Page 41 of Seductive Hearts

It rang once before he answered. “Colton Black, good to hear from you. Listen, I told Rose earlier?—”

“Hello to you, too,” I barked over him. It was bad enough this guy was trying to fuck me after he’d worked with both of my parents for years. But steamrolling me before I could say a word? I wasn’t putting up with that shit. “I understand the shelving you guaranteed to be delivered by this morning is now delayed a week. Explain to me how that happened.”

“Well, you see?—”

“Wait,” I decided, cutting him off again. “I just remembered I’m not interested in your explanation because you’ve had weeks to finish this commission, and I find it hard to believe you didn’t know until this morning that you were running behind. How does that happen? Can you tell me?”

“Hang on now.”

“Here’s what’s going to happen.” I glanced at Rose, who watched in wide-eyed silence. “You are going to have those shelves at this location by eight o’clock Monday morning, no excuses. Don’t tell me you can’t get it finished by then. Bring in help if you have to. Skip sleep, it doesn’t matter. Otherwise, since you are officially in breach of contract, we’ll take you to court. Can you afford that?”

Was it possible to hear somebody pissing their pants over the phone? “What are you talking about? Breach of contract? That’s ridiculous!”

“There is a stipulation that any change in delivery had to be announced at least seven business days before the agreed-upon date. Or did you not read what you signed?” I had the pleasure of watching Rose’s eyes grow wider until they bulged from her head, but the weak sputtering on the other end of the call truly made this worthwhile.

“Okay. Wait a second.”

“I don’t have a second to waste,” I told him. “Neither do you since you have shelving to complete in time to get it here by eight o’clock Monday. Do we understand each other? Or should we call the lawyers now rather than wait?”

After a silent beat, he grunted. “We’ll pull overtime this weekend. I’ll have it there.”

“I knew we could come to an understanding.” Ending the call without bothering to say another word, I placed the phone on the table and turned to Rose. “There you go. We’re only losing a few hours in the grand scheme of things, and we’re still running ahead. Everything’s on track.”

Her mouth moved silently before she croaked, “How? I… how?”

Laughing, I asked, “Any other fires you need me to put out today?”

I wasn’t prepared for the way she launched herself into my arms, but I wasn’t unhappy about it, either. How was I supposed to convince myself there was a way to get used to never touching her again? How, when it felt so damn right, holding her close, feeling her body against mine?

“Oh my God. Thank you. Thank you so much!” She pressed her face to my neck, and I closed my eyes, soaking her in.

“Shit, I helped you out while verbally assaulting somebody. It’s practically my ideal day.” I chuckled.

She pulled back, her cheeks damp with tears. “I never even thought to look at the contract. I was too busy freaking out. But you knew off the top of your head.”

“I did my homework. It helps that there’s a standard contract for all vendors and suppliers,” I pointed out.

Who the hell had she turned me into?

Since when did I give anybody else credit for my victories?

Since when had a victory felt so damn good?

It was more than the pleasure of holding her, hearing her praise the shit out of me. I made something happen. I kept the project on track, and I’d saved her from having a nervous breakdown. There were worse ways to feel.

She released a strained whimper before taking my face between her hands and pulling me down for a deep, fierce kiss.

So this was all it took to get her to forgive me? My grip tightened as the hunger I’d been battling for three days was finally satisfied—the taste of her, the sound of her high-pitched sighs as I ran my hands over her back, her ass, kneading the flesh I’d fantasized about.

I was almost sure I would never be able to do this again. Like I fucked us up for good. I’d told myself that was how it would have to be, but it was nothing but a weak attempt at getting over her.

“I need you,” I groaned out between kisses. “Fuck, I need you so bad.”

“Let’s get out of here,” she rasped while my lips skimmed her throat. “We can always come back.”

That settled it. If she was into the idea, I wasn’t going to waste a minute. We were still breathless when I locked an arm around her waist, leading her out of the office. At this rate, it would be a miracle if I made it to the house before I had no choice but to attack her.

All it took was a single look at the visitor standing in the middle of the showroom to make me forget about that. A very shocked, very red-faced visitor.

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