Holding Her Close (Bits and Bytes, Book 0) (Bits & Bytes) (8 page)

“
For what it’s worth.” He rested a hand on her arm, spinning her to face him, touch lingering. “I appreciate the passion. It’s just a shame it’s misplaced. At least you’re being rational about it.”

She should pull away but
his palm against her arm was nice, summoning more memories she’d tried to repress. This time she let them dance through her thoughts. “I’m not always an unreasonable child.”

He gave a short laugh and
straightened up, closing the distance between them. His hand dropped to her hip, steel eyes locked on hers. “I don’t actually think that about you anymore. Sometimes I’m even a little envious at your ability to just let go.”

What an odd statement.
“I don’t let go. I just hold different things close than you do.”

He grasped her fingers lightly between his.
“Sometimes I envy that too.” He leaned back against the couch again, tugging her closer. “For instance, what were you two doing before reality interrupted the afternoon?”

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, never breaking the contact between them
. “Tetris.”

He shook his head, laughter dancing in his eyes.
“See? I couldn’t do that.”

She
rolled the words over in her head. She didn’t know which confounded her more, that he was expressing interest or that he thought for some reason it was off limits to him. “Why not?”

He shrugged.
“I fell behind that curve a long time ago. I can’t play those games anymore. I suck.”

She wanted to laugh at the simple statement, but the serious crease in his brow made her think twice about it.
“You stick a controller in my hands that’s attached to any kind of digital weapon and I get my ass kicked. It doesn’t stop me from playing when I want.”

He shook his head.
“Like you said, we hold different things close.”

“
Like your ego?” She made sure the comment was soft. There was no malice in the thought and she hoped it didn’t come off that way.

He shrugged.
“Tell me your ego has never held you back from doing something.”

The question should have put her on edge, especially coming from him
, but the conversation didn’t feel threatening. It was thought-provoking, but still casual and non-threatening. Like those talks they’d had back in the day that kept them out long past curfew sitting on the grass in some park, wrapped in each other’s arms. “It absolutely has, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good excuse.”

He studied her a
for a moment. “Would you think less of me if I told you I was only half joking with the stress relief comment earlier?”

Her skin burned
under his hand, wanting more, and her imagination kicked into overdrive. The shift in conversation caught her off-guard, but it didn’t feel forced. In fact, the suggestion enticing. She tried to keep her tone light. “I don’t know if that’s possible.”

His mouth twisted.
“You wound me.”

Her
, “I doubt that” died in the back of her throat when she saw the sincerity in his expression. She needed to step away from that line, they were past swapping insults. Still, she should pull away. Except the thought wasn’t enough to make her act. “You know this is a bad idea.”

His finger traced a line down her cheek to her jaw.
“I don’t know anything like that. I’m also not stopping you from leaving.”

She didn’t want to argue anymore. She was tired of the parrying, and deflection, and pretending to not notice how intense the spark was between them
. The close, unguarded warmth tugged a memory loose she hadn’t seen in ages: their first day of high school, over a decade ago, at lunch time. Her friends had all been on a different schedule, and she’d found an isolated spot under a tree to eat alone. A guy approached who she knew from his posture and gorgeous steel eyes had to be one of the popular kids, and floored her by asking if he could share her tree.

She’d accepted, and the next couple of years had flowed from easy banter and people watching into something more. By the start of their junior year, it had been him with his back to the same tree trunk, and her sitting between his legs, his arms draped around her neck.

Something ached in her chest as the memory faded but didn’t vanish. She leaned into his touch. “I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, and then rested his forehead against hers.
“Not that we’re making a habit of this.”

She pressed closer, every inch of her screaming for more
. A voice whispered in her thoughts that she’d make it a habit in an instant if she thought she could get away with it, and she obliterated it. “Of course not. Stress relief, right?”

“
Right. Sure.” He ran his mouth along her jaw, down to her throat, and kissed along her collarbone. His voice was muffled. “I don’t even care what we call it.”

She ignored the implication. She wouldn’t lose herself in the emotions of the past. Falling for him had almost destroyed her all those years ago, and
the memory was at least as powerful as the good ones. That didn’t mean she had to ignore the physical. Regardless of what he thought this was, it was just a fling for her.

She tilted her head back with a sigh, closing her eyes and sinking into the sensation
s. He traced a line along her ear with his tongue, and caught her earlobe between his teeth. She whimpered at the current that raced through her entire body.

“
That sound does wicked things to me.” His growl filled her head. He twisted his fingers in her hair and tugged her head back, mouth finding hers. He kissed her hard, and she pushed back, teeth cutting into the inside of her lip.

He spun her so her back was to the couch and nudged until her butt collided with it.

The power in his voice and strength in his grip was enticing and terrifying at the same time. Not that he scared her, but her reactions to him bordered on terrifying. She struggled to close the door on her heart and still focus on his mouth pressed against hers.

Her feelings pushed back, bursting through the gate and intertwining with her and the moment. That was bad. So why didn’t she want to lock it away again? She could deal with that later. She pressed closer to him, memorizing every inch of his hard body pressed against hers.

She’d definitely deal with it later. Right now though, feeling him was all that mattered.

It had taken the rest of Zach’s self
-restraint to play it cool when Rae showed up on his doorstep, passionate anger flashing in her eyes. It probably wasn’t the best idea to indulge the craving, but the last few months had worn on Zach and if she was the one time he didn’t have to hold back, he was diving into it.

He tugged her hair, exposing her neck, and drew his tongue down the soft skin. Her whimpers
– a sharp contrast to the shell she normally had up – spurred him on. He wanted her now and wasn’t in the mood to play anymore.

He
dropped his hands to her waist, under her shirt, and pushed up. The friction of fabric on skin was rough against his palms. She sighed and shifted her weight against him, every inch of her body rubbing through clothing. That was an issue — too many clothes. His cock pulsed in agreement, already hard and straining against her hip.

He tugged her top and she took the hint, breaking away long enough for him to yank it over her head. Red bra
today. He scraped his teeth over her neck while he undid the clasp. Fuck that was sexy, and her panties were probably cotton, mismatched, and had some kind of obnoxious screen-print on them.

He tossed her bra aside, and trailed his lips down her chest. She arched her back, bringing her closer. When his mouth closed around
a swollen, pink nipple, her fingers dug into his scalp, holding him close.

Every sound she made pushed him further into the moment.
He flicked his tongue across her skin, getting harder with each squirm and sigh. Reason told him to stretch the moment out, make it last, but reason was rapidly evaporating.

She pulled his face back up, pressed her mouth to his, and
caught his bottom lip between her teeth when she pulled away. Brown eyes danced frantically over his face, searching for something. “At the risk of sounding crude.” She trailed her nails over the back of his neck. “I desperately want you inside me.”

The request broke the last of his control. He was surprised he didn’t
tear something yanking her jeans open and pushing them to the ground. Hands on her hips, he lifted her to sit on the back of the sofa.

He pushed between her legs, fumbling with his own zipper. Something occurred to him, and paused, dropping his forehead onto her shoulder. He didn’t want to lose this moment. Fuck.

“Something’s wrong.” Her pout was audible.

He looked at her again. He needed at least a hint of mental power to do this. Fortunately, not a lot.
“Don’t move?”

She gave him a hesitant smile.
“Okay?”

Condoms. Night stand drawer, next to the bed. It too
k more concentration than it should have to not trip sprinting up the stairs. A moment later he stepped back into the living room. She was still there, legs crossed at the ankles, every gorgeous curve exaggerated by her posture.

The creases in her forehead melted away when she saw him. He held up the cellophane package and she shook her head with a tiny laugh.

“I suppose—” She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “—I should be grateful you don’t have those stashed all over the house.”

He slid the rubber on, and then rested his hands on her hips. Her heat was rapidly pushing
away the ruined moment, tempting him again. “Your opinion of my sex life is a lot more interesting than the reality.” He kissed up her neck, letting the scent of strawberries sink into his thoughts. “I’ve never even done this on the couch before.”

She pulled him closer with her feet, voice breathy.
“I get to be a first. I never would have guessed.”

“
I suspect a lot of things about me would surprise you.” He positioned himself near her opening and nudged.

She sighed and tipped her head back. He pushed inside her slowly, and her nails dug into his back. She moaned when he pulled back out almost to the tip, and then repeated the process.

She shifted her weight against him, prompting him to increase the pace. He moved a hand to the small of her back to help her keep her balance, and found her tit with the other. He pinched her nipple hard and she pushed back harder.

He wasn’t going to last at this pace. She was so tight, so slick, and her cries
short-circuited his thoughts. He nipped her earlobe, voice gravelly. “Tell me what I have to do to make you come.”

Her reply was breathless.
“More of what you’re already doing. Please don’t stop.”

He could do that. He drove deep inside. She scraped her nails down his back, and her legs tightened around him. Her breathing grew shallow.

Her pussy clenched, milking his cock as she climaxed. She didn’t let up, even as her moans slowed. The pounding rhythm pushed him past his limits and he grunted as he slammed against her. He slowed and then stopped as the peak fell away.

She rested her forehead against his chest, and he dropped his head on her shoulder, both of them silent while they tried to catch their breath.

****

Zach propped himself up on one elbow, couch against his back, Rae’s bare skin pressed against his front. Part of him was already looking forward to the next time. This was getting dangerous, and he didn’t even know if he cared. It wasn’t like he was tied to this place
anymore. They could have a little more fun and it didn’t even matter if it went anywhere — which it wouldn’t — since he didn’t have to stick around. There was still the option of selling everything and moving to New Zealand.

He rested his other arm on her hip, palm on her stomach, and kissed along the back of her neck.
“You’re quiet.”

She leaned back into him with a sigh. That was an amazing feeling. Her soft skin. He pushed the thought aside. No reason to dwell.

“I was just thinking.” She tilted her head to one side when he moved his attention to her bare shoulder.

Not about them, right? Not the way he was. Not that he was thinking of them as a ‘them’.
“I know.” His voice was muffled by the kisses. “It makes me nervous.”

Her arm dropped away from his.
“You don’t even know what it was about.”

That was a bad sign. He wanted her back in the moment
; to spend the rest of the afternoon holding her and swapping inanities. He shouldn’t entertain the idea, but the urge was undeniable. “I didn’t mean I don’t like you thinking.” He trailed a finger up her thigh to her hip, and then brushed the skin where leg met hip. “In fact, your thoughts are as sexy as the rest of you. But if your mind is already drifting, the distraction didn’t work as well as it should have.”

She relaxed again, full body pressing into him.
“It worked fantastically, and now I’m thinking clearly.”

He was going to have to bite or the afternoon would be over. Not that it mattered. They’d had their fun; it was time to send her home, right?
“About…?”

“
I know how to make it work.” Her voice was heavy with hesitation.

She was back on that again.
Cord. He did not want to have this conversation with her. Letting someone he was sleeping with have a say in their company had already cost them everything once. He wasn’t letting that line blur again, regardless of what she was about to say. Not that he was going to tell her that. He shifted his weight against her back. “Rub against me just a little more and I’m sure you can make it work just great.”

She let out a soft laugh, but it was laced with something heavier.
“I meant your business, and I’m serious.”

His enthusiasm and lingering glow were rapidly evaporating.
“I’m a healthy, single man in my mid-twenties. Getting laid is serious business.”

She sat up, taking the throw with her, holding it in front of her chest.
“Don’t do this.”

“
Do…?”

She grabbed her shirt off the coffee table and tugged it on.
“Don’t play stupid. You could at least hear me out.”

He needed to stop. Let her leave
. But he was torn between keeping her there longer and not wanting to delve into something that would definitely send her away pissed. He sat up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m listening. Especially if you’re talking dirty.”

A low sound that was something between a sigh and a growl vibrated through her chest and back.

He pulled away, flopping back against the couch. “Fine. I’m listening.”

She glanced over her shoulder, brown eyes softening.
“Promise?”

No, he wasn’t giving in to that look
. Even if it did gnaw at something deep inside. He lied without missing a beat. “Of course.”

She relaxed a little more.
“You start over.”

All the pieces clicked together at once as the meaning and consequences of those three words slammed through his thoughts. Starting over meant finding investors again, risking the same thing that happened last time
— one of them screwing the company over. And if it was her suggestion, it probably also meant getting her involved. After all, she specialized in making the numbers work, and she wasn’t going to toss the idea out there so they could let someone else do it.

He slid away from her.
“No.”

She shifted on the couch to face him completely, one leg tucked under the other knee, and her eyes narrowed.
“You said you’d hear me out.”

“
Nothing to hear.” He should have listened to the instinct that told him this was a mistake, and never for a moment indulged the part of him that thought he was falling for— no, wrong, that thought didn’t exist. “If that was an option we would have already done it.”

“
You don’t know if it is or not.” More irritation crept into her voice with each new retort. “Just give me a few hours with your books—”

And there it was.
“No.” There was no way he was repeating what had happened with Kelly. “It won’t work.”

“
But—”

He grabbed his clothes from the floor and tugged them on.
“Conversation over. I have plans.”

She was on her feet in an instant, anger flashing in her eyes.
“I was wrong about you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

What did that mean? He wasn’t going to ask.
“At least we agree on something.”

She didn’t say anything else before she turned on her toe and stormed toward the door. The entire house shook when she slammed it behind her.

He sank back at the cushions gaze falling to the ceiling. That had been painful, but it was the right thing to do. Thinking with his dick last time had cost them everything and he wasn’t making that mistake again. Even if Rae wasn’t a fling. Even if they’d never slept together. Or dated. Or fantasized about the relationship becoming more…

He pushed the dangerous thoughts aside. Starting over wasn’t an option. He and Scott needed to sign the buy
-out offers and move on.