Page 37 of On the Fly
Chapter 18
When they arrived at his hotel, he narrowed his eyes as he handed back her phone, then snatched it away again and said, “I’m still curious who you were texting with and why that had you leaping across the console to get the phone back, but I’ll leave it alone for now.” He released her phone and tapped her on the end of the nose. “For now,” he said again, challenge in his tone.
Heavens to Betsy, Emma couldn’t have been more relieved that her phone had locked before Ander had a chance to read the text messages she’d been sending back and forth with Julia. She hadn’t lied, per se. Shehadtexted Cara, her friend in Atlanta, to take care of her plant and mail for another week.
Since she and Ander hadn’t stayed at the reception until the bride and groom left on their honeymoon, she’d wanted to give Julia a final hug. If she’d made her way over to them, Patty would have waylaid them and delayed their departure. So, after Cara, she’d texted Julia. At least she’d get the message once they were on their way to their honeymoon.
But apparently Julia had been taking a break from dancing, so she’d responded right away…and wanted “all the juicy details,” as she called them.
Emma practically rolled her eyes as she got out of the car, phone safely in her handbag as the valet took Ander’s keys and the bellman loaded their bags on a cart and directed them inside. The details weren’t juicy, though Emma had relayed the plan for her to stay the week to work with Ander at the corporate office. Julia had asked all the right questions though, including where she’d stay. Emma didn’t quite know at the time, but she’d assumed he had something in mind already. Though, she hadn’t thought it would involve staying with him all week either.
Ander was nothing if not well organized. When he made a decision, he went full steam ahead in that direction. Why it felt like her job to constantly throw him for loops, she had no idea. But watching him get irritated just did it for her. A riled-up Ander oozed sex appeal. She hid her grin behind a fake yawn as Ander placed a hand on her lower back to guide her through the lobby and into the elevator where he pushed the button for the executive floor.
Her stepsister hadn’t let it go either. She’d again pointed out how Ander had looked at her during the reception. How Julia had time to notice was beyond Emma, but apparently she had. Emma didn’t doubt Julia’s visual acuity, but it was all a scheme to Ander, acting as the perfect boyfriend for the weekend. He’d played his part well. She wouldn’t assume it was more than that.
She glanced at him as the elevator ticked off the floors. “So, you’ve got me in your clutches. Whatever do you plan to do with me?” She’d been joking, trying to reduce the tension that had grown since the car ride, but the look in his eyes let her know she may have bitten off more than she could swallow.
“Oh, Ms. Chadwick, the plans I have would make your toes curl.” Ander led her off the elevator and down the hall, hand warming her lower back, sending tingles to all the right places, as he guided the way without delay. Once in the room, he pressed her against the wall by the door, leaned into her, and tilted her chin up with one finger. He peered into her eyes before smiling and lowering his lips to hers. The first touch zinged through her body and then he deepened the kiss until she wrapped her arms around his neck, lost in her lust for this man.
A knock on the door beside them had her gasping into his mouth and bumping her head on the wall as she jerked back. He set his forehead against hers, then ran his hands up her arms to pull them from behind his neck. Ander gripped her waist then stepped back, waiting until she was steady on her feet before saying, “It’s our bags. Why don’t you order us a light dinner while I get those?”
When she nodded, he turned her toward the room and popped her lightly on the butt. She gasped and glared over her shoulder as he shooed her off to do his bidding. He was in rare form tonight. His longer on top hair was disheveled from her fingers, and when added to his sexy as sin grin, the combination left her nearly breathless. Oh, that man. He was as infuriating as he was captivating.
They’d eaten a variety of appetizers at the reception, but with all the dancing, she was still hungry, and she imagined Ander, being a guy, would be ravenous…and not apparently just to get her back in bed. Emma grinned at that thought as she looked over the room-service menu. The door to the room clicked shut as she dialed downstairs and placed an order for a variety of sandwiches and sides. She set the phone’s receiver in its cradle and glanced at Ander, who stalked toward her, discarding his jacket over the end of the bed on his way.
It took all her strength to not step back, what with the intensity heading her way. When he reached her, he ran his hand through her hair and gripped the back of her head, tipping her back to drag her into another heated kiss. Emma melted against him, but groaned as she pulled back, pressing against his shirt-covered chest to maintain some distance.
“Room service will be here in a few minutes,” she gasped.
Ander stepped back, eyeing her from head to toe, before nodding. “Fine. Go heat up the shower. I’ve got a final call to make. Once the food gets here, I’ll join you.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, then ran that index finger down her jawline in a feather-light touch.
Emma ran off to the bathroom as energy zinged through her system. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to rip off his clothes right then. She needed the time to get herself back in check. Ander in wooing mode was a sight to behold. She’d thought he was enthralling yesterday evening while playing her boyfriend in front of her family, but without the walls of his family home or the constraints of a workspace, the gloves had come off. She should have been insulted by his high-handed attitude, but her attraction to him only escalated, proving she was in serious trouble. If she let herself get any more attached to this man, she’d never walk away without a broken heart.
~~~
Ander settled onto the king-size bed, a sated Emma curled into his side, a tray of food sitting untouched on the bedside table. He couldn’t help the tight hold he had on Emma, any more than he could help breathing. Her breath of fresh air ways made her all-consuming. He wanted her there beside him, within easy reach. His whole outlook on life seemed to turn to rainbows and sunshiny days whenever he had his hands on her.
Not that he’d been disinterested before, but over the last few days, his sex drive had amped up a couple of notches. He hadn’t been this horny since his teen years. Though he’d had Emma repeatedly over the last twenty-four hours—three times to be exact—it still wasn’t enough. How in the world had the annoying woman who’d drooled on his sleeve on the flight out here become his every sexual fantasy?
When room service had arrived, he’d hurriedly opened the door, taken the tray from the bellhop, crammed a hefty tip into his palm, and used his foot to send the door flying closed again. His need to get back to Emma, imagining her stripping off those clothes to get in the shower, drove him forward. Ander had carelessly placed the tray on the end of the bed, already pulling at his clothes. Luckily, he remembered a condom before heading straight for the shower stall. Emma’s sweet gasp as he opened the fogged glass door, and the way she covered her breasts, the very breasts he’d spent so much time exploring, made his rigid cock leak with desire.
Like everything Emma did, she gave as much as she took. They’d soaped and fondled each other, kissing as the decadent rain-head caressed them with liquid warmth. He’d taken her to the edge and backed off, enjoying her various sounds, until Emma growled at him to take her. God, he loved teasing her until that sharp tongue of hers told him exactly what she wanted.
Her smile made her sexy, but her scowl had him wanting to throw her down on the floor and fuck her until she couldn’t see straight. He’d never had a caveman instinct toward a woman in his entire life, but something aboutthiswoman drew things from him he didn’t understand. So, he hadn’t paused another second. He’d snatched the condom off the ledge and proceeded to “take her” as she’d so cutely demanded.
When he’d caught his breath, Ander had shut off the shower and done something he’d never done before: used a large, plush towel to dry his pliant Emma. He wrapped her in the robe from the back of the door, then did the same for himself before they’d headed to the bedroom.
Emma had let him care for her, her wide expressive eyes looked adoringly at him, making him feel ten feet tall under her praise. Her deep inhales, with the small puffs of breath coating his chest continued to work their magic. He had no desire to be rid of her which surprised him. His desire for an overnight guest usually ended about the time his orgasm did. But at this moment, his natural state of anxiety had ebbed, so Emma needed to stay right there with him until he found himself again.
Chapter 19
Three days later
Emma stood in deep concentration, lifting her hand to her chin, staring down at the mounds of paperwork littering the top of the conference table in Ander’s office. She studied the stacks, trying to come up with some meaning to the chaos before her. It was a difficult task because there was just so much. How a company this size had only one accountant, who was currently unreachable while on maternity leave, was beyond her.
“You’re tapping your foot. What’s that mean?” Ander asked from the head of the table, sounding just as exasperated as the voice running through her head with a steady anthem ofwhat-the-hell-is-all-this?
“Your father paid for some of the most sophisticated technologies in the world but kept an Eighties style manual accounting system. All the wasted time, not to mention the trees that had to be destroyed to keep gathering this particular information in this archaic way. We can look at the summary spreadsheets for most of this data, but it’s always better to have original files. That’s where you find the discrepancies, if there are any.” Emma hooked her chin over her shoulder, glancing at the stacks of boxes in the corner, filled with more hand-generated paper records. What was the visionary Mr. Jorgensen thinking?
