Holding Her Close (Bits and Bytes, Book 0) (Bits & Bytes) (14 page)

His laugh was cut short with a gasp.
“If you do that, I won’t last long.”

She bit her bottom lip, response breathy.
“I don’t care.”

He followed her cue, pounding against her and matching her need. A powerful surge built inside her. Her
moans grew louder and her inside muscles clenched around him when she came, neither of them slowing.

Still riding the waves of her climax, she heard him grunt, pelvis thrusting against her. His hands slid to her hips, frantic pace slowing and then stopping.

He leaned forward, kissing her deeply, rolled to the side, and then tugged her toward him.

She struggled to catch her breath as she rested her head on his shoulder and hand on his
chest. The only word she could find was a soft, “Mmm.”

He rested a hand at the small of her back, holding her close. His words vibrated through her palm and cheek.
“Now we can talk.”

She smiled against his skin.
“Nope no words. Sorry.”

He traced a finger along her shoulder blades. His quiet voice drifted through the dark room.
“You know I’m sorry about what I said the other day, right? I really enjoy hearing what you’re thinking.”

The apology sent a new type of warmth rushing through her to blend with the euphoria. He meant the argument at his place. Even though the brush off had dug deeply, she’d almost forgotten about
it with everything that had happened over the last few days. “It’s not a big deal.”

“
It is to me.” His chest sank when he exhaled. “Here’s the thing. You probably don’t remember, but way back in the day, when our biggest worries were passing tests and whether or not we all had enough change in our pockets to put gas in someone’s car, we used to sit under that stupid tree.”

Her smile grew. She kissed his chest.
“I loved that tree.”

He intertwined his fingers with hers, their hands resting on his ribs.
“I used to count the minutes until lunchtime, partly because I was a teenage boy and I knew the sexiest girl in school was going to climb into my lap.”

She flushed at the description and the way it tugged the memory and blended the feelings of then into now.

He tilted his head up enough to kiss her on the forehead, and then flopped back onto the pillow. “But at least as much because we always had the best conversations. No one sees the world the way you do, and you don’t mind making that clear.”

She pushed into him, not sure what to say. He remembered and enjoyed their time in high school the same way and for the same reasons she did.

The revelation sank deep, until it nudged something loose. A whisper of fear. A pit she didn’t want to acknowledge. Did that mean they were about to make the same mistakes they had before? No. For as much as she was enjoying everything about him, she was still her own person. She wouldn’t surrender herself to someone else again.

“For the next nine months?” Scott sounded irritated, and his bunched up eyebrows reinforced it. “I don’t usually do this for more than a couple of weeks at a time.”

“
You have to know it’s possible,” Rae explained. She needed to remember even though these men were her friends — she glanced at Zach — or more, they were still like any other client. They weren’t being difficult on purpose; she just had to make them understand, and at the moment that all centered around Scott proving on paper he could meet the aggressive development schedule he’d laid out, without burning his developers out.

“
Don’t be unrealistic,” she said. “But be aggressive. Look at what your people can do on a deadline versus what they do in the weeks before that, and find a spot somewhere in the middle.”

Scott sank back into her couch.
“What makes you think they don’t produce the same amount of work all the time?”

She stared back at him, lips pursed.

He laughed and turned back to his laptop. “I’m not the only one working, right? You’re going to make him do something?”

“
Absolutely.” She looked at Zach, trying to ignore the hint of heat lurking beneath his disinterest. The three of them were finalizing plans before they started making job offers and announcing their new venture. She was doing what she did with any job, making them prove they could work within the numbers she’d mapped out. “He’s going to go through his address book and seeing if he knows anyone who wants to invest.”

She could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped fifty degrees in an instant. Scott coughed and Zach glared at her.

“Not funny.” Zach’s words had a hard edge to them.

She’d mentioned investors once seriously, and met such a hostile response she’d immediately crossed it off their list. Neither of them wanted to end up in the same situation again, and she didn’t blame them. She held up her hands.
“Okay, I won’t tell that joke again.”

Zach relaxed, tiny smile threatening.

Scott rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his laptop. “And if you’re holding one back about sleeping with the boss, cross that off your list too.”

Her eyes grew wide and her gut lurched. Right
. There was that. The secret he didn’t know yet.

Zach gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head before responding.
“You know something I don’t, man? What happened to just friends?”

Scott glanced up long enough to hold his gaze. Zach stared back, not flinching. Scott turned back to his work.
“Nothing happened to it. Aren’t you doing something?”

Rae forced herself to breathe, making sure she could keep the nervous
quaver from her voice before she spoke. “He’s calling people. Hardware distributors, benefits companies, anyone he’s ever met or who he thinks might know his name, and making sure he can get you the best deals possible.”

“
On it, boss.” Zach was already pulling his phone out and wandering into her room. Seconds later the door swung shut behind him.

“
You know.” Scott didn’t look up from his screen. “A month ago I would have sworn you’d rather die than let him in your bedroom.”

She laughed. Did that sound as forced as it felt?
“Funny how things change.”

“
Hmm. True.” He tapped a few more things in. “What happens if there are people who don’t accept our job offers?”

Relief nudged her at the change in topic. This she could do.
“There will be.” He frowned. “It happens,” she added quickly. “You’re a startup, they’ve already been burned once, and some people will get better offers. But you do what you did last time – find the undiscovered talent and let them shine. You’re building from the ground up, so proprietary knowledge doesn’t mean anything except being comfortable with each other.”

“
That’s worth a lot.” He turned his full attention to her. “You get a couple of people who bounce off each other just right, and suddenly everything moves faster. Kind of like with you.”

She dropped onto the couch next to him.
“How so?”

He shrugged.
“You and I operate on the same wave length a lot, at least as far as I can tell. It makes it easier to do this. I know I can trust you, I know your ideas are founded in logic instead of emotion. I hope you get the same from me.”

She sank back into the cushions, able to breathe again now the conversation was neutral. There was no way she and Zach could hide this much longer. It was going to devour her.
“I do. I came up with your numbers, didn’t I?”

He laughed.
“That’s not how I know you trust me. It’s because you took the job.” He worked while he talked, fingers flying over the keys even when he was looking at her. “I’m just glad you and Zach are finally getting along.”

Was that a catch in his voice? Her head shot up, eyes locking on his. He stared back with the most neutral expression
she had ever seen. She pushed some of the lingering guilt aside. “Me too. It’s nice to have the tension gone.”

Silence descended over them as the conversation lulled and they both dove back into their work. At some point Z
ach rejoined them in the living room and made some notes on his laptop. The whir of fans and keyboards was the only sound in the living room.

Zach wandered to the fridge, a couple seconds later his loud,
“Heads-up” echoed through the room.

Scott’s hand shot straight up, and a can of Mountain Dew flew across the room. He snagged it out of the air without missing a beat.

Rae snickered at the sight. Scott had been their quarterback in high school, and probably the worst one the school had ever had — but a person could go a long way when their father donated heavily to the team.

“
What?” Scott asked. “I’m catching, not throwing. Besides, this is valuable.”

“
I get it.” She was still chuckling. “It doesn’t make it any less ironic.”

Zach set a can of iced coffee on the table in front of her. When s
he met his gaze, something less than lighthearted stared back. The want sent a new rush through her, turning her amusement into lust. How soon could they call it a day?

That was a bad road to go down. This was work
. Fun would wait until they were alone. Even if her thoughts were filled with memories of his hands and lips all over her bare skin. Heat flooded her. She grabbed the drink and tried to be subtle about running the icy can up the inside of her arm. That wasn’t helping as much as she’d like.

“
Are we going to make a habit of meeting here?” Scott’s sudden question shattered the bubble of heat enveloping Rae’s thoughts.

“
It was convenient. I guess it depends.” Zach turned back to his own work.

The truth was Zach had spent more than half his nights there over the last week, so
convenient was an understatement. Rae stared blankly at her own screen, not comprehending the words and numbers in front of her.

“
How is it convenient?” Scott asked.

Why was this entire line of questions making her paranoid?

Zach glanced at him for a second. “It was by where I was having breakfast.”

That was an understatement.

Scott raised an eyebrow but went back to what he was doing. Yeah, this was definitely going to be stressful if they kept hiding it from him. Rae bit back her sigh. She was never going to forgive herself if she was the thing that drove a wedge between them. When half of her asked why she hadn’t thought of that before, she faltered, and it hit her. It wasn’t as though she was worried about being the wedge, it was that she was terrified she’d become the third wheel. If Scott didn’t take the news well, she’d be the one left out in the cold in the end. The girl who had been stupid enough to try and find her place with them.

Fortu
nately, the questions died off as they each dove into their own projects. The sunshine came and went, and so did the Chinese takeout.

Scott’s vocal yawn bounced through the otherwise silent room.
“After ten. It’s been a long time since we did any work this hardcore.”

Rae rubbed her eyes, trying to get some of the moisture back into them. He was right
. She hadn’t even realized it was so late. “It’s for a good cause.”

“
And I completely agree.” He snapped his laptop shut, unplugged the power cord, and stowed it all in his bag. “But I need sleep, or none of my estimates are going to be any good.”

“
He’s right. Same place, same time tomorrow?” Zach mimicked his actions, packing up his computer.

Rae nodded. They were close
to having the information they needed. “Another day and we can probably make this news public.”

Scott let out a short, relieved laugh.
“Best thing I’ve heard in weeks.”

They exchanged their goodbyes, and Rae locked the door behind them. She sank back into the couch. She was the only person in the apartment for the first time in days. It was an odd feeling. The only sounds were from her computer and the fridge.

She shook the eerie feeling away. She’d gotten used to Zach being there, but it made sense he couldn’t stick around. Maybe it was time they talked about telling their friends.

Or maybe she didn’t want to be the one to bring
it up. Part of her was still terrified he was going to get bored with her. With them. She rubbed her eyes again. She needed a hot shower, and then a good movie she’d seen a million times and could fall asleep to.

Fifteen minutes later she emerged from the shower. She probably shouldn’t be wearing one of his T
-shirts, or his boxers, but it wasn’t like anyone was going to see.

A knock startled her. Her racing heart switched gears but not speed when she answered and saw Zach standing there
.

He rubbed the back of his head, steel eyes watching her and mouth crooked sheepishly.
“I got halfway home and realized I forgot something.”

His laptop had left with him
. Unless he meant the clothes she was wearing. She wasn’t going to think about what it meant if he wanted those back. She stepped aside to let him in and closed the door behind him. “Oh?”

His expression shifted in an instant, and he tangled his fingers in her hair, other hand on her hip, and kissed her hard, pressing her back against the door. He broke away with a wicked grin.
“I forgot how much I like that. The memory is never quite as good as the reality.”

Heat flooded her. Okay, so it wasn’t the most eloquent line ever, but she didn’t care.
“You do take my breath away.”

His brow furrowed.
“That’s bad.”

Concern trickled through her.
“It is?”

He nodded.
“I need you breathing. Mouth-to-mouth time.” He crushed his lips to hers, tongue darting in and dancing around hers, and fingers digging into her scalp.

She let out a breathless laugh when they broke apart again.
“You’re being extra cheesy tonight.”

He nipped her neck, and then her shoulder, at the same time pushing up the bottom of her T
-shirt. “I’m thinking about more important things than being witty. Forgive me?”

She tilted her head back with a sigh when he kissed up her neck.
“Just this once.”

“
I’ll take it.” His words vibrated against her skin. “We can renegotiate next time.”

Besides the short circuits he caused in her brain with every touch, it was one of the things she loved about the relationship. He let down his guard, but the instinct that made him wear a mask in public was still there. She got to see a side of him no one else ever did
, and she adored the man she saw.

“
You wear this better than I do.” He tugged her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. “But it’s in the way.” Taking a step back, his gaze raked over her, sliding up her hips, lingering on her chest, and finally meeting her eyes. He grinned. “Favorite sight ever.”

Her flush grew at the hunger in his chuckle. How red were her cheeks? Any other thoughts evaporated when he slid a hand up her stomach.

He cupped one breast, softly kneaded the flesh, and dipped his head. A pleasant tremor ran through her when his tongue flicked over her already hard nipple. He wrapped his lips around the swollen nub, sending a jolt spreading through every inch of her body.

She
rested one hand on the back of his head, holding him close. A whimper escaped when he scraped the sensitive flesh with his teeth. As he sucked and licked, the warmth between her legs grew slick.

He moved to the other breast and a throbbing pulse nagged down lower.

His murmur tickled her skin, and she realized he was saying something. “We have a problem.”

That
didn’t sound good. The twinge of disappointment didn’t erase her want, but it did make her hesitate. “Oh?”