five days? I don’t know.”

“McBride is
national. We were traveling to obtain regionally based sample data.”

“Okay,
maybe,” Ashley said. Her voice was riddled with hesitation. “I might be able to work with that. Give me a day. I’ll have those piranhas off your back in no time. Okay, so what actually happened? Where did you go? I want to hear everything. Every. Juicy. Detail.” Ashley flexed her eyebrows up and down.

She
shook her head at her friend and laughed. Even though the build-up to this point in their relationship had taken over a year, their relationship was hard to believe. Things between them were on warp speed now.

“
So, are you still a virgin or not? I know he couldn’t keep his hands off you. I want details.”

She could feel her cheeks begin to heat. Just thinking about Axel made her warm inside. “Not.” She paused, waiting for Ashley’s loud squeal to subside. “My first time with him was … pretty intense. He was very patient and gentle. I’ll just say that the experience was enjoyable.” The corners of her mouth ached. A wide grin stretched across her face, uncontrollable, especially with Ashley’s wild eyes staring her down. “Okay, this is embarrassing. I’m done talking about my days-old sex. We did other things, too.”

Ashley leaned in closer, her elbows perched on the desk with her chin cradled by her palms. “Skip the other things. You gave your virginity to Axel freaking Christensen, and all you can say is that the experience was enjoyable? I. Want. Details.”

She knew she was in full blush now. “Okay. Okay. He was unbelievably
amazing. The rumors about his size are true, scared the hell out of me. Okay, that’s about all there is to share. I’m not comfortable talking about this with you, so that’s all you’ll get out of me.”

She told Ashley about
the rest of the week she had spent with Axel and their trip to the cabin.

Ashley
let out a shrill. “Kerri, that’s beautiful. I take every rotten thing I’ve said about Axel back—well, almost everything. I’m so happy for the two of you. You know where this is heading, don’t you?”

“
Ash, one day at a time, please. I’m wearing his promise ring. That’s enough for me right now.” She held out her right hand and showed off the ring.

Ashley cupped her mouth.
“He wants to be exclusive with you and he’s already given you a promise ring. Seriously, what are you going to say when he proposes?”

“
I’m still having a hard time believing that he wants a long-term relationship with me. I’m not even about to go there.”

Just thinking about marriage gave her butterflies. She wanted to get married someday, but she had only thought about being with an average person, and Axel was no ordinary man.

“Have I been wrong so far?” Ashley asked.

She buried her face in her hands and mumbled into her hands.
“No, but that’s an enormous step. That’s a forever step.”

Thinking about forever with Axel would be foolish.

“Well, sounds as if forever might be his next step. This isn’t the first time he’s expressed wanting a future with you. The man introduced you to his parents, the first time he’s ever done that with any woman. Hello! I’m just saying.” She held up her hands in defense.

“Ash, I still have the most to lose if
we don’t work out. I am guarding my heart cautiously. You wouldn’t understand.”

Ashley shook her head.
“I know he’s been patient to this point, but even the most patient man tires out.”

“
Yeah, I know. So, how are you and Sam?” She needed to change the subject.

“
Sam is nice, but he’s not the one. He’s just my flavor of the month. I might try CEO the next time!”

She
rolled her eyes at Ashley before glancing at the clock. Butterflies danced in Kerrigan’s stomach. Almost time to go to Axel’s office for their eleven o’clock meeting. She heeded his warning. She brought a change of panties, but she needed to slip them into her bra, and she couldn’t do that with Ashley sitting in her office. Some things she didn’t share with Ashley. Axel scheduling time on their calendars for intimacy was one of those things she wasn’t going to tell. At ten until the hour, she dismissed Ashley.

“Well,
I’m glad we had the chance to catch up. I have an eleven o’clock, and I need five minutes to prepare for the meeting. Can we chat later? What about lunch tomorrow?”

“We’ll
chat later. I’m glad you’re back. I’ll take care of those rats out there. Lunch tomorrow, definitely.”

Kerrigan walked into the executive suite
, one hesitant step after the next on shaky legs. Brenda greeted her warmly. “Kerrigan, I’m so glad to see you. I hope you enjoyed your trip last week. Mr. Christensen said you had a productive week. You can go on in. He’s expecting you.” Brenda’s highly uncharacteristic chatty mood surprised Kerrigan paused her steps.

She
studied Brenda’s face for a moment. “Thank you Brenda.” She said warily, still wondering what Axel had said about their time out of the office.

“Don’t worry. I
won’t allow any interruptions, under any circumstances.” Brenda smiled, nodded her head and returned to her computer.