Page 40 of Fighting Gravity

Sometime after six, he went in search of her. His people started and ended their days early unless a test campaign was running. There weren’t many people left. His heart sank a little when he noticed that Elle’s office was dark. He hoped Rosie hadn’t left without saying goodbye. She wouldn’t, right, after their date the night before? After what she’d confessed last weekend?You. Only you. Always you.Tate hadn’t forgotten. He wanted to tattoo her words on his fucking skin.

He found her in an office in the back corner of the third floor. She was tucked behind the otherwise empty desk, typing away, her flame hair back in a sleek ponytail. She’d ditched her gray blazer. The light pink dress showed her toned arms and long neck. Her brown eyes lifted to his as he leaned against the doorframe. He could get used to Rosie in his hangar. His home. His life.

She looked tired. “Almost done.” She glanced at her screen. “Crap, it’s late. Give me five minutes and I’ll get out of here.”

He raised an eyebrow. She thought so, huh?

Tate took a seat in one of the rolling chairs that sat haphazardly in front of the desk. He checked his email one last time for the week while she finished up.

Finally, she shut her laptop with a sigh. She leaned back, eyes closed. “What a day.”

“Did you handle the contractor issue?”

She nodded. “It took longer than I thought. Nothing like working against the clock.” She sighed again. “How was your day?”

“Well, it started and ended with you, so my day was fantastic.”

Rosie’s cheek dimpled.

“Are you staying at Elle’s this weekend?”

“No. She and Chen are heading to Vegas in the morning. Her brothers are in a lacrosse tournament. Chen is meeting the parents.”

Tate grinned. “How’s that meeting going to go, do you think?”

“Elle’s dad is super chill and Betti, her stepmom, loves everyone. It’s impossible to miss how enamored Chen is with Elle. They’re going to love him.”

He couldn’t help but make comparisons in his mind. His own parents would be dismissive at best, rude at worst. At least they lived on another continent. Rosie’s dad seemed nice enough. The space angle of Tate’s job likely worked in his favor. Rosie’s mom, he’d learned, had died when she was young. Like him, she was on the outs with her only sibling.

“I hope it goes well, for both of their sakes.” Though part of him wondered if Chen and Elle taking their relationship further was the right move. He’d had to break the news to Chen that he’d been denied a permanent visa when they’d first hired him. Chen couldn’t stay in the States after his work visa expired. He and Elle were on a ticking clock.

“Me, too. They’re great together.”

“So are we,” Tate ventured. He was still feeling buoyed by her words from the weekend.

Rosie blinked. Her mouth opened, then closed immediately. A small noise escaped her.

Interpreting, he said, “Scared by what you might feel is preferable to feeling secure in what you don’t. Scared means we have a chance.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “You do get me.”

Tate leaned over the desk. She met him, running her finger down his jaw before pressing her lips against his. “I do. And I know exactly what you need after a long day.”

She studied his face, her cheeks flushing. “We’re alone here.”

It was a statement and a question and maybe a dare. “Very much so.”

She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked everywhere but at Tate. First, her eyes lingered on the wall. He’d gladly fuck her against that wall. Then the desk. There, her eyes stayed even longer. His cock swelled with the knowledge that she was thinking about them in compromising positions. He wanted to make her fantasies come true. All of them.

He leaned closer. “I’m a really nice guy and you are a fucking goddess, but I’ll still bend you over this desk and fuck you hard if that’s what you want.”

Her mouth popped open. Scarlet crept up her neck and cheeks. She wasn’t shocked. She was caught. But she didn’t nod.

Tate smirked. “The wall, then? Have you always wanted to get fucked against the wall by a man who knows how to make you scream?”

He traced a path over her rapidly beating heart. “Yes, but…” She didn’t finish her thought.

“Okay, the desk?”

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