“Oh shit. What did he do?”
The elevator opens and I don’t even consider answering her, exiting in time to spot Shane in the lobby moments before I myself am there too. He cuts down his hallway and I pursue him, my heart in my throat, a cocktail of adrenaline and anger driving my every step. I round the corner and have a brief moment of hesitation when I spy Derek’s door open, but it’s so very brief, my focus on Shane and Shane alone, who is now entering his office. I’m there as his door shuts. Not even bothering to knock, I open the door and enter.
He turns at the sound of my entry, and I shut us inside to face off with him. “You don’t get to fuck me and then do this to me. I need this job. I need the money. I need the security. I need it.”
I blink and he’s pressing me against the door, his big body framing mine, and I shove against him with all my force. “Get off me. You don’t get to bully me, yet again.” He doesn’t budge, in fact, he ups his bully ranking by snagging my wrists. “Damn it. Let go, Shane.”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down?” I demand. “Do you know what saying ‘calm down’ does to a woman? It makes her not calm down. Back the fuck off, Shane.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
“Yeah. I saw that last night, but it doesn’t matter. I’m a grown adult. I don’t need you to get rid of me because you fucked me.”
“You think this is about fucking someone else?”
“I don’t care, Shane. I just want to go back to my desk and do my job.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
The absoluteness in his voice slams into me and desperateness, mixed with the tornado of emotions I’d battled all night, and thought I’d defeated, spurs me on. “Don’t do this to me. This job is all I have right now.”
“Emily,” he breathes out, his expression and grip on my wrists, softening. “Sweetheart.”
The endearment punches me in the gut. “Please don’t call me that.”
He looks at the ceiling, seeming to battle within himself, before he levels me with a turbulent stare, his hands settling on my arms. “I didn’t sleep with that woman.”
The lie ignites my anger all over again. “You smelled like her,” I hiss, tugging against his hold. “Stop bullying me.”
“Lana’s a user and manipulator. I didn’t expect her last night. She just showed up unannounced.”
“And you let her up.”
“Seth was with me. She works at BP and had information I needed about a problem there.”
“You smelled like her,” I repeat, rejecting his tidy little explanation.
“She refused to share the information with me if Seth didn’t leave, and yes, she pressed herself against me and yes, I knew her in college.”
“Fucked her in college.”
“Yes. I did and I won’t lie to you. For a moment, the briefest of moments, I thought—she’s what I deserve, and you were too good for me, and this screwed-up life I’m living. But even knowing that didn’t matter. She wasn’t you, and you are who I want. You, Emily.” His hands settle on my waist, heating my skin through my clothes. “Just you.”
“You really didn’t…”
“No. I didn’t and Lord help any man who tries to touch you.”
I search his face, and he doesn’t look away, or hide the truth in his eyes. I believe him but that doesn’t erase the pain of last night. “Do you know what you did to me? Why wouldn’t you just tell me last night?”
“Because what she shared with me was bad. Criminal, even. The kind of thing that gets people killed and I saw your anger as the way to ensure you stayed away until I fixed this.”
“I already told you I’d quit.”
“And then left that note on my window that made me need to see you, and touch you. I wasn’t going to stay away from you.”
My fingers curl on his chest where they’ve landed. “So you hurt me,” I say, my throat thick with emotion.
“Yes. So I hurt you.”
“That was really shitty, Shane.”
“Why do you think I ran ten miles this morning after pacing my apartment all night? I’m sorry. More than you can possibly know.” He cups my face. “Forgive me.”
“I’m going to, but I’m still too angry to do it right this moment.”
“Stay with me tonight.”
“As long as you understand that I’m staying here too. I’m keeping my job.”
“We’ll talk about it tonight.”
“No. We won’t.”
His hands drop from my face, and he leans in, pressing his cheek to mine, to murmur, “Do you know how badly I want to be inside you right now?” His hands settle over my ribs, his thumb tracing the lower line of my breasts, tightening my nipples and sending shivers down my spine.
“Tonight,” I say, catching his hands and leaning back to look at him. “But I’m still keeping my job.”
The intercom buzzes and Jessica clears her throat and says, “Shane sorry, but the Realtor is here with the paperwork for the apartment.”
He curses softly and pulls back, calling out, “Tell him I’ll be right there.” He refocuses on me. “Tonight.”