Hadn’t he said before he left for that damn gala that we were exclusive?
What the hell was going on? And what exactly did he get up to with that feline woman who was barely even a woman? She looked about eighteen!
To my relief Darcy left the building only ten minutes later. I was not relieved, however, by the fact that she looked far too pleased with herself for my liking when she did so. She’d only turned the corner at the top of the corridor, disappearing from my sight, when Caine called me into his office.
Somehow I managed to remain perfectly serene. “Yes?” I asked, stopping in the doorway.
Caine’s face instantly clouded over. “For God’s sake come into the office.”
I wanted to snap something back at him but decided he didn’t deserve any kind of passion from me if he was messing around with Blondie behind my back. I took a few steps into his office.
“Shut the door and come here.”
I did as he said, but for some reason this made him even madder.
“What’s wrong with you?” he snapped.
I frowned. “Nothing is wrong with me.”
“Bullshit.” He stood up abruptly, rounding his desk. I braced as he came toward me. “You’ve been cold with me all morning.”
“I’m tired, that’s all.”
He leaned into me and hissed, “More bullshit.”
“Stop saying bullshit,” I growled.
Light flared in his eyes. “There she is.”
“What? You’re trying to goad me into reacting to you now? Are you bored?”
“I’m pissed.” He curled his arm around my waist and hauled me up against him, ignoring my attempts to pull away. “You’re acting strange and I want to know why.”
I ceased my struggling and looked him directly in the eyes. “I’m fine.”
His lips pressed together as he gazed at me for a few seconds. His gaze was searching, as though he could find whatever answers he needed if he just looked hard enough. “I would say it was about Darcy Hale, but you were acting distant before she even got here.”
“She did say you two had, and I quote, a meeting of minds on Friday.” I cocked my head to the side. “That must have been some meeting for her to drag her skinny ass all the way up here to see you.”
Caine stopped scowling to smirk in a really arrogant way that annoyed me enough to restart my attempts to get out of his arms. He easily fought my struggles and won. “I gave her my time because of who her father is. I can’t outright insult her. But trust me, her skinny ass does nothing for me. Neither does her narcissism. Anyway”—his hands slid down my back to my less than skinny ass—“I’m far too distracted getting my fill of you.”
Are you sure about that? That wasn’t quite so clear on Sunday morning.
My doubt must have registered on my face, because Caine pressed a kiss to my jaw before brushing his mouth across my ear. “In fact, I’m in the mood for a little appetizer.” He pressed lazy, sweet kisses down my throat and then up again until he reached my other ear. “I want you naked right now and I want my mouth on you.” He leaned back to read my face. His eyes were ablaze with hunger. “Do you want my mouth on you?”
I so, so wanted his mouth on me.
“We can’t. I got my period yesterday.”
To my surprise Caine let his disappointment show. He squeezed my waist. “That’s a shame. But I guess we’ll have something to look forward to in …?”
“The end of the week.” I tried to extricate myself from his embrace, but Caine wasn’t having it.
He stopped me, giving me a gentle shake. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you? I don’t like this.” His voice had lowered dangerously.
What? Was I supposed to be afraid? “Seriously? Mr. Distant doesn’t like distance?”
His arms instantly dropped and he stepped back. “Are you playing games with me?”
“No.” I sighed and threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I came in this morning, took one look at you, and decided it would do me a world of good to put a little bit of distance between us because …”
He frowned, edging closer again. “Because?”
“Because …” Just say it. Be honest. Or at least somewhat honest. “I don’t know where I am with you. You can’t have it both ways, Caine. You can’t be distant with me, sneak out because sex got a little intense, ignore me, and then get pissed at me when I react in turn.”
He looked away. “This is just sex, Lexie,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I know that.” Boy, did I know that. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t react the way we want to, be who we are … I feel like you’re constantly pushing and pulling because you’re uncomfortable with how things go down between us sometimes.” I stepped toward him tentatively. “I just want you to be you. No pressure. And I’ll be me. I feel like you’re trying so hard to prove that this is just sex that it’s making this even more complicated. I want to uncomplicate it.”
“How?”
I gave a huff of resigned laughter. “For whatever reason I like you, Caine. I’d quite like it when we’re not having sex if we could be friends. No expectations, I promise.” Just hope.
He raised his eyebrows, looking adorably confused. “Friends?”
“Mmm.” I smirked. “You know … friends.”
“With benefits?”
“Exactly.”
After a few seconds of silence, Caine finally gave me a hesitant nod. “Friends.”
I smiled. “I should warn you, though, that I’m a smart-ass to my friends.”
“Oh, well, then I guess we’ve been friends since you first walked through my door.” As he rounded his desk to his chair, he threw me a grin that sent my heart racing off in a gallop.
My whole being lit up at Caine’s sudden transformation. Before, he’d been on edge because of my mood, but now he was relaxed in a way I rarely saw from him.
Yes. No expectations … but God, I had a lot of hope.
CHAPTER 17
“What’s your favorite color?”