just like it is right now. Almost subconsciously, I’ve shifted my weight to press our bodies back toward the desk while letting my hands drift down to her ass. My grip there makes it easier to urge the sweet space between her legs against my dick.
Before I have a chance to do anything more interesting than that, Sage breaks our kiss with a breathless groan.
“Not here,” she says, working her hands onto my chest so there’s some space between us. I lean back and drop my eyes closed as I gather an unsteady breath, trying to calm myself down.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “I hear you; I just need a minute for my cock to catch up.”
She laughs softly. “I’m sorry. But the track needs to stay off-limits for this stuff. It’s probably my only hope for keeping this somewhat straight in my hea—” She breaks off, then stammers a little. Finally she gives up and blows out a breath. “My brain needs to keep this sorted into different boxes, that’s all.”
I nod, agreeing with her in more ways than she probably knows. “I guess this is probably a good time for me to tell you that I have to fly home on Tuesday then. You know, just to keep us both on the same page.”
Her expression falls, but she covers it quickly by fiddling with her hair, smoothing out the mess I made tangling it in my fingers. She skirts her eyes away before taking a casual tone.
“Are you coming back? Or has Mason Enterprises decided to pull the plug?”
Instantly I regret what I just said—or how I said it. Even if I didn’t mean what she thinks I did, hearing Sage’s icy detachment stings.
Before I can clarify, an idea pops into my head. Whether it’s a good idea or not, I don’t know. There’s a strong chance that I’m merely making up reasons to avoid being away from Sage, which isn’t a smart choice in the long run, not when we both know this has to be over at some point.
Frowning as I try to work through the details, a reply is out of my mouth before I’ve given it much thought.
“I want you to come,” I announce.
The fidgety actions of her hands in her hair stops, and she shoots me a wry look. Until now, when I say that, it only has one meaning. I shake my head. “That’s not what I meant. Not right now at least. I was trying to invite you to Houston.”
Her expression stays the same. With a sigh, I try to explain myself.
“I have to head back there because Mason Enterprises always hosts a huge gala in August when the F1 teams are in town for the American Grand Prix. We partner with my grandfather’s race team and put on a black-tie fundraiser for a local Austin cancer center. You should be my date. Fly down to Houston on Thursday, stay at my place for a few days, then we’ll go up to Austin for the gala on Saturday night. The race is on Sunday, so we can both fly back here after that.”
A smile creeps over my face. I love this plan. It’s a brilliant plan. It involves Sage in my bed, a night with Sage wearing a sexy dress, and my getting to watch Sage enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at a major racing event. Here’s hoping that all that leads to her thanking me in a very personal way, ideally in the privacy of the company jet on the way back to Colorado.
Unfortunately, Sage doesn’t look sold.
“Um, no? That sounds like a weird situation, for both of us. I don’t know anything about how real estate deals work, but I’m guessing that it’s not typical for you to date the people you’re trying to buy a property from.” Her eyes narrow in suspicion. “Unless you do. Is that what’s going on here? When all else fails, they send out the hot, charming playboy son to seduce women like me?”
I make a face. “Are you actually asking if my mom regularly pimps me out to close a sale? Because the answer is no. She doesn’t.”
Sage doesn’t back down, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head at me.
“I’m just saying it’s going to look a little funny, don’t you think?”
Once I take a second to stop thinking about Sage in my bed or how great she’ll look dressed to kill for the gala, I realize that she’s right. There are a