And there he was. The asshole.
Just under six foot, with a narrow face and blond hair immaculately styled. Though Jake was pleased to see Michael’s smooth good looks were marred by a crooked nose. Jake had done that, just after Kim had walked out—punched the bastard in his smarmy face. It had felt good at the time. Maybe he should see if it felt as good a second time.
Michael frowned and then his eyes widened. “Kimberly?”
“That’s my name.”
“What do you want?”
“Could you step outside for a minute?”
“Why?” He sounded suspicious. Jake didn’t blame him.
“A minute of your time,” Kim said. “And then I promise I’ll go away and you’ll never see me again.”
Michael stepped into the corridor. “Now what?”
Kim whirled around and kicked out in a perfect imitation of the move Jake had used to floor Steve the day before. God, she was good. Her foot connected with Michael’s chest, and he went straight down with a satisfying thud. Then he lay still.
Come on, asshole, get up.
Jake willed the man to stand so she could knock him down again. But unlike Steve, he didn’t get up for a second helping.
Kim crossed to where he sprawled on the floor and nudged him with her toe. “Just one question,” she said. “Why did you marry me?”
He wheezed and made to sit up, but she pressed him down with a foot on his chest. “Why?
“I loved—”
“Liar.” She stepped back. “Good-bye, Michael. I hope we never meet again.”
Jake wanted to cheer; instead, he turned and hurried out of the building ahead of her. Once on the street, he slipped into a doorway out of sight. He watched as she sauntered off in the direction of the office, hands shoved in her pockets.
That had been almost as good as sex.
Okay, he was kidding himself, but all the same, it had been pretty damn good.
He’d better make sure he didn’t piss her off in the future, or he could end up on the floor as well. On the other hand… He grinned—she was welcome to knock him flat on his back anytime.
As long as she climbed on top afterward.
…
Kim knew as she walked away from Michael that she would never be totally free of him.
She’d pretended to herself that she was over him, that he had no effect on her life any longer. But that was far from the truth. While she hadn’t set eyes on him since the day she’d walked out, he was always at the back of her mind. He was the man most responsible for the person she had become, the one who’d shown her the darkest part of herself. He was the reason she needed to feel strong, in control. The reason she would never let another man have that sort of power over her, never risk bringing that darkness rising to the surface once again.
All the same, that had felt extremely good.
Now all she had to do was prove that she could face Jake, and it would count as a successful day.
…
“Sex with Jake is not an option.” Kim muttered the words under her breath as she watched Jake move gracefully through a tai chi sequence. She supposed it would be more accurate to say, sex with Jake again was not an option. But that would remind her of the first time and she was doing her pathetic best to forget.
The “not an option” clause had become a mantra she’d taken to repeating to herself at regular intervals throughout the morning. Not that it did much good.
However hard she’d tried to put the whole thing behind her, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Jake and sex. Always in the same thought. It was as though a button had been switched on in her brain—a “sex with Jake” button.
She’d spent the morning doing Internet searches on potential employees for one of their biggest clients. But she found it increasingly difficult to focus on the job. All she needed to do was confront Jake and prove to herself that she could face him and treat him like a friend. Not like a guy who’d made love to her on top of his desk.
She wouldn’t go anywhere near his office; while she might be able to face Jake, she couldn’t face his desk—she wasn’t ready for that yet. Instead, she waited until he headed for the gym. Dressed in a fitted black vest top and loose black trousers, his feet bare, he was totally focused, which gave her a rare chance to watch him unobserved.
There was no bulk to Jake; his muscles were flat and streamlined, his body sleek and long-limbed. She had seen him do these same sequences many times, but he still had the ability to enthrall her. Each movement was slow and deliberate, seeming simple, yet he exuded a raw power combined with an innate gracefulness that mesmerized her.
How could you look at that and not think sex?
She’d always managed perfectly well in the past; she’d just not thought about him in those terms. Reminder: Jake was her friend. He was not for drooling over—she had to remember that.
Which was impossible when her mind continued to flash back.
It was ten minutes before he came to a halt, glanced over, and smiled.