Page 42 of Reunion With Benefits

Eleven

Spence followed her home that night. Abby left about fifteen minutes before he did because he got stuck on a phone call about a problem with a project at the University of Maryland. One of those calls he couldn’t just jump off of because there were ten other bored people in on it who also wanted to get off the line.

The second after he hung up, he raced out of the office. Tried to act professional and nod and smile to everyone he passed in the office hallway but his insides churned. He’d heard the whispers about him dating Abby. Even spoke with Derrick about them. The conclusion was that Human Resources should talk to Abby to make sure she was okay. People dated. He and Abby knew the dangers because they’d already lived through them once. Mostly.

That left a clear line between him and Abby tonight. Except for the ongoing trust issues, his idiot father and the very real sense she was hiding something from him. All of those issues stayed stacked in a teetering tower between them, but Spence was ready to unpack.

He also ached to touch her again. Once had not been enough. The hurried sex in the pantry could only be described as explosive. He wanted to experience the joy of slowly getting to know her body. And that could happen tonight...unless he misread the cues, in which case dinner worked, too.

She’d slipped him a note with the security code for the garage and the number of the space to park in. Then, Abby being Abby, she re-sent the information by text. The numbers mixed with his memories of the pantry and clouded in his brain, but he managed to get inside the gate.

The elevator turned out to be tougher because it required the guy at the desk to call up and get permission from Abby to let him in. For one tense second, he worried she’d changed her mind and would say no, but the guy waved him up.

That was five minutes ago. Now he got off the elevator and shot Jackson’s front door a quick look. Having him so close by rattled Spence but he pretended it wasn’t a big thing.

He raised his hand to knock on Abby’s door right as it opened. She stood there, hair falling over her shoulders and a welcoming smile on her face.

He almost lost it.

Somehow he managed to lean in for a quick kiss. Even the slight touch of their lips had his heart racing until the echo of it thumped in his ears. He stepped inside the condo and closed the door behind him. After turning the lock, he followed her inside the open space.

The condo was new, with top-end everything. Her bedroom sat shadowed off to the right. He tried not to think about that room. Keeping his mind off the floor plan proved easy because he had something else—something much more interesting—to focus on right now.

Abby walked from the entryway through to the living room with those impressive hips swaying as she stepped. The drapes were drawn on the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her couch. Lamps lit the area in a soft glow. And she was wearing a dress. She’d been in a suit all day. He remembered because he’d thought about her skirt and the way it rode up her thighs, just a touch, as she walked.

The dress was solid red and bold. It wrapped around her with a same-color tie at her waist. He’d never seen it before but he was a fan.

As she stood there, her head tilted to the side and her hair cascaded over her shoulder. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” He wasn’t even sure if he could choke down food right now, but it seemed like a good answer. Logical in light of the time of night and the agreement they had to find food.

She made a humming sound. “That’s a shame.”

The list of take-out restaurants running through his brain slammed to a halt. “Excuse me?”

That smile, wide and inviting. Man, there was no way he was going to survive that. The seductive curve of her lips promised excitement. Or maybe he was still daydreaming. He honestly couldn’t tell.

Reality blended with fantasy when he looked at her. Long legs and that face. Big eyes, full lips...yeah, he was lost. He had no defense against her.

She kept her hands at her side as she walked over to him. He would have moved but he was pretty sure his feet were welded to the floor. No part of him even flinched except the growing bulge in his pants. He really hoped that didn’t make her twitchy. Another few minutes of her staring and she would notice. She couldn’t not notice.

After a few yanks, she undid his tie and slipped it off his neck. Her fingers went to the buttons at the very top and opened two. When she slipped her hands inside the opening and placed her warm palm against his chest, he jumped. Couldn’t help it.

“Are we eating?” The question sat out there. He sounded like he’d never had sex before, and he had. Plenty of times. But he didn’t want to take a wrong turn here. He really wanted her to lead and take them down that hallway to her bedroom.

“You did say you were starving.” She slipped her thumb up his throat to the bottom of his chin. Brushed it back and forth.

That touch fueled him. Spun him up and readied him for more.

“I can’t remember what I said.” He wasn’t sure how he drove there without crashing the car.

“When?”

“Ever.”

“That thing you do where you lose your speech when you touch me?” She leaned in and ran her tongue along the top of his ear then whispered, “Very sexy.”

His cells caught on fire. He could smell her shampoo and feel her soft hair skim over his cheek. And that body. She leaned in, pressing her chest against his and his brain misfired.

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