From Fake to Forever (13 page)

Chest heaving with the exertion, he slapped a hand next to hers on the desk, bracing himself so he didn’t collapse on her. “That was...”

Amazing. Unbelievable.
But those words were so cliché for what she made him feel.

“Hot and dirty?” she suggested.

“And then some.” They’d had sex in many inventive locations and positions before, but never in the middle of a workday when they both had to go back to an office. Somehow, the spontaneity had heightened the pleasure. And now he wanted her all over again.

He separated their bodies and turned her in his arms to lay a kiss on her lips. But as he started to lower his head, their gazes caught, freezing him. Vulnerability and tenderness flickered through her expression and he couldn’t look away. One strap of her sundress fell off her shoulder and he slid it back into place, resting his hand on her still-hot flesh in a moment of perfect harmony that rocked him to the core.

All at once, he remembered similar moments from Vegas. After coming down from the height of their climaxes, they’d roll together and hold each other. Then they’d whisper things in the dark, secret things, fears. Hopes. Dreams. It had made the whole experience of sex something otherworldly. It was in those moments that she’d given him peace.

And nothing had changed.

When he’d given in to his desire for Meredith, he hadn’t gotten just the wild and crazy he’d asked for. Maybe that wasn’t all he’d been looking for, either, despite the lies he seemed willing to tell himself. He needed
her
, if only to remind himself that he wasn’t cold-blooded. With her, he could be a man he actually liked.

“Meredith,” he murmured and drew her forward into the kiss he suddenly ached for. Her lips molded to his, and she snugged into his embrace. It was comfortable and sexy and right.

As he angled her head to take them both deeper, she pulled away and cleared her throat. “You know, normally a guy starts out with the kiss, but it’s fine if you want to do it the other way around.”

Gaze on the floor, she located her panties and disappeared into the bathroom as if he wasn’t standing there. At a loss, he drew his own clothes back on and pulled out his phone to check his email because it felt less pathetic than following her into the bathroom to demand an explanation for why she’d cooled down so fast.

She didn’t owe him peace. He certainly hadn’t given her any.

When she returned, the temperature hadn’t risen much.

“So about my idea,” she began and perched on the edge of the desk where they’d just had hot and dirty sex, as she’d dubbed it.

“That wasn’t your idea?” He nodded to the scene of the crime.

“Uh, no. That was totally your idea.”

Frowning, he searched her blank expression. “You seemed pretty on board with it.”

“Of course I was.” Impatiently, she flipped a lock of hair behind her back. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met. You pretty much just have to breathe on me to get me hot. But it wasn’t what I had in mind when I texted you. The condoms were in the bathroom after all, not on the desk.”

The compliment sounded decidedly uncomplimentary somehow. “Funny, I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“You wanna know what I’ve been thinking about? How to get the designs back from Avery.” The fierce scowl on her face piqued his ire in kind because he had no idea what had set her off. “And I have an idea how to accomplish that. If you’ll get your brain out of my panties, we can talk about it.”

“That’s rich, Meredith. You’ve been very free with the invitations into your panties, starting from second one in my office. Don’t act like I’m the only horny one.”

The oasis of peace vanished so fast, he wondered if he’d imagined it.

“What should I act like, then? Your wife?” She sneered. “Because that’s what I’m trying to do here. Give you what you want out of this marriage so we can both be done with it.”

His hands fisted at his sides as pure frustration threatened the careful grip he held on his temper. “Why are you picking a fight with me?”

“Because! I...” She deflated all at once and sank into one of the chairs at the table, her head down. After a beat, she said, “I’m not trying to pick a fight. I just want to do my job and go home. Can you give me a break, here? I need you to understand. I have to go home.”

Her gaze met his and all his mad drained away, as well. This conversation was upsetting her. But why? Did she want to get away from him that badly?

Clearly. And could he blame her? He’d held her up for an extra week already. She had a real life to get back to, just like he did. Obviously she didn’t crave a warm place at his side, where together they could combat the cold, harsh business of daily life.

“Tell me your idea,” he said, crossing to her and taking her hand so she could sense his sincerity. And because he wanted to touch her. “Really. If it works and I get the designs back, I’ll call it even.”

“Even?”

Her fingers curled around his. It was enough of a truce to force him to spit out the clarification—even though he didn’t want to. He owed her and she deserved what she’d earned.

“I’ll sign the papers.” He swallowed against the sudden burn in his throat. Too late to take it back now. “I’ll get my lawyer to expedite the divorce, and you can be on a plane before you know it. First class, my treat. How’s that for understanding?”

It was yet another lie. In reality, he didn’t understand at all. Because he didn’t want to let her go and it had nothing to do with leverage or sex or anything he could name.

* * *

Meredith blinked. “Just like that?”

It was almost over. She could go back to Houston, divorce in hand, and start figuring out how to scrub Jason from her soul. The faster she got away, the easier it would be to sort out all the confused feelings she couldn’t seem to untangle.

Obviously, he was just as eager to get rid of her. Last night he’d insisted this relationship had an expiration date, which she’d conveniently ignored.

That had been before she’d realized sex and their affinity and all the things she’d dreamed about for two years were somehow connected via her heart.

“Sure.” He shrugged nonchalantly as if it didn’t matter either way. “Once I have the designs back, what else could you do? You’ve succeeded at exactly what I asked for. I’ve got intel on Avery’s plans, and the information is stellar. Better than I could have hoped.”

Jason was conceding. He’d given her high praise and told her she’d nearly fulfilled the terms he’d laid out. The elation should be so great, she shouldn’t be able to hold it back. Instead, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

“So you want me to do this one last thing and then I’m done?”

He nodded. “Seems like that’s what I’m saying.”

Fantastic. The timing couldn’t be better. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep being Jason’s wild and crazy go-to girl. Not when the entire time he’d been blowing her mind against the desk she’d been so very aware that she wanted more, wanted him like he was during their stolen moments, but permanently. And she had a hard time not demanding it from him.

For once in her life, she was going to act like an adult and sleep in the bed she’d made. Which wasn’t Jason’s. He didn’t want anything more than sex and honestly, that’s all he’d wanted in Vegas, too. It was all
she’d
wanted...until she didn’t.

How was she supposed to know that sex would create a deluge of emotions? Or that she’d have no idea how to handle them? That was her own fault, not his, and it wasn’t fair to demand anything of him other than a divorce, especially when she was clueless about what she’d even demand.

Squaring her shoulders, she nodded once. “Awesome. So Avery has a meeting next week with some people about the after-hours project. I don’t know what it’s about, but I do know that Paul is on her case about the bad juju you created with the press release.”

It had given her a thrill to know she’d had a hand in the tightness around Avery’s mouth. The whole office had been walking on eggshells all morning and doing their level best to stay out of Avery’s way. Except Meredith. She’d walked straight into the lion’s den and volunteered to help.

No one had to know she’d done it for Jason as much as she’d done it for the divorce.

“She told me,” Jason offered. “They’re trying to do damage control with a strategic move. I think the stolen designs became a part of it.”

Avery hadn’t shared anything that detailed with Meredith. “I didn’t realize you’d spoken to her.”

He raised his eyebrows endearingly. “Didn’t I mention it? Oh, that’s right. I was a little busy with the desk gymnastics and then wading through the fight that wasn’t a fight.”

The eye roll she shot him wasn’t nearly sarcastic enough. “
I’ve
been trying to have this conversation for forty-five minutes now.
You
started the desk gymnastics.”

“You were the one bent over the desk wearing that sexy little dress. Next time, sit down. Or wear a potato sack.”

His teasing tone saddened her a little.

If only things hadn’t gotten so complicated, she’d probably have flashed her nipples in deliberate provocation, hoping he’d get her naked again. But the fact that he saw nothing wrong with flirting in the same breath as informing her she could go home told her everything she needed to know. She’d made the right decision to keep her mouth shut about what was going on inside her.

“So anyway.” She drew the last word out lightly, but they needed to get back on topic before she fell apart. “A drumroll would be a little anticlimactic at this point, but I’m going to ask Avery to let me take her place at this meeting about the after-hours project so she can focus on Paul’s strategy concerns. She might say no, but it’s worth it to ask.”

“I’m impressed.” Jason crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, the same spot he’d been in since she returned from the bathroom. “It’s a good idea and I like it. When is the meeting?”

“I think it’s Monday.” Which meant she had the rest of the afternoon to work out how she’d get Avery to agree. It was all in the timing, especially if she could corner the busy woman right after the two-hour meeting Avery had booked with Paul Lynhurst later today.

Surely that meeting would end with a number of action items assigned to Avery with no relief in sight. Meredith, to the rescue.

And if Avery didn’t want Meredith to know her schedule, she shouldn’t leave her calendar open on her phone in plain sight.

“Will she go for it?” Jason asked. “Avery doesn’t trust anyone. Have you gotten close enough to her that she’d give you such an important task?”

Meredith shrugged. “Can’t hurt to try. But it’s the only shot I’ll have to get the designs into my possession without raising her suspicions and then oops. Maybe I accidentally set them on fire. You have backup files, right?”

“You bet.”

“And if I get lucky, she’ll fire me. I’ll be going home soon anyway, so it’s a chance to tell her what I really think of her. It will probably include swearing.” Judging by the way Jason’s grin widened, her plan met with his approval. “So you’re cool with all this? Without the designs, she has no strategy left and you’ll be able to expose her as a thief. We’re talking about ruining Hurst. A company run by your father and your sister. No second thoughts?”

“My father ruined Hurst all on his own when he split it apart,” Jason countered fiercely. “Whatever he gets is no less than he deserves.”

His entire demeanor changed in a snap. Distress warred with passion, and his body fairly vibrated with it. His vitality bled through the atmosphere to ping around inside her.

Open, vulnerable Jason from Vegas hadn’t grown up and grown cold—he’d transferred his angst and helplessness into his merger plans. How had she missed that? He’d talked about his plans before—a lot—but always in a factual kind of way.

This was different. He’d never revealed so much in so few words, especially not about his feelings toward his father.

“Tell me about it,” she commanded softly, terrified she’d shove him back behind his walls if she pushed too hard. But if she could bring out the wild and crazy in him, surely she could coax out more of the sensitive and passionate, as well. She had to try.

Intimacy and soul-baring conversations—it was the stuff of her fantasies. If she’d begged him to stay last night, could they have gotten there then?

He took a deep breath, clearly struggling to maintain his composure.

“That’s why it’s so important for me to reunite Lyn. I’m going to fix it. Paul failed, as a father, as a husband, as a CEO.” Jason’s hands fisted at his sides, his mouth twisting into a frown. “My mom never wanted to be in management. But he forced her into it when he left.”

His ravaged expression nearly undid her.

She ached for him and for his mother. Avery, too, as at least some of her abrasive personality probably stemmed from her hurt over the events of two years ago. Meredith had a lot of sympathy for them all. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“Don’t be. I’m going to step up and be the man he wasn’t. I’m going to make the company whole again, and if I’m CEO, then he can’t be. It’s the perfect payback for what he did to Lynhurst Enterprises because running things was always his role.”

“Oh, honey.” She shook her head and let a small smile bloom. “You might be telling yourself that this is all about revenge, but admit it. You’re working so hard on this merger for your mom.”

Surprise flitted across his expression. Had he not realized that until this moment?

“I’ll give you that one. It’s partially true. I forget how easily you read me,” he groused but didn’t seem too upset about it.

He’d designed his dastardly plans to right the wrongs his father had done to his mother. It was somehow sweet and her heart squeezed with raw emotion. Unable to stop herself, she slid from the chair and wrapped him in a tender embrace.

“You look like you need a hug,” she offered in explanation, though he hadn’t asked and it wasn’t exactly true.

She
needed the contact, needed to touch this complex, wonderful man buried underneath the fashion-espionage mastermind.