Page 26 of In a Bind

Chapter Twenty

Zane

Treyand I walked back in from the warehouse. Aidan had been showing us his plans for adding some new conveyor belts in shipping. Trey was heading back in to crunch some numbers.

Suzy, one of the box designers, met us on our way up to the offices. "Zane, I put the new box for In a Bind on your desk an hour ago. See what you think for the marketing campaign." She grinned. "Although, I think it kind of sells itself. We've put some fun stuff in there."

"Thanks, Suzy, I'm heading back to the office right now. Looking forward to seeing it."

Trey and I turned down the corridor toward the offices. "You never did say what your inspiration was for that theme," Trey noted.

"Didn't I?"

"No, and I think I was promised some details."

"No, you asked for details. I never actually promised to tell them." We stopped outside my office door.

"It's not like you to keep stuff like that to yourself. I figure one night when we've had enough beer, you'll spill."

"Don't count on it."

Trey looked at me as if he was trying to read the details in my face. "She must have been something else," he quipped as he continued on down the hallway.

I walked inside my office and stopped short. Someone had been at my desk. The items from the box were strewn across the paperwork I had piled there. It would have been unusual for Suzy to spread the stuff out. It would have been even weirder for her to sit in my chair, which I knew someone had done because it was turned around to face the window.

I slapped the door shut behind me and took a step back when the chair spun around. It had been a month, but I hadn't forgotten one thing about her, the pearly blue eyes, the way her nose turned up just a smidgen and her smile. That smile had been stuck in my head like a damn picture.

She held up a pair of leather handcuffs and a whip made from long strands of satin. "These look fun." She sat forward and perused the items on the desk. "The whole box looks fun. When should we try it out?"

I walked toward the desk and stood over it, staring down at her, trying to decide if she was real or if I had just dreamt her up. It wouldn't have been the first time. But as the scent of her perfume drifted toward me, I knew she was real, sitting in my chair and staring up at me with expressive blue eyes and a pair of bondage restraints in her hand.

"How'd you get in here?" I asked for lack of a better question.

"A tall guy let me in. A partner, I think and a piece of eye candy on steroids I might add."

I nodded. "Chase."

"Yes, that's the name. To his credit, he did refuse to let me in at first. Then I told him my name was Rainsford Bonneville, and he waved me in with a gentlemanly bow. I hope you're not mad."

I shook my head. "How have you been?"

"I've been good." She dropped the cuffs and the whip and leaned back in my chair. "This is nice, by the way." She smoothed her hand over the fabric on the chair. "The whole place is cool. Very impressive." She stood up and walked to the window. "The view is amazing." She turned around. She was wearing a short green dress that tied behind the neck like a halter. All I could think about was yanking the knot out of it.

My feet moved forward but then I stopped.

She looked disappointed. "I hoped you'd be happy to see me, but maybe I overestimated my lure and charm."

"You didn't. Guess I'm still stinging. Why did you leave the ranch without saying good-bye?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm a big chicken when it comes to relationships. I put on a good, confident air, but the truth is, I'm a coward. Especially with men I find interesting."

I walked toward her, knowing full well that I wasn't going to be able to stop whatever happened once I got close enough to touch her.

"If you're an example of a coward then . . ." I took hold of her face and lowered my mouth over hers. I could have devoured her right there in my office, in front of the windows, but I held back. It had taken me more than a few weeks to accept the reality that I'd never see her again, and I wasn't going to be careless this time. I wasn't going to allow myself to fall for it again. A certain amount of unpredictability was fun, but Raini took it to a whole new level. I wasn't going to be caught with my pants down again. At least not metaphorically. Literally was another thing altogether. My cock was already pressing urgently at my fly, asking for another taste of what had turned out to be the sweetest pussy ever. Just like she had mentioned after our first time together, about setting the bar high for the future, she had set the bar so high for me, I hadn't fallen into bed with anyone else since that weekend.

I lifted my mouth from hers. She peered up at me with a dreamy look that I could almost have believed meant she'd been waiting for my kiss. But I knew that was just wishful thinking.

"I left my address on a sticky note on your desk. If you're not busy, why don't you come by tonight. I'll make some spaghetti from a jar. We could pick up where we left off at the ranch."

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