Page 60 of Love in Mission City
“The thing is, Knight, I’m not certain Icando this. Somehow, like you said, this project is a big deal. And Simone warned me about Jacqui.” And I hadn’t really paid her any heed because, in the hubris of my youth, I’d believed I could handle anything.
That was three months ago. For fuck’s sake, you haven’t even had a birthday.
All true. But panic still clawed at me. What if I made the wrong choice? What if Knight lost the contract because of something I did? Or didn’t do? Or—
Knight gently pulled me from my chair.
I was so surprised, I went willingly.
He pulled me into his big, strong arms. Tucking me against his big, strong chest. For a guy who sat in the office for much of the day, he was pretty damn sturdy. “It’s going to be okay, Orlando. Youcando this. We can, in fact. I’ve sort of abandoned you, and that was wrong of me. And you’re putting way too much pressure on yourself. If Jacqui doesn’t like what we present to her, I’m certain she’ll make it clear what’s wrong. If she walks away, we’ll find another developer who will snap up the designs—”
“But you did them forthatlocation.”
He chuckled, the reverberation moving from his chest to my ear. “There will always be another location, Orlando. Townhousecomplexes are the next biggest thing because people want homeownership but can’t afford single-family dwellings.”
“I love when you saydwellings.”
Another chuckle. He put his fingers beneath my chin and gently tipped it up so I could meet his turbulent dark-brown eyes. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Maybe?” I would, but I wanted more comfort. I licked my lips.
His pupils widened.
I went up on tiptoe.
He bent his head.
Suddenly the half-a-foot height difference meant nothing as our lips brushed.
Wanting a hell of a lot more, I grasped his neck, pulled him down, and thrust my tongue into his mouth.
He hesitated for only a moment before reciprocating. His tongue parried with mine as we fought for supremacy.
I let him win as he plundered the recesses of my mouth. I scraped my fingernails down his five o’clock shadow. Well, he hadn’t shaved since yesterday morning—a first, as far as I could tell. He was always neat. Always put together. I wanted to debauch him and drive him wild. So I thrust my straining erection against him.
He did the same, running one hand down my flank, grasping my ass, and grinding our cocks together.
The moment suspended in time.
And then, just as abruptly as it had started, he ended the kiss. He let me go, nearly thrusting me aside. He met my gaze, whispered, “I’m sorry,” then fled the room.
Well, fuck.
Chapter Five
Knight
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckety fuck fuck fuck.
That had been an unmitigated disaster. I’d meant to comfort Orlando. I saw him heading toward a possible panic attack. Like the ones my mom used to get. So I’d moved to offer reassurance that everything was okay. Especially since, apparently, I’d been lamenting the loss of Simone more than I’d realized.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I had to fix this. But I had no idea how. I’d fled to my office and, a few minutes later, Orlando took off. With no idea where he’d gone or when he’d be back—if he was even coming back—I settled into panic myself. There had to be a way out of this, but I didn’t have a clue.
The cabinets.
Right. If I made recommendations with regard to the kitchens, then we’d have a place to start and could move forward from there. Mind made up, I headed back to the conference room. He had ten samples laid out, and I understood his dilemma.All would work and yet none felt quite right—at least not for the high-end units. I snagged his page of notes and squinted. It wasn’t that I needed new glasses—it was that his handwriting was truly appalling. I almost said kids today and cursive writing, but I caught myself. Fifteen years wasn’tthatmuch of a difference. Not like he could be my kid or anything.
