Holding Her Close (Bits and Bytes, Book 0) (Bits & Bytes) (15 page)

As he straightened up
, he cupped both tits, massaging them, thumbs flicking over her nipples. He kissed up her neck to her ear. His hot breath caressed her skin when he whispered, “We ran out of condoms last night.” He traced his tongue along the outer edge of her ear, sending a pleasant chill through her. “And my extraordinary powers of observation tell me neither of us had time to pick up more.”

She would have laughed at his tone if disappointment wasn’t floating in. Her shoulders slumped and she leaned her full weight against the door.
“So what now?”

Stupid question. He’d go home, they’d do more work tomorrow, and maybe things would be different. Except his attention to her chest had never let up, and she
couldn’t ignore the wetness between her legs.

He massaged harder.
“We improvise.”

Her,
“How?” was interrupted by her gasp when he dropped his mouth to the soft skin where her shoulder met her neck, and sucked hard.

She squirmed under the intense combination of sensations: the sensuality and the tingle of
pain. His knee rested between her legs when she pressed closer. The faint scents of peppermint gum and smoke filled her head with helium. She still didn’t know what he was up to, but the teasing was driving her wild.

She shifted her weight, grinding against his leg. The friction didn’t relieve her need the way she wanted. Instead it intensified.

His hands glided down her sides and hooked in the elastic of her shorts. He trailed a line of kisses down her chest, dropping to his knees as he moved, and tugging off the rest of her clothing along the way.

When his mouth brushed her hip she whimpered
. He drew his finger along the edge of her pussy, not parting the folds. She clenched her fists. She needed something to hold onto.

His tongue glided over her slit
and pushed its way deeper. She gasped at the mounting anticipation as he licked tiny lines over her slick skin. When he wrapped his lips around her clit, she cried out.

The sensation pushed her up to the edge, but not over. Her knees swayed and her legs threatened to give out. He traced circles around her sex, sucking, and occasionally nibbling the swollen skin.

A hand glided up the inside of her thigh, and then two fingers slid inside her. It stretched her open, but she was slick enough there wasn’t a lot of friction. She bit the inside of her lip as he pumped and licked.

She fisted his hair, holding him close as climax surged through her. It crashed over her in a powerful burst, and her pussy clenched around his fingers as she came.

He pulled away slowly, touch growing lighter until his hands moved to her hips and he helped her drop to the ground before her knees gave out.

Fingers still wrapped around his ponytail, she pulled him close for a kiss, tasting herself on his lips. When they finally broke apart, she rested her head against his chest. Her fingers trailed lower. She brushed his cock through his jeans, and he inhaled sharply through clenched teeth.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away. “Not tonight.”

She looked at him with an exaggerated pout.
“That’s not fair to you.”

He kissed her bottom lip.
“You’ll just have to owe me.”

Even with the heady euphoria rushing through her, something about
his statement didn’t feel right. “Why?”

He kissed her again and pulled her close.
“Just because.”

That didn’t reassure her. She couldn’t fight her frown as she rested against his chest again. There wasn’t anything logical about her concern, not that she could tell, but part of her couldn’t help but worry it meant he was still holding
a part of himself back.

Zach trailed his fingers through Rae's hair, watching it fall back against his chest when he let go.

Her breath scurried across his skin when she sighed. Her fingers drew a line down his sternum and back up.
“Morning.”

“
Mmm...Ditto.” He moved his hand to her bare back, pulling her closer. It was the third morning in the last week waking up next to her and he wondered if the novelty would ever fade. They still hadn't told anyone. It hadn’t gotten any less tense to be in the same room as Scott at the same time. They'd stayed at her place so Jordan wouldn't ask questions. But those were all details. They could be worked out later.

Something creaked in the background, and Zach tensed.
“Are you expecting visitors?”

Rae shook her head.
“Probably the neighbors. They're loud sometimes.”

“
Lorraine.” Chloe's distinct call echoed through the room.

“
Shit,” Rae muttered just as the bedroom door swung open. She propped herself up, holding the blanket it front of her. “Don't you knock?”

“
Oh my God.” Chloe's eyes grew wide and she slammed the door shut again. Her call echoed through the apartment. “I did not need to see that.”

Rae set up, blanket falling away.
“So much for keeping things quiet.”

Zach traced a line down her back and up her side, following the curve of her breast.
“Is it that big a deal? You're not ashamed of me, are you?”

She laughed and pulled away.
“Definitely not, and don't tempt me or I'll introduce you to my mother just so she believes I'm finally dating someone respectable.”

The word echoed in his head. It was assumed, but neither of them had said it yet.
“Are we?”

“
Respectable?”

“
Dating,” he clarified.

She looked at him, bottom lip caught between her teeth and brow furrowed.
“Aren't we?”

He sat up, kissing her deeply. That hadn't lost its novelty either.
“Most definitely,” he reassured her.

She grinned and ho
pped out of bed. The sun spiked through sheer curtains and accented her nude silhouette for a moment before she pulled on a T-shirt and pair of shorts. “I'll go talk to her while you get dressed.”

As soon as Rae opened the door, Chloe's voice filled the room again.
“I wasn't serious when I told you to try and get me a raise by sleeping with my boss.” The door drifted shut again, muffling the second part of her comment. “Did it work?”

Zach laughed and plucked his clothes off the chair Rae had draped them over. Things had been so much easier the last few days. Making offers to people they wanted to pick up from Cord. Making plans. Doing something again. He couldn't remember why he'd ever thought it was a bad idea.

His phone vibrated on the nightstand and he noticed as he went to answer he'd already missed at least one call. “Yeah?”

“
Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Scott's panic was clear even over the phone.

Zach smirked. At least Scott still had something to freak out about.
“Possibly. What's up?”

“
You haven't listened to my messages?”

“
I was sleeping.” Zach pressed the speaker button and tossed the phone on the bed, talking as he pulled on his clothes. “What's up?”

“
It's almost ten.”

Zach buttoned his shirt.
“So?”

Scott's sigh filled the room.
“So you haven't been served yet, have you?”

Served. The single word obliterated Zach's good mood.
“What?”

“
I'll take that as a no. Are you even home?”

Zach frowned. Served? What now?
“No.”

“
All better.” Rae burst back into the room.

Zach rubbed his face, bracing himself for the fallout.

“Rae?” Scott's question echoed through the room.

Her eyes grew wide and she stared at the phone on the bed. Her jaw moved up and down but nothing came out.

Zach thought fast. She needed to be in on the conversation anyway. “Yeah. We ran into each other. Want to join us?”

Rae grabbed a brush off her nightstand and yanked it through her hair, pulling each side into a simple pigtail.

“You said you were sleeping.” Scott's tone had gone from panicked to flat.

“
I was.” Zach back pedaled. “Until an hour ago. Then I decided I wanted breakfast.”

“
And you just decided you didn't have to answer your phone until now?” Disbelief hung heavy in Scott's question.

Zach shrugged at the receiver.
“Technically, I'm between jobs. I'm trying to learn how to relax when I'm not on the clock.”

Rae stepped in front of him, buttoning his shirt the rest of the way. She leaned in to whisper in his ear,
“You scare me. Never lie to me like that.”

He smiled, ignoring the threat behind the joke, and kissed her silently on the cheek.

“Yeah, breakfast,” Scott said suddenly. “Tell me where and I'll bring the summons since apparently you ran out before you got yours.”

Zach wracked his brain. It had to be closer to Rae's place than Scott's, and someplace it could look like they'd been for a while.

“The bagel place on ninth and union,” Rae offered.

Zach ran the address through his head, impressed. Between them but still further away from Scott.

“Swell. See you both in fifteen minutes.” The line went dead.

Zach made sure they were disconnected before he slid his phone into his pocket. It both concerned and impressed him how easily she had slid into his deception.
“Why are we keeping this from him?”

Rae stepped away.
“It's not that I think it's a big deal, I just... It's...” she trailed off, not looking at him.

“
Yeah. I know.” Just because Zach understood, and agreed, didn't mean it hurt any less to hear her say it. He followed her into the living room, ignoring Chloe. He grabbed Rae's keys off the table by the front door and tossed them to her. “Meet you there?”

She snagged them out of the air.
“Yeah.”

“
Bring me back something,” Chloe said.

“
There's cereal in the cupboard,” Rae snapped.

****

Scott dropped a short stack of paper on the table, the breeze ruffling napkins and bagel wrappers. He flopped into the bench seat next to Rae, exhaling loudly.

She slid him a fresh cup of coffee.
“Hazelnut.”

Scott's smile looked forced.
“Thanks.”

Zach tried to tell himself he was relieved everything was still status quo between Rae and Scott. That their interactions were relaxed and comfortable. Exactly what they needed to be. He wasn't jealous.

Scott looked around the shop. “New place?”

Rae shrugged.
“Got tired of the last one. They switched muffin vendors. I decided to try something new.”

Zach's desire for small talk was vanishing. He grabbed the paperwork off the table.
“Summons?”

Scott's scowl returned. He took a long drink.
“DM has filed a cease and desist pending investigation. Say we're stealing intellectual property.”

Rae made a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and a whimper.
“But you're not. You're starting over, that's the point.”

“
No.” Scott said. “The point is to tie us up in court long enough they exhaust our money and delay our schedule.”

Zach didn't argue. He knew it was true. Fuck, why hadn't they thought about that? Right, because they were desperate to cling to something other than despair.
“Have you talked to legal?” It was a ridiculous question. That would have been who Scott called when he couldn't get a hold of Zach. “What did he say?”

“
That's what he said.” Scott snatched the summons away and stuffed into his laptop bag. “That's all he said. You had me on speaker phone in this place?”

Zach shook his head, shifting to the new topic as quickly as he could.
“I was wearing my Bluetooth.”

Scott looked at him in disbelief.
“You're trying to learn how to relax and you had your ear piece with you?”

“
Habit.” Zach didn't like the direction of the questions. They needed to be planning a new strategy, not dissecting a rapidly formed cover story. “What do you mean that's all he said?”

“
Technically it's not all he said.” Scott studied Rae for a minute and then ignored his own drink and took a sip of her coffee. “Second cup already?”

Zach frowned. What was
going on?

She blinked.
“Third. I thought we might be here a while. What else did he say?”

“
That he couldn't tell me anything else and technically he'd already said too much. How did I hear her talking to you earlier? How did she hear me asking where to meet?” He looked at Zach.

“
Ear piece speaker is too sensitive,” Zach repeated. He was used to Scott changing the subject without pause, but he usually didn’t carry on two conversations at once. “You're leaving out details. Do I need to call him myself?”

Scott pushed his drink away.
“Sure. Use your ear piece, so we can all join in the conversation but no one else can.”

“
It's in the car.” Zach wondered if he was actually going to be able to talk his way out of this one, and why he thought it mattered.

“
Because...?” Scott asked.

Rae sighed loudly, interrupting before Zach could reply.
“Because he didn't want anyone else eavesdropping. Because he's trying to learn how to not be such a workaholic. Which would you prefer?”

Scott studied her for a minute. He brushed a loose strand of
hair off her forehead, looking her in the eye. “Just the truth.”

Zach hid his discomfort and braced himself.

“Fine.” Rae leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. “He did have you on speaker phone. I heard because he was in my bedroom. Where he's been half of the last week. We got here maybe two minutes before you did, and it's my first cup and I haven't even had a chance to put cream and sugar in it. Which you were sweet enough not to call me on.”

Scott rubbed his eyes before looking at her again. He never turned toward Zach.
“So you're fucking him.”

She cringed and turned away from his glare.

Scott slammed his fist on the table, making all the cups, and Rae, jump. “You said you weren't going to go after him. That you weren't interested in being used and left at the side of the road after a week.”

Zach's eyes grew wide. They'd talked about him?
She really thought that about him? The second realization dug deeper than he thought possible. Weren’t they past those issues?

Rae shrugged.
“And I’m still not interested in that. But I am attracted to him.”

The confession momentarily distracted
Zach from the disturbing details of the conversation. At least she wasn’t faking it. Not that he’d been worried. Or maybe only a little.

“
I knew you liked him.” Scott finally looked at Zach, something unfamiliar flashing in his eyes.

Malice. Zach felt his gut sink.

“I didn't think he cared about you.” Scott looked at Rae again. “You're not his type. You'd need to be about six inches taller and ten pounds lighter.”

Fury raced through Zach and he was on his feet in a second, fist clenched around Scott’s T-shirt, yanking him up.
“You don’t get to take this out on her because you’re jealous. You know none of that is true.”

Scott's eyes narrowed
, his hands balling into fists. He planted his feet shoulder-length apart. “I don't really know much of anything right now. I mean, last night I never would have guessed my best friends were fucking each other behind my back.”

Rae scrambled to stand,
and pushed between them. Her hand covered Zach’s and she nudged him back. Her words filtered through clenched teeth. “What did your attorney say?”

Scott didn’t look at her, glare still locked on Zach.
“Nothing significant. Just that we’re about to be held up in court indefinitely, wasting away our savings when we could be on an island somewhere instead.”

Rae planted a hand on each of their chests
and pushed them further apart. Her face was flushed, and tremor ran through her arms.

How was Zach going to get her out of the way?
“You were the one who didn't want to give up.” He didn't want to be having this argument here, but he wasn't going to walk away. This wasn’t the standard bullshit they’d been through since the takeover. His blood roared with a rage he wasn’t used to. “You berated me for months for even mentioning retirement. Accused me of abandoning a dream. You latched onto her idea the moment she mentioned it, and you should have. It’s a fantastic fucking idea.”