Page 49 of Until You're Breathless

I laugh mirthlessly. “That’s the last thing that I need now that I have the European deal.”

“You do want to keep this company growing, don’t you?” He points out.

“Yeah, but not like that.”

“You haven’t seen my face on any tabloids in the past three days, have you?”

“No, but that’s only because I haven’t looked, and Stevie is too fucking busy planning her big to-do to bother me about it, either.”

“I’ll twist your arm some day, man. Mark my words.”

“I’m sure you won’t. But keep dreaming, man.” I pat him on the back and walk away, before we get into it. It’s been a while and it’s probably long overdue, but now isn’t the time. As I follow Bowie’s lead and make my rounds with staff, I eventually end up back in my office.

Bowie taps on the doorjamb a few minutes later. “Hey. Do you want to do a debriefing later? Make sure that everyone’s on the same page?”

“We can probably add it to the daily engineering meeting and just invite the rest of the clan to join us for a half hour following. It’s probably best not to clog up everyone’s day with meetings right now. They’re all on a high and everyone hates nothing more than meetings.”

“Good point.” She points at me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ll never drink again for as long as I live.”

“You kicked ass.”

“So did you.”

And now she’s giving me that look again. Her eyes scan down my body as I stand next to my desk. “Stop it.” I warn playfully.

“Stop what.” She snuffles, acting like she doesn’t know exactly what I’m talking about.

“That look. Stop it. It took me every ounce of energy not to look at you like that when you were wearing that fucking black dress.”

“Well, I can say the same thing, Jagger. And you standing there in that suit is just as bad. And we got the deal. I thought that we said we would hold off until the deal is set in stone.”

With a sigh, I allow myself a small, quick glance down her body. She’s in a tailored dress that hugs her chest and ass perfectly. “We really need to stop dressing up for the office.”

She chuckles. “Yeah. That’s what we need.” I detect facetiousness in her tone. “I think what we really need is to fuck like rabbits and get it out of our systems.”

“Is that all I am to you.” I tease, not daring to take a step towards her.

She swallows. “You know you’re not but we’re not going there right now, are we.”

I don’t know how much longer I can put this off. She wants me and I want her and just her standing there she’s like a magnet to me. I’ve made promises I don’t know if I can keep. The fact that I slept next to her when she was naked puts me in the monk category. But I’m no monk. And I’ve been acting like one around her for much too long. We need to do something about it before we both lose our heads. “Don’t do this. Not now.” I say weakly, lying to myself.

“Fine.” She says, and I detect a note of anger in her voice, as she walks away.

I feel like a fucking fool. How can I turn her down? She is the most beautiful woman in the world, she has no hidden agenda, she’s not after me for my money, we have a past together, and most of all, we both love each other. And, at least for me, it’s not just regular love. This is a love that has grown for so many years I lost count. I’ve loved Bowie since high school, and I never stopped. Since reuniting with her, in whatever capacity you want to call it, I feel like my love for her has only grown stronger. And I’m torn between loving her the way that I should love her, and risking our business, or solidifying the most beautiful relationship I could ever know.

And she feels it, too...

It sure looks like Stevie’s doing. This place is packed with people. Some I know and some I don’t. The venue is giant. Big enough to hold a conference or two, depending on which room you choose. The place is decorated to the nines, so I know that Stevie hired only her top decorators and party planners, giving them a chance to show their chops on something a little funner than just the average schmoozefest. Bowie is off to the side, wearing a gorgeous cream silk dress that’s scooped in the front and back, accentuating, once again, her beautiful chest and ass.

She grabbed a ride over with Jinny, and I can see that Jinny has aptly ditched her to do some flirting with Axl. When he sees me, he motions me over. “Were you planning on coming over to say hello, old man?” He teases.

“Not really.” I snuffle a laugh.

“I figured as much.” Jinny scoffs.

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