“That’s what you think I should go with when we finally cross paths again?”
Lily sipped her wine. “Sure. Why not? What’s the worst that can happen?”
“He could say no, and then a perfectly good one-night stand would be tainted by rejection.”
“Counter proposal: he might say yes and then a one-night stand turns into an extended run of amazeballs sex. If you don’t think it’s worth the risk then he wasn’t nearly as good in the sack as you’re claiming.”
Jonah laughed—couldn’t help it—and leaned forwards again. “He wasn’t good in the sack, Lily, he was off the stratosphere.”
“Then find him and ask him to fuck you again. Seriously. That kind of sex doesn’t come to call that often. Don’t let it go without a fight.”
“I don’t need to fight for him. We’re not star-crossed lovers.”
“Not yet. But mark my words, sunshine. Office romances get super complicated super-fast—”
“It’s not a romance. Christ, it was a one-night stand.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Lily gave Jonah the look she’d been giving him since they were twelve and she’d decided he needed to kiss the son of her live-in housekeeper, just to make sure he really wanted to kiss boys. The look that let him know he was an idiot.
But she wasn’t always right, and this time, she was wrong. His night with Sacha had been a once in a lifetime experience. A magical, never repeated experience that Jonah wouldn’t ever forget.
Right?
The conversation moved on. Just. Lily pulled it back to Sacha a few times, but Jonah had nothing left to share. Eventually, she let it go.
It was still early when Jonah put her into a cab. He had every intention of going home, but a quick pat of his pockets revealed he’d left his keys in his desk. Damnit. Jonah had never been good at “popping in” to the office. Even a five-minute dash to retrieve his keys from the drawer would result in him somehow finding more work to do, and he wasn’t in the mood. It had been a long week, and it was only Thursday. But unless he wanted to chase Lily down for her spare key, he had little choice but to go back for his own.
Sighing, he made the short walk from the bar to the office. Though the hour wasn’t that late, it was late enough that the Flash Gray side would be deserted. Jonah tried to remember if they’d left anything in the break room Curtis could take home for his kids, but the day had been a blur of meetings and storyboards, and after two hours of beer and sex talk, he was fried.
He waited for the lift in a daze, trying not to think about the last time he’d ridden it after office hours. That heady night with Sacha had been less than a week ago, but it felt like a lifetime, not helped by the fact that Sacha seemed to be a ghost. His picture was up on the Blutecc wall of fame, but Jonah had yet to catch a glimpse of the man himself. If not for his scowling mugshot, he’d have wondered if the entire evening had been a dream. Christ, he’d even woken the next morning to find the window wiped clean of any evidence and every scrap of detritus around his apartment picked up and cleared away. What if it did happen in my head? What if the story I just told Lily is nothing but wishful thinking?
The lift arrived. Jonah glanced up, half a mind still questioning his sanity as the doors opened.
In the same moment, Sacha Ivanov raised his gaze, and somehow everything fell into place, as far as his actual existence, at least. But still, Jonah stared. In person, Sacha was even more attractive than he remembered and he found himself rooted in place, caught in the vortex of his killer gaze.
Sacha didn’t move either. He stared too, until his lips rose in the smirk Jonah recalled from the sweaty dreams he’d had every night since their fake date. “Jonah Gray, we meet again.”
5
Jonah unglued his tongue from the roof of his mouth. “You sound surprised, as if it wasn’t inevitable given that we work on the same floor.”
“If it was inevitable it would’ve happened by now,” Sacha retorted. “You are the invisible man.”
“That implies you’ve been looking for me, and also that you haven’t looked that hard as my office is twenty metres from yours.”
Sacha’s smirk deepened. “I don’t have an office.”
“Semantics.”
“Facts. I have spent all week in a goldfish bowl and have seen no sign of you. It made me think that perhaps you were the one with the fake security badge.”
“Seriously?”
“No. You were right the first time. I did not look for you that hard.”
Jonah didn’t know whether to be amused or offended, and the lift doors started to close before he could decide.
He shot out a hand to stop them and stepped into the lift, pressing the button for the thirteenth floor before it occurred to him that Sacha hadn’t moved.
The doors closed and the lift began to rise through the building. “Sorry,” Jonah said. “Want me to let you out at the next floor?”
Sacha shrugged. “I don’t mind. I have fond memories of this lift with you.”
Jonah’s belly warmed and he didn’t care for it. Irritation threatened the thrill of finally being alone with Sacha again. Why did he have to say things like that at the same time as making it obvious he didn’t give a shit? Talk about mixed signals. Or no signals, actually, as there was every chance Sacha was merely making conversation now Jonah had taken him hostage in the lift, and that was as irritating as his first conclusion.
Stop drawing conclusions then. Act like a normal person.
Jonah sighed and shook his head.
Sacha’s keen stare pierced holes in him. “Something wrong?”
“Hmm? What? Oh. No. Just a long day. I thought it was over, but I forgot my keys.”
“I didn’t see you leave.”
“Hardly surprising when you said you didn’t look that hard.”
“Maybe I was lying.”
Jonah forced himself to face Sacha’s smirk, the one that was equal parts intense and amused. “Do you do that a lot?”
“Lie?” Sacha pushed off the lift wall he was slouching against. “No, not really. I am lazy and the truth is easier.”
“So which is it? Did you look for me or not?”
“Does the truth matter to you?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure it should, though.”
Sacha was suddenly close enough that Jonah could smell him, and his clean, masculine scent took him right back to the moment he’d realised Sacha was serious about coming home with him. Like then, Jonah’s heart jumped, and more frustration built in his gut. Sacha was toying with him, but why? He said himself the truth was easier, so why the hell was he still in the lift?
As the thought completed, the lift stopped. Jonah turned away from Sacha, waiting for the doors to open. They duly did and Jonah stepped out, lifting his hand in a cursory wave. “See you then. Thanks for the chat.”
He walked away without looking back. The lift doors closed. Jonah made his way to his office. It had glass walls, like most of the floor, but he’d shut the blinds before he’d left for a lunchtime meeting, and he took sanctuary in the darkened space, despite the fact that Sacha was already gone and unable to see him regardless.