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  The older woman turned her head toward her daughter. “Working late, aren’t you? Should you have a man in your apartment so late into the evening?”

  “It’s none of your business, Mother.”

  “But Becky, a man in your apartment…”

  I saw the needle rise on Rebecca’s anger meter. “He can be here, Mom. I’m fucking him.”

  I’m not sure who was more shocked at this announcement, Mrs. Richards or me. Her mouth dropped open as she ingested both Rebecca’s words and her attitude. “Oh.” She offered me a nervous smile.

  Tension filled the air, despite the expanse of the apartment. Suddenly, I felt as if I was an intrusion. An outsider. Used for sex. “I’ll go in the other room to let the two of you finish talking,” I said, about to take a step toward the bedroom.

  “No, don’t!” Rebecca commanded. “My mother is leaving. This conversation is over.” She walked to the front door and pulled it open. “I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time coming all the way into the city, Mother. Please tell Donovan that I don’t fancy sharing any of my plans with him, or you. My life is better without either of you in it.”

  “Becky…” Mrs. Richards pleaded.

  Rebecca held up her palm. “Don’t, Mother. You made your choice a long time ago. It was difficult to accept, but I understand. Go back to that sleaze ball husband of yours and leave me alone.” Rebecca lifted her head and looked at the ceiling, not making eye contact with her mother, until Mrs. Richards walked over the threshold. She turned and opened her mouth to say something. Rebecca pushed an opened palm out toward the older woman. “Good-bye, Mother.” With that, she swung the door closed and twisted the lock.

  Frozen in place, I was afraid to say anything or move. Rebecca leaned her back against the door, exhaled, and slid to the floor. Tears streamed down her face. I rushed to her side, slid down next to her, and pulled her into my arms.

  Chapter Eighteen

  After twenty minutes, Rebecca wiped her eyes. “I have to make the announcement in the office tomorrow, before Donovan shouts it in the streets. The employees have to hear it from me first.”

  I kissed her hair. It smelled like lilacs. It stirred my insides, but now was not the time. I helped her up off the floor and she went into the bathroom to wash her face. I stood in the center of her apartment, wondering if I should follow her or stay where I was, baffled by all that had happened but mostly by the comment she had made to her mother about me. What did she mean by it? Was I only a lay to her? I thought we were more than that. It made me feel cheap and used. Rebecca came out of the bathroom, wearing a nightshirt. She was adorable. Her face was swollen from crying. It made me forget about my insecurity. I imagined her, with her puffy face, sipping hot chocolate as a kid. She strode over to me and pushed up against my chest. Reflexively, my arms wrapped around her. What was I supposed to do now? And then she told me.

  “Come to bed,” she said. Her voice was low and meek. I opened my arms to release her and she walked into the bedroom. I followed. She got in on one side of the bed. I stood at the foot. “Are you just going to stand there?”

  Although I wanted to be more than just the guy she was ‘fucking,’ I decided to be satisfied with whatever it was that I had with her. I knew I wouldn’t be happy without her now. Walking around to the other side of the bed, I got under the blanket. I laid back and stared at the ceiling, even after she turned out the light. Neither of us spoke. Again my mind weighed Rebecca’s comment. Was I a distraction while she completed her business dealings with Margot? A stress reliever? Would she involve herself with a new protégé once she formally expanded her company? Would she have time for me? Where would that leave me? Maybe with a great job, but emotionally shattered. I struggled with the answers to my questions. Nothing was definitive. Every time we were together, it resulted in sex. Maybe I really was just the guy she was fucking.

  Her warm hand slid over my chest. She twirled her fingers in my chest hair. I held my breath and tried not to move. Even her slightest touch caused me to want her. Maybe it was me who was using her – for sex, for advancement. No, that wasn’t true. I had developed feelings for her. Yes, it was the sex at first, but then it became so much more. I loved being with her, watching her work, learning something new about her ever day, making her smile, hearing her laugh, holding her hand, the hand that was skimming my chest. Down my sternum, continuing south. With each inch she moved, the muscles in my body tightened, particularly the one between my legs. My breathing was labored, fast. Passed my navel, to the top of my pubic line. She reached down under the elastic of my sweat pants. I knew what was coming. I wanted it, but I also needed to know if I was just someone she ‘fucked.’ The warmth of her palm radiated and I felt it in my groin before her hand even got there. She took hold of me. I sucked in a breath. It was like I had been plugged into an electric socket. My whole body came to life. She wrapped her hand around me and moved it up and down with long, gentle strokes. Every drop of blood raced to one area. The movement of her hand got faster. I had to open my mouth to breathe. I gasped to take air in, but let it out in a hard exhale, only to be able to gasp again. My blood pumped through my veins. Her touch was enthralling and my back arched to absorb what I was feeling. Rebecca sat up and kneeled to the side of me. She let go of my erection long enough to pull her nightshirt from her body. Before I knew it, she had pulled my sweats down my legs and threw them across the room. She tossed her leg over my torso and mounted me, slowly easing onto me. The pressure of her body covering me was absolutely wonderful. She was so wet. I just slid in as she took all of me.

  And then she began to move, rising and lifting gradually at first, but increasing speed with each progression. Each time she slipped over me, a wave of pleasure convulsed through my body. The neurons in my body were on fire. I was building. From the way her hips moved, I could tell she was too. There was so much emotion coming from her. I felt it in how her body moved.

  She laced her hands in mine and used the opposing force to push off from them, lifting and falling faster and faster. She tossed her head back and her hair fanned out before it hit her back. A loud moan filled the air as she squeezed my hands. It resonated between my legs. I bucked my hips up to meet her downward pound, thrusting into her. I felt her climax but she didn’t stop. She continued to rise and fall, heaving as she did. With one last push upward, I let go of her hands and grabbed her hips. I held her still as I released. My body relaxed on the bed and she fell forward onto my chest, her wild hair falling around us.

  She rolled off me and back to her side of the bed. I pulled her into my arms. We were quiet for a while, but the thought gnawed at me.

  “Am I just sex to you?” I ruined the moment.

  She sat up. “What?”

  I sat up too. “That’s what you said to your mother. You said that I’m the guy you’re fucking.”

  Confusion was replaced by realization. “I said it like that for the shock value. My mother isn’t a fan of vulgar language.” She paused. “No, you aren’t just sex to me. I care about you. You’re the first one I’ve let in in a very long time. I told you, I don’t trust anyone. Maybe just Rose, and Craig, but that’s it.” She looked down at her hands. Her hair fell in her face. I used a finger to hook a lock over her ear. “I’m scared, Alex.”

  “Scared? Of what?”

  She picked at the blanket. “I think I might love you.”

  I used my index finger to raise her chin up to look at me. “Well, that’s good, because I think I love you, too.” We both smiled.

  “I guess we should have sex to consummate that thought,” she said.

  “Not sex,” I said. Her head tilted, brows knitted. “I want to make love to you.” I put my hand up to her cheek and cradled her jaw. I moved closer to her and kissed her gently on the lips. Her mouth opened and I slid my tongue in to caress hers. Whatever tension remained in our bodies quickly melted. I moved closer and eased her backward until she was lying on the bed. Planting feather kisses down her
jaw and neck, she closed her eyes and her breathing hitched. I stopped long enough to read the sincerity in her eyes. My body covered hers and I resumed kissing her as I positioned myself at the apex of her legs. As I gently eased into her, I whispered into her ear, “I love you, Rebecca.” I’m not sure if it was what I said or what she was feeling that sent a ripple through her body, but I felt it too. With long, controlled movements, I made love to my girlfriend.

  “Ohhhhhh,” she exhaled.

  With careful and timed undulations, my hips rocked in and out. She built and I could feel her quicken. It sent me on a rush to know how easily I could make her body react. So what if I was just sex to her? Being inside her felt heavenly. But she told me that she thought she loved me. Knowing that sent my libido into overdrive. I pushed into her and increased my rhythm, but just slightly. She whispered my name and lifted her hips to meet mine. It drove me over the edge. Still, I regulated the movement. She pulled at the blanket, drawing it in toward her body. My hips swiveled as I pulled back again. I couldn’t sustain it any longer. She called out my name as she let go of her orgasm. It was all I needed. One last push and I stilled and emptied into her.

  We both collapsed and fell asleep.

  The next morning I was sore. I think Rebecca was, too. She moved a bit slower while getting dressed. Her coffee was on an automatic timer and had brewed before we even woke up. I poured us each a cup and when she walked into the kitchen, she swathed her arms around me.

  “I thought about it. I do love you,” I said with confidence.

  She smiled. “Good, because I thought about it, too. I love you, too. And, I liked making love last night. Although, the fucking before that was fabulous also.”

  I kissed her nose. “I guess I can be the guy who makes love to you and who fucks you.”

  Her smile widened. “I like that. Two for the price of one, like a Harlequin romance and an erotic novel combined.”

  Surprisingly, Rebecca agreed to take the train to work. Because of the large volume of other New Yorkers packed into the cars, Rebecca had to stand very close to me. “I don’t know why I opposed the subway before. I like being this close to you.” We both laughed as the train rocked and bucked us through the tunnel. I bent my head down and kissed her. Nosy straphangers watched. I didn’t care. Rebecca loved me. Even though I was traveling at fifty-five miles per hour, thirty feet under New York City, I was floating high above Manhattan Island.

  As we walked down the street toward the office building, I saw Katie talking on her cell phone. Feeling awful about how we parted ways the day before, I decided I would make an overture and wish her a good morning. Before I was able to, I heard part of her phone conversation.

  “Yeah, glad it was helpful. I’ll see what I can find out today. I’ve got to go, they’re walking up the street.” She flipped her phone closed and shoved it into her purse. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief. Her smile was wide. Fake. “Good morning, Alex.”

  “Morning, Katie.”

  Katie looked at Rebecca. Her gaze dropped and the smile left her face. “Good morning, Ms. Stratford.”

  Rebecca acknowledged her with her agent/owner attitude. “Katie, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Katie said without looking up.

  I held the lobby door open as the ladies walked into the building. The elevator ride up to the eleventh floor was just as awkward.

  “Have you found any potential authors?” I asked.

  “There’s one. I’ve requested a partial from her. It’s promising though.” She glanced toward Rebecca and back to me.

  Finally, we arrived at our floor. The elevator doors opened and Rebecca walked out first, showing her dominance. I held my arm in front of the doors so they wouldn’t close as Katie exited next. She waited until I was off the car.

  “Do you think I could show you something later? I have the first couple of chapters from a writer which may be something, but I’m not sure about it.”

  “Sure. I can stop by my old desk… I mean your desk in a little while.”

  “Great. See you then.” She headed toward her desk.

  When I walked into the office that Rebecca and I shared, Rebecca stood behind her desk. Her arms were folded across her chest. A scowl decorated her mouth. “What was that all about?”

  “What?”

  “Talking to her?”

  “Katie? You hired her to take my place when you bumped me up. She’s new so I told her she could come to me if she had any questions.”

  Rebecca’s arms tightened. She didn’t care who Katie was or what she did. Rebecca was only interested that I was talking to her.

  “Seriously? You’re not jealous of her?” I walked over to Rebecca and took her in my arms. She didn’t loosen her stance. Then I whispered, “You’re the only one I dream of; the object of all my affections. The only one I want to be with. The only one I want to make love with. The only one I want to fuck. And…” I kissed her. “The only one I love.” I kissed her forehead where it met her hair.

  Her body relaxed. She looked up and I kissed her.

  Rose knocked on the open door and waited for us to separate and bid her entrance. My cheeks got hot as I pushed away from Rebecca.

  When Rebecca looked up, Rose tried to lose her smile quickly. “Sorry to bother you. This package came for you.” She walked in and handed the package to Rebecca.

  “By the way, Rose,” Rebecca began. “You didn’t tell anyone about the buy out, did you?”

  Rose registered an expression of surprise. “No. You told me not to say anything. I haven’t even told my daughter, and she’s usually the first one I tell everything to. Why do you ask?”

  “Well Donovan found out about it and the ink on the contract I signed with Margot wasn’t even dry five hours.”

  “Oh,” she said with worry. “No, it wasn’t me.”

  “Okay, thanks Rose.”

  Rose started to walk out of the office when she turned in the doorway. “You know, I did see one of the junior editors talking to someone through the window of the backseat of a car yesterday when I was leaving to go home. The new girl with the red hair. Katie, I think her name is. I couldn’t see who was inside, but Katie looked nervous when she saw me. The window rolled up rather fast and the girl bolted toward the subway entrance.”

  This piqued my curiosity. I knew everyone who worked on the other side of the floor.

  Katie? Could she be a spy for Donovan Richards? But why? What was he promising her in exchange for her betrayal? A respected position in his faltering company, no doubt.

  “Thanks, Rose,” Rebecca said.

  When Rose was completely out of the office, I closed the door behind her. I looked at Rebecca. By her expression, I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was. “How are we going to prove Katie is sharing information with Donovan?”

  Rebecca sat in her chair. A pensive look furrowed her brow. A few minutes passed. “I’ve got an idea. Get Preston Price on the phone.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I pushed all of my other appointments back the minute I hung up with you. I just couldn’t get out of the first two, sorry.” Preston Price, the ever-dramatic author, sauntered into Rebecca’s office. Rose had already left for the evening, as had most of the staff. I had made sure that Katie was bogged down reviewing the query she showed me earlier. I told her she should present it to Rebecca, mentioning that it could mean major points with her if she scored it right. She agreed to stay late to work on it.

  “Preston, I’m so glad you could make it. Won’t you have a seat?” Rebecca and Preston did their usual kiss on each cheek and Rebecca extended a hand to one of the seats in front of her desk. He sat gracefully, eager to hear what caused Rebecca to call him into her office in a most unusual way. I closed the door and took the seat next to him.

  “I need a favor from you, Preston.”

  “Anything. You know I owe you for launching and maintaining my career.”

  “I need you and I to act out a sc
ene for the benefit of one of my employees that I suspect is spying on me for Donovan.”

  Preston’s eyes lit up. “I hate that bastard. Just tell me what I have to do.”

  Rebecca filled him in on her plan as I went to get Katie into position.

  The desk lamp was the only light on as Katie hunched over the desk reading over her proposal for the umpteenth time.

  “Hey, so are you ready to go pitch to Rebecca?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” She looked up from her desk with a nervous twitch.

  “Don’t be nervous. She’s really not the bitch the industry has labeled her as. And if you believe in this work, she’ll take an honest look at it.”

  Katie laughed. “Okay. Then I guess I’m ready.”

  I joined her in the laugh. “C’mon, let’s show her. We just have to wait. She’s in with Preston Price right now, but they’re in a heated discussion.”

  “Oh?”

  I knew she would take the bait. Her face lit up.

  I placed my hand in my pocked and pressed ‘send’ on the message I had typed before talking to Katie to tell Rebecca we were on our way. Just as we approached my office, Preston Price’s voice rose from behind the door.

  “Well, that just won’t do, Rebecca. I told you if you didn’t get me the extension I was going to find another agent.”

  Katie and I halted in the space just in front of Rose’s desk.

  “But Preston I’ve tried everything. They are insisting you change the manuscript, otherwise they’re threatening to pull out of the contract.”

  Preston hesitated. “Rebecca, I told you that I refuse to change my creativity. I’m afraid I’m just going to have to release you from our contract then. Find an agent who will respect me. Have the papers drawn up. I’ll come by in the morning to sign them, dissolving our union.”

  The door swung open and Preston Price walked swiftly past Katie and I, not even turning his head in our direction, and straight for the elevator. He didn’t have to wait long before the doors opened and he was gone. I walked into Rebecca’s office. ‘