Never to Love (6 page)

As I watched her subtly fidget in her chair, I couldn’t help but wonder how this was possible. There was no fucking way it was a coincidence, but most of all I wondered how I hadn’t known she was only a degree or two of separation away all this time. I hadn’t spent an abundance of time with Marina and Tate, but no one had ever mentioned her name until she was assigned to this project.

The woman hadn’t been surprised to see me. Had she been hiding from me all this time? If so, it had to be because she knew she wouldn’t be able to resist my mad skills a second time.

When Juli shifted in her seat again, a vivid memory of her sexy-as-fuck piercing went straight to my dick. I knew exactly what she was doing. Based on the fire in her eyes as she surreptitiously glanced my way with every subtle movement, it was a done deal.

After about ninety minutes of watching her play with herself in public, the meeting finally adjourned. Not giving her a chance to change her mind, I spoke up before anyone left the room.

“Hey, Juli,” I said, purposefully using the name I’d called her when I’d been buried balls-deep inside her hot little pussy. “Will you stop by my office before you head out?” None of the stragglers were interested in her answer, but their presence seemed to pressure her to agree.

“Sure,” she replied, her eyelids and lips pulled tight in irritation. There was absolutely no doubt she wanted to take another trip on the Thomas Express, which seemed to piss her the fuck off.

Since it shared a wall with the conference room, the walk to my corner office was blessedly short. As soon as she stepped through the door I held for her, I pushed it closed and flipped the lock.

“What do you want?” she asked, crossing her arms beneath her bountiful rack, as if being alone with me was a major inconvenience. I forgot her simple question as I watched her cleavage battle with the buttons of her blouse.

Realizing what she’d done, she quickly moved her arms to her sides, temporarily breaking the spell her tits had cast on me. Rounding my desk, I pushed the button to activate the privacy glass I’d had installed a few years back, which turned my open-concept office into a cozy cocoon, albeit a large one.

“Whatever you’re thinking,” she said, glowering at me, “isn’t going to happen. Not now. Not ever. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

“Why are you fighting this?” Stalking toward her, I continued, “You know you want it.”

“I do
not
want it,” she countered, backing away from me. Curiously, she wasn’t moving in the direction of the door.

“If you didn’t want it, this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen you since the night I gave you the best fuck of your life, especially considering I’m more or less related to your best friends. The craving must be unbearable if it made a woman like you resort to hiding.” I took a few more steps closer, delighted when the perfectly pale skin of her neck turned a light pink under my perusal. “Think how much better you’d feel if you just gave in.”

“I have rules for a reason. I’m sure you have reasons for yours as well,” she said entirely unconvincingly.

“I amended my rule book after our first fuck to allow up to three nights with supermodels and porn stars.”

“Hold up.” She snapped out of her slight haze. “Are you saying you think I’m all boobs and no brains?”

Oh, yeah. Still feisty as ever.

“You’re as sexy as a supermodel and fuck like a porn star.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere. Even if I had a similar exception, which I don’t, you wouldn’t qualify.” Juli’s spine straightened as her resolve strengthened. “If you have nothing business related to discuss, I’m leaving.”

“See you Wednesday,” I said, low and rough to see if she’d grown any weaker to my bedroom voice since the last time she’d been fortunate enough to hear it. “Between now and then, try not to think about how wet your panties are right now and how much wetter you know I can make them.”

Putting on her best game face, she focused her stare on my straining zipper and said, “Your motives aren’t altruistic, and I have no problem finding willing bodies who both agree to and follow the rules. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Somewhere more important to be?”

“Your question implies being
here
is important to me, which I assure you, is not the case.”

It’s on.

Juli was wrong about me. I did follow the rules—my rules—but I was smart enough to know when I needed to adapt. I’d chase her if that was the game she wanted to play, but she would be the one begging for more when her time was up.

“Oh, and my panties aren’t wet, because I’m not wearing any.”

Son of a bitch.

Thomas

The meeting with Alissa went extremely well. At first, I didn’t know what to expect when I found out she was bringing Carter along. The other day, she told me her boyfriend knew about our past, so I wasn’t sure if he’d try to punch me or not. Turns out the guy is hilarious.

Keeping a straight face was impossible as he unnecessarily attempted to cock-block me the entire time. Fortunately, instead of laughing in the man’s face, I was able to channel my energy to make it appear as if I was just overly excited, which I think worked to my advantage.

Carter’s behavior might have actually helped me. If he were jealous enough to piss all over his woman’s leg in a major business meeting, perhaps a little bit of that territorial instinct would rub off on the woman who sat beside me. Between the excessive false excitement, my overly-friendly interactions with Alissa, and the hugs that lasted just slightly too long, I hit my intended target with deadly force. Juli’s panties wouldn’t live to see the morning.

By the end of the meeting, Juli had shown no visible signs of giving in, so I made one last play and invited Alissa to go out with me that evening. Carter wasn’t happy, to say the least, and I felt a little guilty taking advantage of Alissa’s gratitude, but let’s face it, I wasn’t always the nicest of guys.

When the meeting disbanded, Juli shuffled out with the crowd, which was most likely the only way she could keep herself from jumping me in front of everyone.

Having a few hours until the time I told Alissa I’d pick her up, I went back to my office to review another round of counteroffers for the hotel Finn wanted us to buy in Indianapolis. If this proposal turned out to be as ludicrous as the last twenty, I’d have to put my foot down. The only reason I hadn’t given the Boy Wonder carte blanche with this acquisition was his suggestion we pay the ridiculous asking price without any negotiation whatsoever.

Something was seriously wrong with the situation, and I knew it had to be related to Kristy the Kunt. Before he married the whore, he’d been talking about building our next hotel within walking distance of the Pacific Ocean, not within driving distance of Lake Michigan.

Not long after picking up the blue folder and kicking my feet up on the desk, my office phone buzzed.

“Thomas?” Stephanie said over the intercom.

“Yes?”

“The front desk is on the line. Apparently, a young woman is asking for you. An upset, persistent young woman.”

Hell, that could be any number of people. “Put her through.” I saw Nora working when I walked through the lobby earlier, and I knew she wouldn’t call without a good reason.

“Thomas.” The bravado in the young woman’s unfamiliar voice had me sending Steph an instant message.

Me:
Who the fuck am I talking to?

After all of these years, Steph would probably think she was about to be fired if she didn’t hear, or in this case, see, me curse at least a dozen times a day.

Stephanie:
Katrina. She’s new.

“Hi, Katrina.” Finn and I tried to know the name of everyone who worked for us, but he was obviously much better at it than I was. “What can I do for you?”

“A guest is requesting a second room for the night. When I told her we are completely booked, she claimed to be your ‘friend’ and insisted I call you.” She was beginning to sound a little crazy—in a humorous way—so I let her keep talking to see how much of her foot would fit in her mouth. “I tried to tell her that being your friend doesn’t miraculously cause a room to open up, but she seems to think her tits are magical.”

What the hell?

“What’s her name?”

“Alissa Ross.”

Yeah, anyone would be jealous of someone with a rack like Alissa’s. Anyone except for Juli. I knew hers were much hotter, and I hadn’t even seen them in all their glory—yet.

“I’ll be right out.” As with the rest of the administrative areas of the hotel, my office was on the ground floor behind a couple of locked doors, so it didn’t take very long to reach the lobby.

“What the hell happened?” I asked Alissa when I saw how upset she was. If Katrina had done that to her…

“Carter’s behaving like an ass at the moment, so I wanted to get a second room for tonight. Katrina told me there aren’t any more available and that I should try the Motel 6. I do have money, you know.”

Yep, Katrina was fucking jealous as hell. I wondered what would happen if it had been Juli asking for a room. Katrina’s head might have exploded before she could spew the insult. If her brain somehow remained intact, Juli would have beaten her scrawny ass instead of insisting she call me.

“Katrina, please give Ms. Ross a key to Room 669.” Everyone knew Finn and I kept the two-bedroom suite reserved for our own personal use. Came in handy on days we ended up working late or when Finn wanted to get away from Kristy, which was most of the time.

“But…”

“It wasn’t a request,” I said in a tone that let the girl behind the desk know who was in charge. Pointing to the main entrance, I added, “Even if you weren’t aware of Ms. Ross’s VIP status, you should never speak that way to or about
anyone
who steps through those doors.”

A minute later, Alissa had the keycard in hand. “Finn and I share the suite, but it’s not like we live there. My room is on the left. I’ll make sure you have the place to yourself tonight.” Remembering our after-work plans, I added, “I’ll need to get ready before we go out, but it won’t take long to pretty myself up for you,” I said with a wink.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Alissa said, chewing on her lip and looking slightly embarrassed. “I left my bag in the room. My phone’s in there, too.”

“I’ll send someone up to get them for you.”

“Thank you, Thomas. For everything. You may not realize it, but knowing you has made my life better in so many ways.”

“Yeah, I know, my cock has magical powers. Just don’t let Carter hear you say that.”

Alissa smacked me on the shoulder. “Someday you’re going to figure out how much you’re worth.”

I knew what she was getting at, but I wasn’t one for serious, personal conversations, and I didn’t need to risk having another dissociative identity disorder episode. Aside from family, she was the best person I knew, but she needed someone who could give her what she needed emotionally. Carter’s inner caveman may have frustrated the shit out of her, but I saw it for what it was. He was completely devoted to her, and that was not something I could ever be for anyone.

“I know exactly what I’m worth. That’s why I have Finn and a staff of accountants.” Glancing over at the glaring clerk, I said to Alissa, “Go on up, I still have a few things to take care of before we go out.”

After a quick, platonic hug, she turned and headed toward the elevator. Before I moved from my spot, I sent my youngest brother a text.

Me:
Need to fire Katrina.

Finn:
Why?

Me:
Rude to Alissa because she wants to fuck me.

Finn:
Who wants to fuck you? Katrina or Alissa?

“Probably both,” I mused as I typed my one-word response.

Me:
Katrina.

Finn:
Go ahead. I’ll come out if Nora needs help.

His offer didn’t surprise me. Finn enjoyed taking breaks from his proverbial mountain of paperwork and interacting with the guests once in a while. Hell, these days, Finn liked doing any kind of work that kept him away from his house. I wouldn’t take a second look if I saw him pushing a housekeeping cart on a Sunday morning.

Looking at the soon-to-be-former clerk, I said, “You’re fired.” I may or may not have moved my hand in a way reminiscent of some reality show clown. Turning to the nearby member of the security team, I continued, “Please take her to get her things and escort her off of the premises.” The woman in uniform nodded before heading to where Katrina stood frozen in place behind the marble-top counter.

After Katrina was out of sight, I walked over to Nora’s station to complete my final task before I could go back to looking for a way to avoid buying a stupid hotel in the Midwest without seeming like an obstinate child. “Will you please find out which room Alissa Ross was in and send one of the guys to get her bag and her phone and bring it to her?”

Nora had been with us for a few years and was excellent at her job. She was also very observant, and even though she’d been several stations away and assisting a guest during half of the drama, she replied, “Already taken care of, boss.” Finn was due for a new assistant soon; Josie had been on staff for a little less than a year. I’d have to remember to recommend Nora for the job.

Juli

I was extremely busy when the vibration of my phone interrupted my train of thought. Busy writing a prefabricated press release to have on hand in case Marina and Tate were abducted by Martians and transported back to the Red Planet. I probably should have made it generic so I could just fill in the blanks with the species and their homeworld, but that seemed lazy.

Skimming through the folder on my secure hard drive, I counted over two hundred different scenarios for which I was prepared, and they had all been updated within the past two months. If Marina grazed her knee on a rock formation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, which she had never expressed any interest in visiting, I could have an official statement released before the Band-Aid was in place.