More, Please (Please Series Book 3) (13 page)

“But…you’re the one with the high-powered job, Hunter. I work this much because you say I have to.”

“You are working two jobs right now.”

“Well…yeah. But that’s more of a hobby. I don’t have to do that.”

Doubt flickered across Hunter’s features. “Just promise me.”

“Sure,” I said. “Of course. I’m not going to pass up a man saying he wants to be a good dad.”

He kissed me on my forehead and took my hand, ignoring the clothes left on the floor. As we entered the bathroom and Hunter stripped the rest of the way, I couldn’t help but wonder. “What are you going to do if you have to scale back working? Something always comes up.”

“Change jobs, probably. Maybe start my own company. We’ll see.”

My eyebrows rose as he turned on the water. “I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but having your own company is often ten times the work.”

“That’s if they don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Um…” I let the word linger in a way that said, “I don’t think that’s accurate…”

He obviously caught my drift, because he said, “We’ll cross that path when we come to it.”

“Bridge.” I stripped and followed him into the shower.

“What’s that?”

“Bridge. Cross that bridge—never mind.”

W
ith Hunter driving
, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and drove into the heart of Marin. I’d asked Hunter repeatedly what we were shopping for, but he hadn’t said. It wasn’t until we were pulling into the car lot that I finally figured it out.

“No way. I told you I didn’t need a car.”

“You’re living in a part of the city where a car is essential. You don’t have one. Therefore, you need one.”

A salesman looked up from a couple he was helping out on the lot. His gaze took in Hunter’s expensive ride, and then Hunter himself when he stepped out of the car. I had made him wear jeans, but he wouldn’t fool anyone. The Rolex, the Prada sunglasses, the way he wore those jeans—he had money, and this salesman could see it from across the car lot.

Unfortunately for that salesman, though, someone in the building we were parked next to could see it as well. A man in his twenties came out of the glass doors with greased-back hair, a tacky gold watch, and a dress shirt that fit him too loosely. He was the epitome of what I’d imagine a used car salesman to look like, if a bit young, and I didn’t expect to find someone like him on a luxury car lot.

“Hello!” The younger man gave Hunter a smile before smiling at me next. “How are you today?”

Hunter looked at the man and, without answering, turned toward the glass building. He’d slipped into his business persona, which could be considered rude at the best of times. Since it also meant power and money, though, people like these salesmen ate it up.

“I certainly don’t need a car like this,” I told Hunter in a quiet tone as we wandered toward the shiny Range Rovers on the showroom floor.

“Being that you haven’t driven much in the last four or five years, I think safety is key.” Hunter sauntered up to the nearest model.

“This is an extremely safe car,” the salesman said, shadowing us.

Hunter turned with a quirked eyebrow. He gave the salesman a hard look. “We need some time.”

“Of course. No problem.” The man gave a serious-looking nod. “Just let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be right over there.”

Hunter’s arm slid around my middle. “It’s safe, it’s reliable, it’ll get you out of the desert or mountains, and it is supposed to be extremely comfortable.”

“I live in San Francisco, so deserts and mountains aren’t really my concern. Hondas are reliable and safe and
inexpensive
. If you are determined to buy me something, why not that?”

“Do you not like the Range Rover?”

“Hunter, I don’t need anything this extravagant!”

“How about an Audi? Mercedes?”

“I think you’re missing the point…”

Hunter led me around the car and opened the driver’s-side door. He pushed me toward the seat. “Sit in it.”

“A Mini. Now there’s a good idea. Small, fits in parking places, built well…” I peered into the sea of leather, inhaling the new car smell.

“I will not curl up into a ball to fit in a car.”

“Who said you’d get to ride in my new car?” I stepped up into the car and wiggled into the seat. “Oh man.” The leather molded to my butt.

“It is really big, though,” I muttered as I looked behind me. The car seemed to stretch back to infinity.

“Let’s look at the other models and see what you think. Then, if you want something to compare it to, we can look at other manufacturers. I want you to be comfortable.”

“I’d be comfortable in a Mini.” I took Hunter’s hand as I climbed out of the car.

“Within reason,” Hunter amended, leading me to the other vehicles.

We didn’t look at other manufacturers. We didn’t even leave the showroom. What
we
did was look at all the models, each as awesome as the last, and then my involvement dropped away as Hunter decided to order one custom built. I had no idea why. I couldn’t tell the differences between any of the models beside the appearance, and every one of them had more than enough whirlies and buttons for my needs.

After Hunter chose the features I “needed,” the haggling began. The young salesman soon realized that he was out of his league and called in the manager. Two against one, and still Hunter dominated. It was pretty awesome, I had to say.

It wasn’t until the end, when both men were staring at each other with hard eyes, that Hunter dropped the bomb. “I’ll be paying cash.”

A greedy sparkle lit up the manager’s eyes. “Yes, sir. I’ll see what I can do.”

In the end, Hunter got nearly what he wanted, the salespeople weren’t completely moping, and I was terrified I would crash this new and shiny automobile in the first month.

“What do you want to do now?” I asked as we left the dealership.

“Go home, order in, and make love to you.”

I smiled like an idiot. “Sounds good.”

W
ednesday morning
and I was looking around the office with shifty eyes. Hunter had indeed made love to me on Saturday, and then Sunday, and then Monday and Tuesday, too. He woke up and reached for me. He brought me in for nooners, and he tried to get some in the evening. It would be great, except he kept trying to finish without protection. He wanted to try for a baby.

Actually, he
was
trying for a baby. He was trying to make me lose my mind enough to forget about protection. Half the time it worked.

I should’ve been mad about that, probably. I’d said I wasn’t ready, and he should respect that. The thing was, though…I kept thinking about how I’d forgotten the pill. My mind always went back to his mother’s conversation, and about Hunter wanting kids. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d lodged that information in the recesses of my brain as code for
the time is now
, because I wasn’t mad at Hunter. Not at all. I kept up my resistance, but I let him break me down on occasion. I let myself forget, and then reveled in his tender kisses and embraces.

I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. Apart from Hunter, obviously. I wanted him with a passion that couldn’t be natural. If love potions were a real thing, I’d look around his house for a cauldron and a pointy black hat, because that was what it felt like. Every time he came into a room I felt a smile bud, even if I was completely focused on something else. I sighed when he touched me and hung on his every word when he spoke.

I was annoying myself, but I couldn’t help it. I was lovesick. It was ridiculous. But holy moly I did love that man.

“Stop thinking about the boss and get that report done,” Brenda said as she set a cup of coffee on my desk.

Brenda looked down at me with a grin. “If you checked out any more, you’d have drool running down your chin.”

I wiped my chin with the back of my hand, just in case, then reached for the coffee cup. “Sorry. He’s just… Things are just weird right now.”

Brenda huffed and went to her desk. “I don’t know about weird, but I’ve never seen that man so happy. I don’t even know him anymore. It’s stressing me out a little.”

“Maybe you’ll take it as a hint to lighten up.”

“Nah. Being grumpy works for me. Someone in this office has to scare visitors.”

“Fair enough,” I said, and with a flip-flopping stomach, I walked into Hunter’s office. I’d decided that today would be the day of “no.” I needed to get better at saying it. Since that first yes I’d been hopeless at standing my ground. Not so now. I would reclaim my ability to deny him.

“Hey, baby,” Hunter said as he leaned back in his chair. He turned his body to face me.

“It still weirds me out that you say
baby
. I feel like saying please should come before pet names.”

“Saying please has no effect on you. Saying baby makes you blush and your eyes sparkle.” He watched me put his coffee on the corner of his desk before he reached out to me. “Come here.”

“No.” I got a zing of adrenaline. That was weird.

His brow furrowed for a moment and his eyes hardened. He hated when a flat
no
was thrown at him. I almost wanted to giggle.

“Come here…please,” he said.

“No.” I wrestled with my mad urge to laugh manically and run from the room.

He clasped his hands in his lap. His face closed down into a business mask, but his sexy eyes started to burn. “I want to kiss you, Olivia. Come here.”

“No.” I lifted my chin, unable to help a smile working at my lips. I turned and walked from the room. When I got back to my desk, I said to Brenda, “Sorry in advance.”

Brenda glanced over. “Why? What did you do? You better not have quit, young lady, because I’ve never had it so easy in this office, and I don’t know that I have it in me to go back to working hard.”

“Nothing like that. I’m just going to tell him no a little more often.”

Brenda groaned. “Is it too much to ask for a quiet life?”

With the next round of coffee, I couldn’t help a little saunter in my step. Keeping the smile away was even harder. I put the white cup on the corner, lining up the base with the little ring it had left behind. I was anal like that.

The
tick tick
of typing stopping. He swiveled in his chair. I risked a glance from under my eyelashes as I finished settling the cup. He was staring at me with his hands clasped in his lap. His expression was blank. He was trying to figure me out.

“Get me some water,” he said.

“Please,” I finished for him.

I walked from the room without telling him that I would. I was going to, of course. Saying no would be reserved for personal matters. He wouldn’t fire me, but I didn’t want to cause problems.

Brenda looked up as I passed by my desk toward the kitchen. “Did you spill, or did I screw up the coffee?”

“He wants water. He’s trying to figure me out.”

“Oh, Lord help him.”

After getting the water and passing by again, Brenda said, “Be easy on him, Olivia. Men can’t handle our insanity. They’re too dumb.”

I laughed as I entered the office. The
tick tick
stopped immediately. Hunter looked up, watching my progress. As I handed him the water, he didn’t ask what my problem was, or if something was the matter, he just watched.

“You’re welcome,” I said, as though he’d said thank you.

He put the water on the desk. “I want to make love to you, Olivia.”

I felt an almost physical tug to step closer to him. I swallowed down my immediate urge to say, “Yes, please!”

Instead, I took a deep breath, raised my chin again, and said, “Fantastic insight. But…no.”

He clasped his hands in his lap again. The slow burn in his eyes turned to liquid fire. His shoulders shifted just a tiny bit, hardly noticeable, but suddenly I got the impression of power and command in his bearing. His ability to control a room was magical. And so damn hot.

This day of
no
might be harder on me than it was him.

He didn’t say a word as I walked from the room. I could feel him watching, though. The silence pressed down on me in expectation. He was planning, working out my motives and figuring out how to get around them. He wouldn’t force my acceptance; he’d
coerce
it. I’d just plopped an emotional chessboard onto his lap, and he was going to play it for all it was worth.

It was scary how well I had come to know the man in such a short time.

“This is kind of thrilling,” I said in a breathy voice as I sat in my chair. My hands were shaking and my sexy systems were all revved up.

“What’s his situation?” Brenda stopped what she was doing, turned to me, and took another sip of her coffee.

“He’s intrigued, I think.” I giggled. “It’s weird, though, because if the roles were reversed, I’d be a mess of ‘What has gone wrong? Is he going to dump me?’ He’s just trying to figure out how to get what he wants, though.”

Brenda snorted. “Men and their egos. So he’s not pissed, huh? I should’ve figured.”

“No, not mad.” I clicked into the report I should’ve finished by now.

“What are you trying to get?”

I shrugged, leaning closer to my monitor. “Don’t know. Just…saying no.”

Brenda barked out a laugh and turned back to her computer. “The two of you are made for each other.”

“You should talk,” I mumbled. “Before me, you matched his grumpiness exactly.”

The next coffee delivery was uneventful. Hunter didn’t look up from his computer. He didn’t give me a command or ask anything of me. I could tell he noticed my presence, though. His eyeballs stopped moving. He had a page of words in front of him, and he was staring, but probably unfocused.

Tee hee!

Once again, I stopped myself from smiling. I turned and made my way from the room. As I walked out of the door, I turned my head just enough to see his desk in my peripheral vision. His body was pointed toward me.

“He must think I’m nuts,” I mumbled as I sat at my desk.

Brenda didn’t even look over. “You’re not boring, that’s for sure.”

In the middle of the day I got a ping.

H
unter Carlisle
: Come in here.