The Guy Next Door (28 page)

“E
IGHT SHARP,”
K
ENDALL
was saying while Eric stared at the room door as if it had just punched him in the gut. “And be sure you bring your brother.”

“What? I’m not sure that’s a good—”

“My daughter, Monica, will attend the meeting, as well. She’s handling day-to-day operations for High West. What was your sister’s name again?”

“My sister?” His mind wasn’t keeping up. He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on this conversation. “Tessa.”

“Tessa,” Kendall repeated. “That’s right. She’s welcome, too, if she can make it. I liked her. She’s not one of those ball-busting women.”

“Yeah, she’s great,” Eric muttered. Jesus Christ, he was standing here, still buck naked, and Beth was
gone
. “So, tomorrow at eight,” he managed to say.

Kendall grunted what sounded like an affirmative before hanging up, and Eric found himself standing with a dead phone pressed to his ear, his mind still quaking with shock.

She was gone. Just as quickly as she’d arrived. They’d spent one hour together. He glanced at the clock. Jesus, not even an hour. So how did he feel so changed?

Spent, empty, exhausted. But not hollow.

She’d used him, just as he’d used her, and somehow
he was buoyed by that. He’d spent his whole life giving everything to his family. Love and duty. His past, present and future. And he’d given it gladly. But tonight he’d given
himself
. There was no history with Beth, no obligation. They’d offered only what they’d each wanted to give.

Still, he’d expected that Beth would spend the night so they could slake their thirst. The sex had been spectacular. So damn hot he was still seeing stars at the edges of his vision. And it hadn’t been nearly enough.

A car pulled out of the parking lot and he watched its lights fade far below, wondering if it was her.

She’d left so quickly, and… He hadn’t asked her to stay.

“Shit,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. Had he committed a one-night-stand faux pas? He’d rented the room. He’d invited her up. Maybe conventional wisdom called for her to scramble into her clothes and hit the door unless he stopped her.

Damn it, he’d never done this before.

He turned to face the bed. It was rumpled, but they hadn’t even pulled the covers back. It looked almost as if Beth had never happened.

But she damn sure had. His chest still felt strained and tight, as if his lungs weren’t quite working yet.

Just yesterday, the first moment he’d glimpsed her, Beth Cantrell had struck him as a fantasy. His opinion hadn’t changed after tonight. She was a fantasy. Her curvy softness. Her wet, eager body. Her honest desire.

Staring at the bed, he briefly considered staying. He could stretch out on the mattress and reminisce. Hold on to the fantasy a little while longer.

But right now, the room didn’t look like remembered sex. It looked sad and lonely.

With a sigh of deep regret, he picked up his clothes from the floor and dressed. He had work to do tonight and more important things to think about than sex.

But, Jesus, she’d been tight with need, and soaking wet. Eric would’ve given her anything. Anything she’d wanted. As it’d turned out, she’d wanted exactly what he had. A hot, needful connection. A moment of truth.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the memories sink in. Then he reached for his shoes—and paused at a flash of pale gold.

Narrowing his eyes, he reached across his shoe for the delicate material just hidden beside it. “Oh,” he said as he closed his fingers over Beth Cantrell’s underwear. They were featherlight in his hand, but they added considerable weight to his shoulders.

What the hell was he supposed to do with her panties? His first thought was to return them, but that immediately struck him as creepy.
Hey, little lady, look what I found.
Nudge, nudge.

Weird. But what if she asked about them? It seemed unlikely, but Eric wasn’t interested in stammering over a lie. And it seemed a crime to blithely toss out the delicate fabric that had just lain against her skin.

Instead of throwing the underwear in the trash, Eric stuffed them into his pants pocket, suspicious of his own motivation. It wasn’t like him to sleep with a stranger. It wasn’t like him to have sex based on a lie. And it wasn’t like him to walk around with a pair of panties in his pocket. Eric had a sudden fear that this night would turn him into a pervert who got off on fondling used underwear in his darkened living room.

He drew his hand out of his pocket with a curse and snatched up his shoes and socks. One minute later and he was done, buttoned up and tied, cell phone and keys in hand. As he walked out and let the door slam behind him, Beth seemed more a dream than ever.

But reality awaited him in the lobby. She was still there, standing just to the side of the lobby doors, frowning as she spoke into her cell phone.

Eric froze. His hand went immediately to the pocket of his slacks. His fingers touched silk. Should he approach her? Not to thrust the panties at her, but at least to walk her to her car. Shit, he should’ve thought of that to begin with.

Eric stepped forward. He was within five feet of her when she turned toward him. She shook her head, but he took one more step—

“Eric!”

He whirled toward his sister’s voice, heart pounding in panic, and something flew from his hand. His eyes darted after the blur of motion.

“God,” Tessa said. “Are you okay?”

His phone landed with a thunk and slid across the carpet. His phone.
Not
Beth’s panties.

“Oh, thank God,” he breathed, but his panic wasn’t quite gone. He started to turn toward Beth to see if she’d heard his name. But his sister’s hand touched his arm.

“Hey. Are you all right? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Shaking his head, Eric lurched a few steps forward and grabbed his errant phone. “You did startle me. I thought you’d gone home.”

“I started to, but I decided to stay for a drink.”

That stopped Eric from worrying about himself. “What? Tessa, do you know how dangerous it is to hang around in a bar?”

Tessa gave an obvious look around the brightly lit lobby. “What can I say? I like dark alleys and taking crazy risks.”

“Just…” He slid a glance toward the front doors and found an empty spot where Beth had been. His heart sank even as relief loosened the tightness in his throat. Without looking at his sister, he asked how much she’d had to drink.

“Two drinks over the past two hours, Eric. I’m fine.”

“I’ll drive you home anyway. That way I’ll know.”

Tessa gave a long-suffering sigh. “Look,
Dad,
I’m fine. I swear. One of those drinks was that awful white wine spritzer you got me.”

He cringed as he always did when she called him Dad, but Tessa just laughed and kissed his cheek. “Come on. I’m fine. But you can tuck me into my car.”

He walked her out to her car, as he would’ve done on any evening, but this time he kept his eyes peeled for another woman. But Beth Cantrell had disappeared into the night.

It was over. He told himself he should be glad. He’d landed the meeting with Kendall and lived out a fantasy with Beth, all in one night. But somehow he still felt hungry.

D
ÉJÀ VU.
H
ERE THEY WERE
again at the expo, pretending not to stare at each other.

Eric pressed the phone harder to his ear and glared down at the souvenir glasses lined up in rows on the table. “Come on,” he growled at his sister. “You can make it. You’ve got two hours to find someone to work the bar.”

“There’s nobody else, okay? And I’ve got a headache anyway. I wouldn’t be any use to you.”

“Maybe you drank too much last night.”

“I had two drinks!”

Eric gripped the back of his neck, hard. “Have Jamie work the damn bar, all right? I want you there.”

She muttered a curse under her breath. “Kendall specifically asked for Jamie. Don’t be an idiot.”

And what the hell was that about? Kendall had never even met Jamie. Maybe he wanted to meet all the owners of Donovan Brothers before he made a decision.

“Eric, come on. We all want this. Not just me or you. Jamie wants to be involved, too.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. “Right.” It wasn’t that he thought Jamie and Tessa shouldn’t be involved. It was just that…Eric took care of things. That was his role. He took care of
them.
He owed them that.
“I know you two are as responsible for the business as I am, it’s just…I’m not sure Jamie is right for this job.”

“Oh, come on. He’s great. What could go wrong?”

“Seriously? Kendall’s daughter is coming.”

“Jamie’s smarter than you give him credit for. And Kendall’s daughter will probably like him more than she’ll like me.”

“That’s my point. Look, of course Jamie’s smart, but I want you there. Please?”

“He’ll be good for this deal. You’ll see.”

Eric glared blindly out at the crowd, then realized a man who’d been headed toward the booth veered away. Eric tried to school his features into something less fierce.

“I’ll handle it on my own,” he snapped. “Tell Jamie to take the night off. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“Eric—”

He snapped the phone shut and hoped to God Jamie didn’t show up. The deal was sitting right there in Eric’s palm. All he had to do was close his fingers slowly enough that he didn’t startle Kendall. Jamie never did anything slowly, especially if there was a woman involved.

Speaking of slowly… Reinforcing his sense of déjà vu, Eric stole a look across the booths to find that Beth was still there. Just like that first day. Today she wore a dark blue dress and heels that reminded him of cream in coffee.

The difference was that now he knew what she looked like under her beautiful clothes. He knew how round that ass was, and how it flexed under his hands when she pushed against him. Her knew that her breasts
were high and full and the nipples nearly brown against her skin.

Was she wearing stockings again? Was she thinking about him? Or had she already moved on?

For the briefest of moments, their eyes met. When she looked away, pink climbed up her cheeks, and he marveled that he had the power to make a woman like her blush.

A sweet ache filled his chest as he watched her tape up a box and set it aside.

The hall was clearing out. The convention was over. This thing between them was over. But Eric had a bitter taste over how it had ended. It didn’t sit well. Hell, in his work, he knew damn well that half the satisfaction of any experience was the last taste it left on the tongue. She’d left so quickly, and he was still struggling with the lie he’d let grow between them.

She packed up one last box and added it to the pile before she gathered up a sweater and her purse.

“Henry,” he said without looking at the kid packing up their own booth. “I’ll be back in a few.”

She stepped out into the flow of people, moving away without a farewell glance. Eric followed her. He tried to keep a distance. She didn’t want anyone to know about him, and he didn’t want anyone to know about her. For him, the secret had started from his lie, but now he just wanted to keep the night for himself. He didn’t want it cheapened by others’ thoughts. Yes, it had been a casual encounter, but it hadn’t been meaningless.

Beth headed toward the wall of doors at the front of the conference center. Eric picked up the pace. She moved damn fast in those shoes. He told himself not to get distracted by the tiny bows on the backs of the
heels. He told himself not to think about running his hand from her ankle to her calf, up past the sensitive skin behind her knee until he got to the hot, sweet skin of her thigh…

Beth reached a hand out, only feet away from a glass door. Eric took two more steps and wrapped his fingers around her wrist.

“Oh!” she yelped, eyes flying wide as she spun toward him. He used her momentum to turn her to the side and tug her toward a solid metal door that hid the emergency stairwell.

Maybe it was shock, but she followed him through the door with no resistance.

“Jamie. I—”

He had to tell her. He
meant
to tell her. But as soon as the door closed behind them, he covered her mouth with a kiss. Her lips parted immediately. Her tongue slid against his in hunger. Just as desperate a hunger as he felt, surely. Her hands clung to his shoulders as she raised a knee to rub it between his.

Eric was immediately, painfully hard. His body didn’t think this was over, not by far. She was live heat beneath his hands, just as she had been last night. Warm skin and slippery fabric and hair that slid over his forearms. He could kiss her forever. She was perfect.

But metal banged somewhere from above them, and the sound was still echoing through the stairwell when Beth pulled away and set a hand to the wall. Her fingers spread wide, going white at the knuckles.

“We can’t,” she panted.

“I know. Jesus, I know. I only meant to stop you and make sure you’re all right. You left so quickly.”

Beth put a hand to her chest and licked her lips
nervously. He had an almost overwhelming urge to lean in and taste her again, so he shoved his hands into his pockets and took a step back.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I had to take that call. It was my boss. She wants me to start teaching classes. At the shop.”

He felt his eyebrows fly toward his hairline. “Classes? On sex?”

“I know.” She waved a hand before pressing it to her closed eyes. “I know, it’s—”

“Impressive?” Classes. Wow. He’d had a fling with a woman who taught sex classes. He didn’t know whether to be freaked out or proud.

Her brow crumpled into lines of worry. “No, it’s ridiculous.”

Yes, it was that, too. He didn’t think Beth would mention him in a class, but shit. What if she did? He definitely couldn’t tell her his real name now. Anyway, Jamie would probably love being the subject of a sex-class discussion.

“Jamie,” she whispered. “Listen. I’m not really…” Whatever she’d been about to say, she snapped her mouth shut when a voice passed close to the doorway. Her eyes stayed on the door until the voice faded. Then she took a deep breath.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head. Her gaze slipped to the floor. “Nothing. It’s just that I’m going to be really busy for a while.” The words excused her from any further contact with him. He could see that plain as day. Disappointment passed over him in waves equal to his relief. Sex classes. Maybe their connection was best left as an amazing memory.

“It’s fine,” he said slowly. “I just wanted to say goodbye.”

“Oh.” The tension faded from her face, and she met his eyes again.

“I don’t want this to be awkward,” he said.

She tilted her head and studied him before reaching up to put her hand to his cheek. “There’s nothing awkward here. Or complicated. Nothing we need to explain. Last night was a wonder. So thank you.”

“Beth—”

She snuck close again, wrapping her arms around his neck for a hug. The faint scent of her skin was a beacon, drawing him near. He forgot his guilt over not telling her the truth. She was right. It would be awful to ruin that night with awkwardness now. He pressed his mouth to her neck and whispered, “I think the wrong person is saying thank you.”

“Oh, no. You have my eternal gratitude.”

He was smiling when she kissed him, and it seemed appropriate for such a gentle press of her lips. And in that moment, all his conflicting emotions smoothed out into a long, easy line of happy satisfaction. Last night had been a great idea, and he wasn’t going to have another moment of regret over it.

“You were just what I needed,” she said.

“An embarrassingly preppy one-night stand?”

She ran a hand over the collar of his polo shirt. “An embarrassingly preppy one-night stand who rocked my world. But don’t tell. You’ll ruin my reputation.”

“It’ll be our secret,” he said, a hot thrill circling his chest at the words.

They didn’t bother with any polite offers of future phone calls or friendly promises to be in touch. Beth
whispered, “Good luck with Kendall,” against his cheek. He kissed her one last time. She slipped away. And he let her go.

He had to learn how to let things go, after all. He’d start with Beth Cantrell. Maybe in a few months, he’d work on loosening his iron grip on the Donovan family business. Maybe.

But the memory of last night? That was a secret he’d never give up. He’d never share. And no one would ever find out.