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Be down in five, I texted him.
Not that I wanted to leave, but sleeping over on the first date was a bit pushy. Plus, I didn’t think we’d both fit on his futon.
“Mind if I use your bathroom?”
“Go for it. You need it,” he said as he pointed to the one other door in the apartment.
“Such sass!” I teased, but he wasn’t wrong. My hair was standing up in every direction, my face was flushed, and my clothes were wrinkled and askew. I splashed some water on my face, trying to dispel the worst of the fog. His bathroom was tiny, but everything was neat. Not an unnecessary thing cluttering up the space and everything in its place. My head now clear, I ran my fingers through my hair and fixed my clothes. Byron had already changed from his suit to a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt when I joined him. I strolled to him and loosely wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” I murmured as I nuzzled his neck.
A low chuckle shook Byron as he cuddled me. “What? That I like sex?” He turned his face and pressed a soft kiss to the spot behind my ear and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I love sex.”
Yeah, I could believe that.
Byron loosened his hold on me so he could pull away enough and look me in the eye. “But I’m smart enough not to confuse sexual compatibility with being in a relationship. We can be hot as hell in bed, but be horrible together. I can enjoy getting fucked, but not want to be romantically involved with the person.”
“Agreed.” We had proved tonight that we were sexually compatible. No question. But what about the other? “Was this date good enough to earn me a second?”
He let out a near silent laugh and grinned. “You know it was. Let me recover from this one before you make plans.”
“Deal.”
I stole one last lingering kiss, wanting to savor every moment I could of finally having this man in my arms.
The memory of his laughter and his taste followed me all the way home. This was an excellent start.
9
BYRON GRAHAM
It wasweird being in the office the next day. I should have been able to put our date and late-night activities to the back of my mind, but every place within the building made me think of Sebastian, and every thought of Sebastian led me right to that image of him on his knees with my cock in his mouth.
Maybe dating was a bad idea.
How was I supposed to work with him after kissing him? After watching him come all over my floor?
Which was the hottest thing I’d ever seen in my life. I’d thought the man screamed sex appeal before. After seeing that, it was a wonder I didn’t melt whenever I was near him.
It took me a few tries to get through all the emails waiting for me, but the haze created by last night’s orgasm finally faded. As I finished my initial barrage of emails—mostly to request agendas for meetings people wanted Sebastian to attend—Kaylan arrived, wearing what appeared to be the same suit he’d worn the previous day and deep shadows under his eyes. Not a good sign.
I grabbed my mug and followed him into the break room, where he stared at the coffeemaker as though he couldn’t understand what it was. After putting my mug on the counter,I reached out and plucked his out of his hand to keep it from falling and shattering.
“What can I do to help?” I asked as gently as possible.
Kaylan sucked in a wet, ragged breath and forced his eyes to open wide. “What? Nothing. Everything is fine. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re wearing the exact clothes you wore yesterday, and there are bags under your eyes. What happened? Did someone in your family pass away? Is Arden all right?”
A sharp gasp cut through the room and every muscle in Kaylan’s body locked up, bracing itself.
“We had a fight.”
Okay. That was something better than death. Kaylan didn’t look like he’d been through a physical confrontation—just looked emotionally hurt and like he’d gone without sleep.
“Did Arden punch you or physically threaten you?”
Kaylan stared at me as though I’d lost my mind. He shook his head and dropped into the plastic chair I’d maneuvered him to. “No. Of course not. Arden would never.”