“Enter!” I barked, swiveling in my chair to face the door. “At least come back so we can throw you a proper farewell. You’ve spent years with us and you deserve recognition for that.”
The door pushed opened, and a tall figure strolled in.
“Admit it. You’re just looking for an excuse to have a party, Charles.”
Eyes locked with mine, and I stared at August, who closed the door behind him. In his hand, he clutched what I assumed was the file I wanted.
His presence filled the office, and I shot to my feet, feeling terribly at a disadvantage sitting down. Only I wasn’t sure what to do next.
Do you shake the hand of the man you had sex with twice before ending things?
Probably not when the sight of him made my throat parched. I still wanted him as badly as I did the last time I saw him.
“Leland, let me call you back.” I hung up the phone before he could reply.
“Hey, Charles, hope I’m not interrupting.” August’s long legs in those worn jeans ate up the distance between us. At my desk, he stopped and handed over the file. “Declan asked me to bring this over.”
“Uh, thanks.”
I resisted the urge to tug at my tie and prided myself for the way my hands kept steady when I took the file from him. My whole insides had shaken up at the unexpected sight of him.
“No prob. Declan said it was urgent.”
“Actually, it could’ve waited, and you didn’t have to come all the way up. My assistant could’ve come down for it.”
“Declan asked me to hand you the file personally.” He scanned my office.
That gave me the break I needed from his intense stare to smooth down my already perfectly straight tie. “Nice setup.” He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared down at the heart of downtown. “And amazing view. I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
Of course he was. He thought downtown was an amazing view? It was nothing compared to his muscled back in a light blue polo shirt and black jeans that molded over his thighs and tight ass.
“Charles?”
He studied me in the glass. Shit, I’d completely forgotten that he could see me lusting after him, even though his back was to me.
“Not really.” I tugged at my collar. “I do have a couple of calls to make.”
He walked back to me and placed his hands on the desk. He didn’t say anything, just stared at me like I was a newly discovered planet under the most powerful telescopic lens. It annoyed the hell out of me.
“You look well,” he said in a low tone. “I hope everything’s been fine with Poppy.”
The disapproval in his tone reminded me of the way he ordered me to call him Sir while I was begging him to fuck me. I should look away. I really should, but I couldn’t.
“Everything is as expected.”
“So she’s still being difficult.”
“Actually, we have an agreement. She’s naming me as the father.”
“That’s good, then. Exactly what you wanted.”
“Yes, I’ve already hired a designer to work on the nursery.”
“Look, about the last time we were together.” I wanted to clear things up. “It shouldn’t have happened. I mean, I can handle what we did the first time. I was curious. You made me acknowledge a part of me I’ve always stifled. But I have no excuse for my behavior the second night, especially after we agreed that it would only be for one night.”
“I rather liked your behavior that night,” he said calmly. “It’s probably the most honest part of you I’ve seen. You lose all control when you’re naked for me. And when you ride—”
“I get the picture.” My heart raced inside my chest. He shouldn’t affect me this way. I had years on this guy. Not only literally but also in experience. On the other hand, this was new to me. I never went back after cutting things off with someone. There were too many other people to explore, but I’d gotten hung up on exploring August.
He shifted, leaning forward, which put him dangerously close to me. “Don’t worry, Charles. Our secret is safe with me.”
I shouldn’t have turned my head.
It put us even closer to each other.
I shouldn’t have looked at his lips.
It only made me move closer, and he was doing nothing to stop me. Absolutely nothing but cocking his head to the side.