Where She Belongs (10 page)

His
mind searched for memories of the night before. The bar, the usual
crowd. That was all normal, then he saw blond hair and blue eyes.
Shanna.

He
had morning wood, which was pretty standard. But seeing the outline
of her lithe body did not help the situation soften at all. He longed
to lean over and wake her with a kiss and slip into her waiting body.

His
cock surged with that thought. He slid out of bed before she woke,
retreating to his bathroom and turned on the shower. He climbed under
the warm stream and wrapped his hand around his erection and imagined
that he was back in his bed, doing all the things he'd fantasized all
these years. Shanna laying in his bed, looking up at him with
glittering eyes as he stroked her. Little mewls slipping from her
throat while he found heaven joined with her body.

He'd
imagined it more times than he'd ever admit. His body shuddered with
release. At least the edge would be off, but he didn't know how long
he could stand her teasing. He'd have to work carefully to make her
realize why she wanted him. How much time had he wasted already?

He
sighed and started washing his hair. After he cleaned up, he'd go
downstairs and make coffee and breakfast. Then they could go to work
together.

As
he turned off the water, she banged on the door. "Gabe I need in
there. Right now."

He
laughed and grabbed his towel. "I'm still behind the curtain.
Come in."

There
was nothing for a moment, then the door opened. He rubbed his hair
into the towel then wrapped it around his waist. The toilet flushed
then she retreated without a word, only the soft click of the door.

He
pulled the curtain back and exited the bathroom. She was holding her
cell phone and pacing the floor. "We're late for work," she
said looking up. "Or we will be in about twenty minutes."

"You're
the boss. I think you can be late sometimes."

"I'm
never late for work. I'm never late for anything."

He
believed that. He wasn't sure what to say so he started looking for
his clothes for the day. Briefs, socks, casual shirt and jeans.
Friday was always a casual day.

"I
don't even have clean clothes here or my car. My mother is probably
wondering where I am." She sounded panicked.

He
crossed to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Take a breath and
calm down. You've done nothing wrong. You had some drinks last night
and had a good time." She'd kissed him for the second time in as
many days, but he didn't think pointing that out would help. "And
you crashed at a friend's house. If your mother was worried, she'd
call your cell phone."

"Right."
She met his eyes and he could see her face relax. "Stayed with a
friend after a night out." Her jaw tensed again. she was
thinking about their kiss. He knew pushing her physical limits any
further would set him back. He let go of her.

"Go
downstairs and make some coffee. I am in desperate need. We'll have a
quick breakfast then I'll run you to your parent's house for clothes
and we'll head to work."

"You
can take me to my car."

"Afraid
someone will know you slept with me?" He couldn't resist teasing
her a little.

"No.
I'd rather have my car," she snapped.

He
shook his head. Serious, guarded Shanna was back in full force. "Go
make coffee and we'll figure out the rest after that." She
seemed frozen in place. "I will change in front of you, Shanna."

That
spurred her into action and she left, clomping down the stairs. He
dressed quickly not wanting to squander anytime he had with her now.
Downstairs, sipping coffee, she looked calmer. He poured himself a
cup of coffee and sat across from her at the table.

"You
could have told me you had another bathroom." She lifted her
brows at him.

He
couldn't help smiling. "I could have, but I didn't know if you'd
make it in time."

She
shook her head, but smiled back.

His
heart lurched as he imagined sharing coffee at this table every
morning. Even better, lazy weekends together, where he would bring
her breakfast in bed, then make love to her afterward. His entire
body reacted to that idea, and he realized his masturbation session
in the shower hadn't done much.

"Toast?"
he asked.

"Sure.
That sounds good. I usually eat light for breakfast."

He
got up and filled the toaster. "I guess it's a good idea if I
take you to your car first. You'll want to go to the hospital in the
afternoon."

"I
don't know if I told you, they said they might release Dad today."

"That's
good news. I guess they don't want to do the pacemaker."

"Not
yet anyway. It's still a possibility. We should really consider the
possibility that you will be running things for a while."

He
didn't want to consider that she wouldn't stay. He couldn't let it
happen. He opened the fridge to get the margarine and jam.
"Strawberry okay?"

"Whatever.
I'm serious Gabe. I don't know how I can relax in Toronto if I know
he's working."

He
wanted to tell her to stay. Or ask. Hell, in nine days he might start
begging. The toast popped and he turned to tend to it. A few minutes
later he settled across from the table, watching her bite into a
piece of toast and wondered if he'd survive if she left him again.

*
* *

Shanna
absently picked up her cell phone that beeped from the desk beside
her, “Hello?”

“
Shanna,”
Trenton’s voice sounded a million miles away. She missed the
warmth of his skin. Their relationship seemed slightly surreal to her
now. Her days were filled with Gabe’s presence and her nights
were filled with echoes of her feelings for him.

“
Trenton,”
she nearly shouted. “I’ve been wanting to call you all
day, but I didn’t want to disturb you at work.”

“
The
presentation went so well, they’ve given me a ton of more
stuff, and I miss sitting in the condo, bouncing ideas off each
other, having you right there to give me feedback. I didn’t
know how much I enjoy your company until you were gone. Are you
coming back soon?”

She
sighed. “I wish. I miss you, too. Gabe is a total pain.”
Okay, it wasn’t only when she was drunk that her mouth decided
to run away from her. She needed to shut the fuck up for the next
eight and a half days.

“
What’s
he done?”

Well,
I was moments from ripping his clothes off and wrapping her legs
around him. “It’s not really him, it’s everyone.
Seems like everyone thinks I should stay here. Everyone says the same
thing, the company needs you.” She sighed. She was a horrible
girlfriend. She should break up with him right now. And then what?

“
You
don’t want to stay, do you?”

She
laughed and closed her eyes. “God, no.” She pushed back
from the desk and moved to the sofa in the corner. “I’d
miss you too much. Not to mention my job and the city. I’m not
cut out to stay here.”

“
Good,
I’d miss you too and I really don’t want to move there.”

“
I
know, baby. Do you know what I miss most?”

“
Your
car?”

She
snorted. “No, the feel of your body against mine while we make
love. Not getting any is starting to get to me.” That had to be
the explanation, right?

“
Oh
yeah, me, too. I really miss your body.”

She
smiled, trying to ignore his tone. Trenton didn’t like to
discuss sex, he thought it was crass. “Good.”

“
So,
can I send you some stuff I need you to look at for me? You said you
only worked a few hours a day.”

“
I
guess. I’m not feeling great today. Is it okay if I get back to
you in a couple of days?”

She
could hear him typing. “I’m sending you one now–
that they want right away. The rest can wait. I’ll have it all
to you tonight.”

Her
words weren’t important apparently. “Oh, okay. I guess I
can do that. Is it just grammar and spelling, or do you want full
content?”

“
The
usual magic you do, Shanna.”

“
Okay.
I’ll call you tonight then.”

“
Thanks.
babe. It should be in your in-box by now. I’ll talk to you
soon.”

“
I
am at work and my dad might be getting out of the hospital today.
Thanks for asking.” She said it to the silence. She sighed and
set the phone on the desk.

“
He’s
using you,” Gabe said. She looked up and saw him leaning
against the doorjamb. How did he look so good in his jeans when she
felt like such crap?

“
You
know nothing about our relationship, so don’t even start with
me.” She stretched her legs onto the sofa and leaned her head
back. “My fucking head won’t stop pounding.”

She
heard the papers in his hands rustle as he set them on the desk.
“Have you drank any water today? I should have pushed some on
you last night.”

“
I
think I had enough pushing from you last night.” She knew it
wasn’t true, but she was pissed off.

“
Don’t
shoot the messenger.” When she opened her eyes, he was looming
over her.

“
Like
you aren’t using me.” She glared at him.

He
bent again, his face close to hers. “Oh, Shanna, if I was using
you I would be in this office with you all the time so I could keep
an eye on you.” He traced a finger down the center of her chest
to her abdomen. “I’d love to show you a world of mutual
pleasure, but if I wanted to use you, I would have taken advantage of
you last night.”

She
turned her head away from him, annoyed that he was right. If he
hadn’t stopped touching her, she probably would have done
something very, very … bad.

He
rested his palm on her stomach and she felt a warm glow spread from
him. She was glad she was facing away so he didn’t see her face
flush full red. Or feel the clench of her womb and the flood in her
pussy as her body longed to see his world of pleasure.

His
body was removed from hers and she turned suddenly to him. He smiled
as if he could read her mind. “I’m sorry for how I hid
from my feelings and hurt you those years ago. I was stupidly noble.
I won’t let you go a second time.” He bent and kissed her
cheek quickly. “I’ll send Rachel with a glass of water
and some pain killers.”

She
watched him leave and groaned. She’d have to face him before
the end of the day, because he hadn’t come into her office for
this discussion, he needed to tell her something about business.

She
laid back down giving in to her exhaustion. Her heart or her stomach
flipped inside her body. And she felt the anger rise in her again. He
had no right to make her feel this way. He rejected her, she moved on
in her life, and now he was trying to get her back. For what reason?
Because he didn’t want to run Whittikar Cabinets? Because he
wanted what he couldn’t have?

There
was a tap on her door. She sat up, readying herself to give him hell.
Instead, it was Rachel, holding what Gabe had promised.

“
Gabe
said you needed something for your headache. You could have asked me
earlier, I should have thought. I knew you went out with the guys
last night.”

“
It
was fine until Gabriel Brande came in here.” Well, that wasn’t
true, she was fine until her boyfriend had called.

Rachel
smiled. “Ah, you two will figure it out sooner or later. The
early days of a relationship are difficult.”

“
There
is nothing between me and that infuriating man.” Infuriating,
intoxicating, frustrating, confusing. She would do her best to avoid
him for the next several days. The thought made her sad. In the past
few years, she hadn’t gone more than a day without at least
exchanging a half-dozen text messages.

“
Do
you want one or two pills?” Her father’s long-time
secretary looked amused.

Shanna
sighed and took the pill bottle. “You can put the water on the
desk. Thank you, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. You were only
helping.”

“
I
understand. Adjusting to a new way of life can be difficult.”