I sag against him, enjoying the feel of him inside me. He wraps his arms around my back, his fingers threading through my hair and cupping my neck, bringing my mouth to his, taking. I’m not a needy person. I’m self-assured and independent, but when it comes to Everett, want becomes need.
“Woman. I need food.”
Shoving playfully at his chest, I push up to my knees.
“If you don’t get me some real sustenance, I may have to eat you.”
“Promises, promises, Mr. Brooks.” I tip the one corner of my mouth up in a smirk.
“That may come later if you’re really lucky.”
He kisses me again before finally releasing me. I drag my leg from over his and stand up, grabbing his shirt from the floor, putting it on, and buttoning up a few of the buttons. “Order some Chinese. I’m going to get cleaned up,” I say on the way to my bedroom.
Once our order of noodles, sweet and sour chicken, and pork balls arrives, we sit and eat in a comfortable silence, sharing the rest of the wine. Sex is definitely the driving force of our relationship.
Taking the plates into the kitchen, I start cleaning them and loading them into the dishwasher.
“Leave that, it’s time for dessert,” Everett leans over and whispers in my ear.
My core clenches at the thought, and before I can even think of something to say, he’s pulled me up to my full height, spun me around, and has thrown me over his shoulder, charging out of the kitchen.
“I need my dessert.”
He races into the bedroom and lays me down on the bed. Since he wouldn’t allow me to put underwear back on, he moves his head down between my thighs and his mouth works its magic until yet again I’m screaming his name.
Twelve
Reagan
After greeting Margie with a good morning and a hint of a smile, I open my office door and notice right away that something looks different. It looks brighter for some reason. It’s not until my eyes fall on the window that I see the blinds have been pulled back fully and the morning sun is shining through. There’s a coolness in the room too, which means the air conditioner has been turned on already. My office is on a different thermostat than the main part of the office, and I usually turn mine on when I arrive. As much as I love the sunshine, it’s not really practical to have the blinds pulled back. With the floor-to-ceiling windows and being so high up, the sun blazes through and it gets way too hot. My eyebrows pull together in a frown—I know I locked my office last night before I left. There’s a lot of information stored on my computer, so I’m anal about security.
Dumping my bag on my desk, I spin around and go back through the door. “Margie?” I call out as I’m striding to her desk.
“Yes?” She appears from around the corner holding a steaming mug in her hand.
“I could’ve sworn I locked my office door before I left last night. Were you the one to go in there this morning?”
“Oh goodness, yes.” Her free hand swiftly covers her chest. “The adjoining door was unlocked so I went through that way and opened the other door too.” Her eyes are wide as she explains herself. “I’m sorry. Was I not supposed to?”
“Well, I…” I stutter over my words for the first time ever. “I suppose I don’t mind the air conditioner being turned on, but the blinds have to stay closed, it gets way too hot in here. And when I’m not in the office, that outside door has to stay locked.”
“Of course, Ms. Quinn. I am sorry. Here you go.” The flush in her cheeks and the slight tremble I see in her hand almost makes me feel bad for scolding her, but it’s important that she knows about keeping the doors locked. I take the coffee from her before she spills it and thank her with a smile before going back into my office.
I start my usual routine of turning on my computer and sipping my coffee. I see Margie’s shadow at the door before she pops her dark head around. “Come in.”
“These calls have already come in this morning. These are your appointments you have today, and I’ve managed to schedule you in for an hour’s lunch between noon and one p.m. You’re completely free for the hour,” She says as she hands me a small stack of papers.
“Seriously, Margie, where did you come from?” I ask her in sheer amazement, the blinds debacle quickly forgotten. I’m actually amazed at how efficient she is.
She turns around and heads for the door, only to turn back to me when she gets there. “Oh, and you look really good today, Ms. Quinn.” With another flush slightly coloring her cheeks, she turns quickly away and pulls the door closed behind her.
Knowing I have a whole hour to chill out the first time in a hell of a long time, I do the one thing most girls want to do: I make an appointment to get my hair done.
Today is going to be a good day, I can feel it.
After cutting my meeting as short as I possibly can, I say a quick goodbye to Margie and get out of there like my heels are on fire. I make it across town and in record time, parking my little Corvette in front of Ruby’s Salon.
Looking through the window, I see my best friend at the back doing some preparations. When I push open the door, the bell at the top sounds, making her head snap my way. I close the door behind me, a big smile on my face.
“Reagan!” she squeals with excitement as she rushes through the salon to greet me. Her body crashes into mine, shoving me backward into the door and flings her arms around my neck, and I return the embrace. “I’m so happy you’re here. Come on.” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the back of the shop. I sit in one of the large leather chairs and she fastens a cape around my neck. With her hands resting on my shoulders, she leans over and studies me through the mirror. “How the hell did you manage to swing enough time off to get your hair done?”
Smiling back at the beaming smile on her face, I realize how much I’ve missed this girl. Whenever I’m around Ruby, I smile a lot more and I’m much more fun; I’m not an important chief executive, I’m just a young woman enjoying her friend’s company and wanting to get her hair done by a professional.
“You can thank my new personal assistant for that. By the time I got to work this morning, she’d made my coffee, put on my air conditioning, and scheduled my day. To say she’s amazing is an understatement, Rue. She’s just what I needed. As long as I can trust her to do her job she can come to work in her jammies.”
“Well, good, I’m glad. It’s about time you had a good one.” She runs a brush through my hair and leads me to the wash basins. “And tell me, how is that sexy man? God, you get all the beautiful ones.”
“Everett is good.” Ruby was the first person I told about Everett. I had to tell someone, I couldn’t keep all the goodness to myself, and Ruby and I share everything. We always have, ever since college.
Once my hair is washed and conditioned, she leads me back to the chair and starts snipping away at the ends. I don’t come in with a style I want, Ruby just does what she feels like. I was her guinea pig in college because although she was studying business with me, her love was hairdressing. I’ve had my hair all colors because of Ruby.