Chapter 99 99
She cocked an eyebrow. Her warm eyes flashed. “Is that what that was?” Her lips remained parted after the question, the flirtation only provocation to the devil on his shoulder.
“Yes.” He scanned her face, waiting for one more sign—something that said it was a good idea to do what he wanted to do.
A warmth washed across her face. “If that’s you showing off, you can do that all you want. We're still here anyway. That was the deal.”
And there it was. Not exactly what he'd have preferred, but it was something. He sucked in a deep breath of resolve and erased the gap between them. He clasped both hands around her neck, pushing his fingers into the silky hair at her nape and lifting her mouth to his, collecting what he wanted with a tender, but insistent kiss. Her lips were sweet, the kind of dessert that makes you lick the spoon over and over again, craving one more taste.
“Tell me to stop,” he said, not relinquishing the grip he had on the back of her neck. His thumb caressed the smooth skin below her ear. It was torture knowing that after today, they'd be done. He could never touch her like this again. He didn't want it to be over, but he needed her to want this too.
“What?” Her eyes were half open, breaths heavy enough to hear.
“Tell me you want me to stop.” His heart raced, part of him begging her to say that she wanted more. That she didn't want them to end this, part of him knowing that it would be easier on them both if she stopped this right now. “Tell me that you don’t want me to kiss you anymore.”
Her mouth went slack, eyes wide as the day was long. “I can’t,” she muttered.
His heart was fighting to pound its way out of his chest. Whatever it was that she couldn’t do, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was. “You can’t what?”
“I can’t tell you to stop because I don’t want you to.”
A wave of relief crashed over him. It wouldn't last, but at least he knew that ending this was hard on her too. One hand went to her elbow, his fingers tracing the underside of her arm until he reached her palm. “Good. Because I don’t think there’s any way I can.”
He snaked his hands around her waist and she popped up on to tiptoes, planting her arms on his shoulders. He didn’t even have to kiss her—she was all over him. As if he’d told her she’d earn a million dollars for every second they didn’t come up for air. Their tongues wound together in an endless circle. Their noses bumped as she tilted her head and came in for a different approach. She flattened her stomach against him, and he responded by lowering a hand to her bottom and tugging her hips closer to his.
The metal door of the cabinet clanged against the frame when she pushed him into it. He was still trying to keep up with what was happening, trying like hell not to fixate on where it was going. Would their last time be in the garage? That could be insanely hot. But where? Concrete floor? Tool bench? He tensed for a second, then relaxed. That only made him more susceptible to Sherry's fire.
She hitched her leg over his hip, but then he caught sight of the clock on the wall. Oh, no. “Sherry. Our meeting is in ten minutes.”
She blew out a deep breath. “It is?” She lowered her head and shook it. An adorable groan leaked from her mouth. “Okay. I guess it’s time to get to work.”
_________
Sherry sat and smiled politely as Justin and Mark got situated in the living room. A fire crackled in the fireplace, the late afternoon sun cast a warm golden glow through the windows. Justin had his arm spread out along the back of the chocolate brown leather sofa, his leg crossed, his other hand playing with the stitching at the end of the sofa arm. He laughed quietly at something Mark said, and glanced over at Sherry with a look that made any sound in the room turn to a low hum. It was a look born of recognition. He wanted her and he sure as hell knew that she wanted him. But it was time to say goodbye. The weekend was over. Was she sitting inside the fireplace? It sure felt that way.
Her entire body warmed, in exactly the way a fire builds—a spark, dead center in her chest, became dancing licks of flame in her shoulders and belly, and the heat rolled right through her, making her face hot and her toes just as naturally off temperature.
“So, Mark,” Justin started, again sliding a shy smile to Sherry . “I’d love it if you could give Sherry an overview of what you envision for the future of Sunny Side. I think that’ll be a good start and then we can see if partnering with a corporation like BenTel could be a good option.”
Mark shifted in his seat, stroking his hipster beard, not looking entirely sold on the premise of corporate anything. He struck her as a man who’d be a stickler on the finer points of an arrangement between the two companies. This deal, if it happened, would require more than the right amount of money. A day ago, Mark’s reticence would have unhinged Sherry to no end. Today, it was more of an annoyance. If he didn’t want to be here, why didn’t he just say so?
Mark nodded and started on his song and dance about Sunny Side. Sherry listened, taking notes on projections and plans for future products, ideas he had for the launch of the technology, product integrations and applications. Adam was a damn fool for letting his rift with Jacob stand in the way of this deal. Of course, the fact that he’d ignored the financial upside was testament to how much he hated the man she’d spent the weekend with.
“Sherry? Do you have any questions for Mark?”
She was on deck. It was time to make her case. Justin might be distracting the hell out of her, but she needed to focus. “I don’t. I’ve had a chance to look over these numbers and if your projections hold true, I’d say that Sunny Side can pretty much write their own ticket. So the real question is, how do we make that work within the structure of BenTel?”