Page 36 of On the Fly
“I have a friendanda plant. The friend gave me the plant, but I’ve managed to keep it alive for about six months now.” She never looked up as she read then continued typing. He was being irrationally possessive. He spent most of his time alone, but whatever this was driving him to want all her attention on only him… Well, he blamed that on his family and felt reasonably sure it would fade as he settled into his new job.
“How many words does it take to ask someone to feed your plant?” It took a second, but he got the desired result. Emma looked at him, the cell phone placed in her lap.
“I never saw you as needy before,” she said, keeping her face neutral. The sounds of abada bingzinger played through his head.
“Har har. You should be nicer to your boyfriend,” he explained, waggling his eyebrows.
“I think the deal’s done since the wedding’s over.” Emma’s smug sound and that little note of happiness to her words had Ander clasping his chest with his hand and feigning a wounded look.
“You’re dumping me? Have your way with me then cut me loose?” he said with the same amount of hurt in his tone as he hoped he pulled off with his face, as if that hadn’t been his original plan when he’d started all this with her. Emma stared at him, a single brow arching while giving him the solid once-over. Shaking her head, she dismissed him again to pick up her phone. “No, don’t do that. Talk to me. I was thinking dinner at The Kitchen. My brother Erik loves the place. What do you think?”
She paid him no attention, and that did it. He reached over, snatching the phone out of her hand. When he positioned the phone over the steering wheel and started to read her messages, she darted over the console and the struggle became real.
“Give me that.” Emma almost crawled in his lap to grab the phone, only hindered by the seat belt holding her in place.
Ander gripped the wheel with his right hand, moving the phone as far from her reach as he could with his left. Between her struggles to get to her phone and his desire to stay on the road, he tried to read whatever caused her such concern. Luckily for her, the screen went blank before he could focus enough. He swiped the front with his thumb, but the security code pad filled the screen as the tires hit the graded side of the road, warning him to pay more attention to keep them safely in their lane.
“Open it. Let me read what’s got you so protective.” He scowled at her, not willing to give in as he centered them back in the lane, still holding the phone out of her reach.
“It’s not protective. It’s private, and give me my phone,” she demanded right in his face, whipping off her seatbelt to reach across him, trying to get to her device.
“Answer me first,” he said, leaning around her head to see the road, dropping the phone in the small cubby inside the door. She’d have to get in his lap to reach it now, not that he’d mind. “Where do you want to have dinner?”
“I need to get a room, probably find somewhere to wash my clothes. I didn’t pack enough,” she said, slumping back in her seat in a huff.
“You already have a room—my room. We’ll send your laundry out,” he explained, solving those problems for her.
“I can’t share a room with you,” she exclaimed in outrage as she refastened her seatbelt.
“Why not?” he asked, confused.
“For the same reasons as before, Ander.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest. She stared angrily at the road. “I want my phone back.”
“No one will see us. Everyone’s cleared out from the corporate event. I kept my room because I knew I’d be in town a while longer,” he said.
“Ander…” she said in that way that made it clear she thought he was the dumbest person on the planet. The same tone that made him want to press her against a wall and kiss her until she surrendered to him.
“If we share a room, it’ll make it easier. If someone is around, they won’t see me sneaking from your room.” He nodded for good measure, proud of that argument. She had to see the reason in that one.
The air in the vehicle shifted in the sudden way she turned, facing off with him. “What do you think we’re doing? You know this is wrong. You’re my boss.”
“Not yet, I’m acting CEO. And there’s not a policy against relationships at Rora,” he shot back, showing he’d thought about this a lot over the last few hours. He technically wouldn’t be the actual CEO until his brothers and sister signed off, though after their meeting that seemed to be the way of things. Then again, as CEO he could do what the hell he wanted. “Look, I’ve enjoyed myself this weekend. I get we’re on borrowed time, but I see no harm in continuing what we’re doing. We can reconvene this conversation at the end of the week and go our separate ways if that’s what you want. It won’t affect your work.”
“Oh wow, you sure are the romantic one.”
Ander laughed out loud, reaching for her hand, pulling her arm away from her chest and threading their fingers together.
“You weren’t complaining last night.” He watched color rise in her cheeks, but she didn’t remove her hand from his or request her phone as she sat back properly in her seat.
“You’re a hard one to figure out,” she muttered, not looking back at him.
“I agree I’m hard.” He brought their clasped hands to his lap, pressing the back of her hand against his slacks-covered hard-on. “I’m attracted to you. I won’t deny that.”
She let out a sigh, moving their joined hands away from his cock and dashing his hope she might be just naughty enough to relieve some of his tension while they drove.
“Okay, Romeo. I feel like this is a mistake, but mistakes make the best stories.”
He laughed out loud again. He had to agree.
