Page 30 of Iron Heart

“Had a disagreement with someone. It ain’t important.”

She frowns, but lets it go. “Well, here are the keys,” she says, reaching into her pocket and holding them out.

“Thanks,” I say, and take them. “I’m gonna go grab my truck and head over there now, if that’s okay.”

“Sure, that’s fine,” she nods. “Oh, just in case, you should knock first. There’s a slight possibility my roommate Savannah might be there.”

“Noted.”

Across the room, a male voice calls, “Hey, Tori.” We both turn at the same time to see that Pretty Boy fucker. “Frank wants us in the conference room.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute,” Tori calls back, then turns to me.

“Who’s that guy?” I ask, my voice coming out angrier than I intended it to.

Tori blinks. “Ryan. He’s our web designer and social media liaison.”

Translation: fuckin’ pussy.

“You know he wants to get in your pants, right?” I say, just to see her reaction. To my surprise, she actually looks shocked.

“Oh my God,” she hisses, “no he does not!”

“Trust me. If he hasn’t made a move yet, it’s because he doesn’t have the guts.”

She glances up at me quickly, and when her eyes meet mine she swallows and flushes pink. “You know what? I don’t want to talk about this.” Her eyes start to flit around the room. “Look, I’d better get going. If Savannah isn’t home, just leave the keys on the kitchen counter when you leave, like last time.”

I watch as she sets her face into a prim expression, half-amused and more than half turned-on. Her breathing has started to speed up, and the movement draws my attention to the swell of her full breasts. My cock stirs again as I wonder how it would feel to have her naked under me, her legs wrapped around my hips with me buried deep inside her.

Jesus Christ, I’d like to hear this girl moan my name. Just the thought of it makes me rock hard. I might have to stop off at my house for a bit to relieve the tension before going over to her place.

“Okay. I’ll see you around,” I rasp.

“Bye, Dante,” she breathes, ducking her head a little.

She turns to go. I watch her for a second, noting again how her ass sways from side to side when she walks. My already-hard cock gets even harder. Uncomfortably so.

“Hey. Tori,” I can’t resist calling after her.

She turns to look back at me. “Yeah?”

“Every guy in this news room wants to take you to bed. You might not realize it, but they do.”

I wait a beat.

“Including this one.”

13

Tori

I’m still struggling to make sense of Dante’s words as I go back to the conference room and try in vain to focus on a meeting about website content.

Every guy in this news room wants to take you to bed. You might not realize it, but they do.

Including this one.

There can’t be any other interpretation of that, can there? I feel like an idiot that I’m not sure what he meant. Was it a come-on? A harmless flirtation? A warning? Should I be afraid the next time I’m alone with him? Should I fire him from my electrical project?