Damage Control (5 page)

For two days, he'd been berating himself over the situation with Andrea. The woman was his best friend, and he'd taken advantage. True, it had been her idea for him to stay, but he'd bought the wine. Suggested the dinner and practically dragged her to the restaurant with him. And then, when he'd known his control was hanging by a thread, he'd stayed at her apartment instead of being a gentleman and walking away. The whole thing was his fault. She deserved a better friend than him and he owed her an apology, which he'd give her if she ever spoke to him again. She certainly didn't seem to be in the mood to return any of his calls. So much for the talk she promised him they'd have. How did she expect to work things out if she refused to talk to him?

Had the sex been so bad that she couldn't even face him now? Had
he
been so bad? It shouldn't matter to him, but every time he thought about her now, he ached. His cock had been semi-hard since he'd left her house, and now, thinking about her under him, screaming his name and clawing at his back, had it standing at full attention. He pressed his hand to his erection, wanting to ease the throbbing, but at the same time, he couldn't let himself. How the hell was he supposed to reconcile what he wanted to do with what he'd done?

A big believer in monogamy, he'd never really understood what possessed some men to be driven solely by the act of sex. He'd had his fair share of one-night stands, but they always left him feeling empty. Cold. He usually preferred spending time with a woman outside of the bedroom before they ventured into that territory. He understood now. It was all about passion. Heat. The driving need to
take
. No woman had ever made him insane, but Andrea was pushing him toward insanity, and he hadn't even seen her in days.

With a frustrated sigh, he grabbed his water bottle from a nearby shelf and downed the last half of the cold liquid in one gulp. Wiping his hand across the back of his neck, he made his way upstairs. He would have to find a way to get a certain woman off his mind if he planned to make it through the week at work. There, if he even looked at her funny, he risked not only his own job, but hers too. As much as he wanted her, there was only one solution to the problem. They would have to go back to being just friends, like they'd been for the last five years. There really was no other way.

In the shower minutes later, with the hot water beating on his back and steam clouding the air around him, he lost his resolve. He might not be able to have her again, but he needed some form of relief if he expected to be able to concentrate. He gripped his cock in his hand, pretending Andrea's fingers were surrounding him instead. No, not her fingers. Her sex. Yeah,
that
was what he needed. Andrea lying on her back, legs parted, a welcoming smile on her face.

The wet heat of her had fit him so tight, pulling him in, drawing him deeper with every thrust. She'd been damned sexy, her hands and lips everywhere she could reach. Those soft moans she made when she was close to coming had been almost enough to drive him over the edge.
Jesus.
The woman was so hot she could turn him on without even being in the room. Why had he not realized how attracted he was to her? He'd been a complete idiot to keep her at arm's length all this time.

He tightened his fist and closed his eyes, getting into the fantasy. He bucked his hips. The vision shifted until Andrea was kneeling in front of him in the shower, the wet strands of her hair wrapping around his legs as she wrapped her slender fingers around the base of his cock. She worked him in and out of her mouth, cupping his balls in her other hand, squeezing gently as she sucked him off.

She glanced up at him, a seductive smile in her eyes as she worked his erection harder. Soon he was moving his hips in time with her mouth, forcing his cock deeper every time she sucked him in. It wasn't long before he came—then his fantasies of Andrea disappeared as cold, hard reality washed over him as his cock softened in his hand. He'd never get the chance to have Andrea on her knees in front of him. Hell, he'd be lucky if she didn't slap him the next time she saw him. He'd been a first-class ass, and no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't think up a decent excuse for his behavior.

He sank to the shower floor and rested his head against the wet tile. She'd kicked him out in the morning. Had barely been able to look at him. And to make matters worse, he actually
cared.
Not only about their friendship, but about something stronger.
Shit.
He was in a lot deeper than he'd thought.

Chapter Three

The day would be going so much better if she could actually manage to concentrate.

Andrea pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and drew in first one deep breath, then another. Her cheeks were hot, probably red, and she was sure her hair was impossibly tangled from the way she'd been raking her fingers through it all day. She'd actually had to take her braid out a few hours ago because of the mess she'd made.

She'd thought she could handle seeing Brian at work. Had thought keeping things professional would be a breeze. Oh, how wrong she'd been. She couldn't handle damned near as much as she'd thought. Whenever she saw him, she could only think about the things they'd done. About the intimacy in the way he'd touched her. And then her face would flush hotter and her inner muscles would quiver at the images that were still so vivid, even after the whole weekend had passed.

Even now, her nipples hardened. The man could
kiss
. She hadn't known that about him. Had no clue he would be such an attentive lover. She still wanted him as much as she wanted her next breath, and the emotions scared the heck out of her.

Because she'd always been so focused on more important things, she'd kept dating and relationships on the back burner. Her night with Brian made her yearn for something more, a deeper connection with a person than the superficial involvements she'd allowed herself. The man was dangerous to her state of mind, and possibly a menace to her career. She still wanted him though. So bad her panties had been damp all day long. All she had to do was think about those fingers sliding into her for her nipples to go hard. Her sex fluttered and she squirmed in her seat, hoping in vain for a little relief. Tonight, when she got home, she would definitely be putting her vibrator to good use. Maybe then she'd finally be able to get a handle on her raging hormones.

The shrill ring of the phone jolted her out of her fantasies. She fumbled to lift the receiver and finally managed to bring it to her ear.

“He-hello?”

“We need to talk.”

A whimper threatened to escape from her at the sound of Brian's voice. His tone was urgent, almost harsh, and it let her know he hadn't been having an easy time of it today, either. Guilt settled like a ball of lead in her stomach. She'd really screwed things up this time.

“Not now. Definitely not at work.”

His sigh hung heavy in the space between them. “I know. It's almost lunchtime. We'll go somewhere and talk. I just wanted to catch you before you took off for lunch, seeing as you've been avoiding me since Saturday morning.”

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Her face flamed and sweat broke out across her hairline. She hadn't returned his calls because she hadn't known what to say to him—or what to expect. “I haven't been avoiding you.”

“You've always been honest with me before. Don't start lying to me now.”

His tone alerted her to a possibility she hadn't even thought of. Brian was still
pissed
. Not a little upset. Majorly ticked off and out for blood. She'd seen him angry like that before, but never had his anger been directed toward her. The idea of it made her shudder. “Why are you so upset?”

“Why do you think?” He bit the words out, and she could just imagine his seething expression. He probably had his hands clenched into fists while he paced his office—at least as far as the phone cord would allow.

When she spoke, she tried to keep her tone soft, soothing, to ease him. It had always worked in the past. She could only hope he'd still listen to her. “What happened wasn't a big deal, Brian.”

His answering laugh held an edge that made her stomach roll. “Of course not, because sleeping with your best friend is an everyday occurrence, right? Just some casual fun to pass the time. Is that what Friday night was all about? You were bored and wanted a quick fuck? I really didn't think you were the type.”

She swallowed down the bile suddenly clogging her throat. He was right. It
was
a big deal, and she'd be lying to herself if she tried to pretend otherwise. His cutting words made her heart clench. He couldn't really think that about her. He knew her better than that. She said nothing, not wanting to agree or disagree with his sarcastic assessment.

“Look, I'm sorry,” he continued when she remained silent. “I'm not trying to be an asshole. Really. But we need to deal with this before it becomes an even bigger problem. If your day has been anything like mine, you haven't been able to get a lot done.”

She opened her eyes and glanced at the ceiling, counting the textured tiles. He was right, yet again, but that didn't make things any easier. She would prefer not to have to meet face to face to have this particular conversation. “I don't have time for lunch. I'll shoot you an email in a little while.”

“No way in hell are you going to reduce this to electronic communication. I'm not one of the clients.”

Tapping her fingernails against the smooth desktop, she relented with a groan. Better to get this out of the way now rather than let the worry gnaw away at her stomach lining. He wasn't going to let it go, and she probably shouldn't, either. They both needed some form of resolution. “Okay. Fine. We'll talk over lunch.”

“Take an hour and a half today. I know you have the extra time since you don't usually leave for lunch at all. I have a feeling this'll take a while.”

Andrea would really prefer it didn't. “Okay. I will.”

Twenty minutes later, seated across from Brian at the table, doubts began to seep into her mind. His jaw was set, his lips a grim slash across his face, and his ever-smiling eyes had gone dark and turbulent. The restaurant he'd picked was a quiet, intimate one, and the atmosphere only added to her discomfort. She squirmed in her seat like a kid caught breaking the rules. She wasn't a kid anymore, but she had broken a rule. A pretty big one, in the grand scheme of things. Their boss, Gerald Rogers, had a strict policy against inter-office dating.

Not that she could really call one night of wild, hot monkey sex a date.

Unbidden, a laugh escaped from her mouth. Now she was starting to sound like Claire. She put her hands to her lips to keep it from happening again.

Her sister was right about Brian. He really was sexy. Andrea had noticed before, but in the way a woman would admire a piece of art. Stunning, but untouchable. Now she looked at him through different eyes. The eyes of a woman who'd had a taste of paradise and wanted more. A whole lot more. Too bad she couldn't have it.

“What's so funny?” The darkness in Brian's eyes lightened up a little and she was grateful for it. The first sliver of normalcy since waking up on Saturday morning.

“This. Us. Everything.”

Brian steepled his hands. His gaze locked with hers and he seemed to be searching for something in her eyes. Heat flared behind the intensity in his expression. Her body responded even when she knew it was a terrible idea. By the time he spoke, she was ready to jump on him.

“I need to know what you want.”

He had no idea how difficult a question that was to answer. Her first instinct was to tell him she wanted him, but she quashed the words before she could blurt them out. “From you?”

“Yeah, from me. Where do you want to go from here?”

She licked her lips, feeling like everything would hinge on her answer. She didn't want to lose Brian as her best friend. She didn't want to lose her job either. There was only one thing she could say. “We need to go back to being friends
. Just
friends. We both know that.”

He didn't blink, didn't hesitate. “We're good together.”

His words made her frown even as a frisson of heat danced down her spine. She'd anticipated agreement, not argument. They'd talked many times about love and commitment in the past, and she knew what Brian was looking for. He was a serial monogamist. He dated and would often fill her in on those dates, but as far as she knew, he wasn't the type to sleep around, or even engage in a casual fling.

He knew she wasn't interested in a serious relationship right now. Her career came first. Whether or not they were
good
together, her career would be over if they continued down this road. If they were discovered, she would be the one to lose her job. Brian had been at Regal Advertising a few years longer, and Andrea was a woman. It was twice as hard for her to crack that glass ceiling, and of course she would be the one let go. No, it wasn't fair, but she'd long ago accepted how the business world sometimes worked. Their boss was a good old boy. Andrea had had to work her ass off to even get noticed in the first place. No way would she jeopardize all she'd worked for just because the guy was good in bed.

A voice in the back of her mind warned her she was wrong, that she was throwing away a good thing. What she had with Brian was more than sex. She ignored the voice, which sounded suspiciously like Claire's. She didn't have time to fall in love. Not now. Maybe not ever. There were more important things in life than that.

“We're better as friends. There can't really be anything else between us.” It was only a partial lie. At least that was what she needed to tell herself if she expected to survive, seeing him every day and wanting him the way she did.

She lifted her glass to her lips and took a long sip of ice water. She could get through this. She would have to. Time would dull what she felt for him. Eventually.