Page 27 of Cocky Tech God
He handed me my sandal, our fingertips touching as I reached for the swinging strap.
“That’s not your business, Hansen.” There was an edge to my tone that I didn’t intend. “And if you don’t mind, I’m getting in line.”
He brushed his hair off his forehead again and put his glasses back in his pocket. “Let’s get in line, then.”
Did he really have to follow me?
By the time we took our place, at least fifty attendees had beat us to the line. Looks like we’d be there a while before we got to the buffet. He turned back around to face me.
“If you did hook up with someone, that’s fine. But why would you go elsewhere when I promised you something that I guarantee no one else can give you? Certainly not here.” His voice startled me. His lips were practically against my ear, growling the statement.
“But, Hansen, I’m not the only woman here. What’s the difference if I partake or if…say…Calista does?” I leaned back. I was showing weakness. I was showing that I cared. But I didn’t at all.
His brow lifted. “Calista?”
I faltered. “It’s so easy to go there once you’ve been. I mean, we all want a sure thing. The rumor mill was you two had a thing last conference, so why not pick up right where you left off in Sydney?”
He crossed his arms, an incredulous lift on his top lip. “Are you asking me if I hooked up with Calista last night?”
I looked away. Damnit. “No. I don’t care if you did. It’s your life, pal.”
“And that’s how I feel about you hooking up with that Aussie man-child Brett who couldn’t stop following you around like a lost puppy dog.”
“Excuse me?” I scanned the attendees all around us. I was too loud, and some had taken notice.
“Don’t deny it, Lucia. That’s not like you. I mean, I saw it with my own eyes. When I left Calista’s room, I went down to the bar for a quick meet and greet, and there you were, practically hanging on him.”
“So, you did go to Calista’s room?” The air turned thick between us, suffocating.
He lowered his voice. “Yeah, I did. I’ve nothing to hide.” He stared deep in my eyes, and for the first time, I was bothered by his intensity. “I only went to meet her baby girl. Calista and I are acquaintances. Nothing more. If I wanted her. I could have her. But I want you, Lucia. I want to continue what we started. I said as much to you at the bar, and you obviously rejected my proposition for a week of no-strings. I don’t know how much more clear I can be about that.”
So he didn’t sleep with Calista. He’d met her baby. I wasn’t aware that she had a child. The thought brought a deep ache in my chest. And I remembered our conversation from the first day we arrived. He wanted a brood of his perfect spawn. That wasn’t my desire. But this proposal, this one week with him thousands of miles away from home, was something I did want too. I couldn’t deny myself anymore. I wouldn’t.
I faced him, stepping in, and his whole body tensed. The wind blew hard then, taking half of my hair with it. I ran my fingers through my wild strands and tucked them behind my ear again.
His breathing was hard, blowing loudly between his lips, and the vein bulged at his neck, pulsing and thick. “What’s that look?”
“Brett and I didn’t do anything. We just hung out with other developers the whole night.”
“Oh, really?” His eyebrow lifted.
“Yeah, really.” I stepped into him. Too close, but not close enough to make people think we were being intimate. In a lower voice, I said, “Let’s go.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
“To our room.” The words were foreign to my own ears. Two years of rejecting him, I didn’t recognize my own submission to this Lucia-Hansen saga.
“Don’t play with me,” he practically growled. But behind it, I sensed the uncertainty, the insecurity.
“I’m not playing. So, you can follow me if you were serious about the proposition.” I turned, my body fortifying with the empowerment of my decision. I was going to have Hans the Conqueror, the Tech God, for a week, and then he could be a stranger if he wanted. I couldn’t care less. I only cared about right now.
And right now, I really, really wanted this man.
Hansen
Our vibe could electrocute anyone who came within a foot of us. We were a tidal wave of energy moving across the sand and inside the hotel lobby. In the elevator, the buzz of our dynamism gave me life. Carnal images of what I wanted to do with Lucia played like a biograph in my mind. And for a moment, in my trek behind her gorgeous body, I had to think, holy shit. She accepted my proposition. She actually agreed to it.
The silence was loud in my ear in the small, growing smaller, elevator. Neither of us spoke. What was there to say? We reflected our emotions off each other. The rush of hormones, the quickening of breath, and the orgasms that already bubbled to the surface from my visualization alone.