Chasing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 4) (12 page)

She raised up and kissed his nipple.

Graham tucked his index finger under her chin and got her to look up at him. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

The low rumbling question pulled another moan from her. This one, unhappy. She didn’t believe in hell, but it might be something like this.

“I have a thing.” Her voice came out hollow and strangely high.

Right now, in his arms, Alexa would not mention Adam. Nor could she get out of seeing him. Could she?

Shit, shit, shit.

Alexa silently wished for a remote control to take her back thirty seconds. She started to tell Graham she could cancel.

“A thing.” His tone dropped. It wasn’t a question. Her chance had passed. Graham scooted away from her and onto his side.

She rolled onto her belly. Her eyes flipped up to him, infused with as much but-I-want-to-see-you as she could muster. “I can move things around.”

His eyes clouded. He tugged on a few spiraled locks of her hair, then stroked and squeezed her arm.

“I better get going.” Graham kissed her on the forehead, swung his feet to the floor, then turned back. “Maybe I’ll stop by for lunch one day.”

“Do that. The rest of the week is wide open. Just call me.”

He grinned. “I will.”

Then, Graham stood and strode out of her room, leaving her to stare at his naked, muscled behind.

A magma-deep yearning to run after him erupted in her, but a languor in her limbs kept her pinned to her mattress. It wasn’t the bone-squealing sex. It was indecision mixed with the fear that comes from standing on the edge of the unknown.

She missed him, and he was still knocking around her living room. The sounds of him in her house would be intimate and comforting if she didn’t know he was pulling on his clothes and heading out the door.

A
dam picked
one of Austin’s toniest steakhouses for dinner.

The foyer buzzed. The festival crowd already swelled even though the events didn’t start until Friday. A peal of jazz piano trickled toward her as she entered the bar. A tendril of hair escaped her high ponytail, and she smoothed it behind one ear.

Alexa went back and forth with what to wear to her non-date. Thankfully, Austin didn’t require you to get dressed up. She’d gone for long, lean denim, heeled, rhinestoned sandals, and a flowing silk top that said pretty, but not sexy.

Pulling her shoulders back and lifting her head, Alexa perused each face around the mahogany-paneled room. She hadn’t seen Adam for months, and a shiver of excitement betrayed her intentions.

The traitorous emotions brought to mind last night. She hadn’t heard anything from Graham all day. His quiet departure from her house left her shaking with self-recrimination. She shouldn’t even be here.

But she was.

Alexa spotted Adam in the throng of people. Since he hadn’t seen her yet, she hung back for a moment to take him in.

Thick, dark hair and caramel skin came from his Indian heritage on his mother’s side. Someone next to him must’ve said something funny because his wide, bright smile sparked in the dim light. He stood a head taller than the man with the joke.

Even though she hesitated, she anticipated the warmth of his deep brown eyes.

Alexa propelled herself around the bar and approached him from behind, reaching up to touch his shoulder. He spun around, and she found herself wrapped in a tight embrace before she could even say hello.

She thought back to her last moments in his London apartment, which involved pulling herself out of his arms following a passionate night and, then, morning.

“Alexa!” His silken voice stretched out the “ex.”

“Adam, how are you?” Secured in his hug, Alexa had no choice but to wait until he released her. He gave her one more squeeze before doing so.

“Fantastic. Last night, I went to dinner with clients, and then, we took in some live music. Unbelievable barbecue and great bands. It was grand. You should’ve come out.”

She ignored his entreaty. “Glad you’re enjoying the city. Who are your clients? If you can tell me, that is.”

“Prospect Tech. It’s a small software firm headquartered in Ireland. They’re opening an office here. I’m helping them set up their systems and some other terribly boring things. How about you? How’s business?”

“Business is good. We’re moving from construction into decoration and finish out on the spa in the next several weeks. We’re hiring staff. I need to hire at least one more fitness instructor, so I can focus on the business and more personal training. Things are clicking along.”

Alexa glanced over to the bar, contemplating her drink order. Adam stroked her upper arm with his thumb. “What can I get you to drink?”

“A Tito’s and soda with two limes would be perfect.”

“Tito’s?”

“It’s vodka. They’ll have it.”

Adam ordered for her and then turned back.

“My building is under new owners, but they’ve been easy to work with so far. Their rep…has responded to anything that we need.”

Alexa’s cheeks grew hot. The bartender slid a bubbling tumbler toward her on a napkin.

“Excellent.” Adam eyed her and exhaled. “Enough about business. What else do you have going on?”

She sipped her drink. She only had two things going on: the gym and Graham. “Melissa, my business partner, is getting married.”

“Wonderful. Am I going to get to meet her?”

“At some point, I’m sure.” Alexa gulped her vodka cocktail.

“How far is your gym from here?”

“Over the river, kind of through the woods, on the other side of Zilker Park, but not far—except for all the traffic.”

“Is that where you live?”

“Close. I’m between First and South Congress. I bought a house there when I moved back from New York. It’s nothing fancy, but I love the neighborhood. I can walk to some phenomenal restaurants and bars and Amy’s Ice Cream. You have to have it while you’re here.”

“I’ll put that on the list.”

Alexa tapped a fingernail against the stem of her glass. “How long are you in town? You sounded up in the air on that the last time we spoke.”

“At least a couple of months. Maybe into the summer. We’ll see. How ever long it takes to have a successful engagement,” Adam answered and rubbed her shoulder. “It’s so good to see you again.”

Now.

“You, too, but Adam, I should tell you that I’m seeing someone. While it’s great to see you, I hope you’re not expecting a repeat of what happened in London.”

A brief cloud shuttled across his eyes, but he smiled it away. “I see. If you’re seeing someone and you’re here with me, it can’t be that serious.”

“It’s not about him. It’s just that I’m not available. We can hang out while you’re here. I’ll show you around, but that’s it. We need to keep this on a friendship level. I want to be clear.”

He drew his full bottom lip between his teeth and stared off over her shoulder. “I see.”

“I hope so. I don’t want any misunderstandings.”

His hand gripped the brass railing on the bar, turning his knuckles pale before he released it. “We’re clear. No worries. I’d love to meet your friends—all of them.”

“Sure.” Adam and Graham crossing paths? Before panic choked her, Alexa threw it off. She’d manage them…somehow.

* * *

T
he news
that Alexa had a new lover burned, but it wouldn’t dissuade him. She said it wasn’t a serious relationship, which meant she could drop this other guy as quickly as she found him.

Adam signaled for the bar bill and set his course on moving to their table as soon as the hostess collected them. The press of patrons surrounding them as the bar filled up frustrated attempts at in-depth conversation.

The bartender nodded at him and hustled to the register. Adam flicked his eyes back to Alexa, who waved a twenty dollar bill at him.

“Absolutely not.” He swatted her hand away.

“No. I’m not going to let you pay for my drink after the conversation we just had. It wouldn’t be right.”

“I can be a friend and pay for your drink.”

“I know, but I don’t want you to.”

Alexa leveled her green-flecked brown eyes at him, unblinking. Her obstinance impressed and irritated him equally, and he found the challenge of her resistance sexy.

“We can split dinner if you’d like, but I’m paying for your drink. Let me. My manly pride demands it, and you wouldn’t want to wound my masculinity, would you?”

Her gaze steeled, then softened. She slipped the money back into her purse with an amused smile slanting across her face. “Of course not.”

“Good.”

Adam tossed his own bills down on the bar. After dinner, he’d make sure the waiter settled the bill on his credit card before bringing it to the table. Tonight was on him. If he expected to draw her away from this other fellow, he’d have to take charge, and despite her protestations, he knew that was the way to go.

“I’ll bet our table is almost ready. Let’s check at the hostess stand.”

He looped his arm around hers and guided her through the foyer, enjoying the appreciative looks other men gave as she passed.

Having this alluring woman on his arm was more than worth a steak dinner.

* * *

R
ather than get
a steak the size of her head, Alexa ordered grilled fish and steamed vegetables. Adam declared that he couldn’t come all the way to Texas and not get some proper beef, so he ordered the Porterhouse.

“Have you gone off steak and that for good?”

“No. I just try to limit how much beef I eat. Steakhouses always give you these huge cuts of meat—twelve and sixteen ounces or more. And the leftovers are never as good.”

“Aha. You’re not a…what do they call it…a pescetarian then?”

“No. I can’t cut out whole food groups. The minute I tell myself no, I start to obsess.”

“I can see that about you. You have a rebellious nature.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a challenge.” Adam’s eyes darkened with intensity. “I enjoy taking on challenges.”

He locked in on her resolutely as he did every time she saw him. Was she a challenge to be won? What happened after that?

Graham had all but called her a trophy when the subject of Adam first arose. Maybe she had a type after all. Matthew had seen her that way—as a shiny object to be won.

“I’d prefer to just be a woman.”

“A good woman is a challenge.”

“A bad one is easy?” Alexa edged forward in her seat, catching her linen napkin as it almost slid to the floor.

“An uninteresting one is easy. Not sexually—I wouldn’t want to be accused of having a sexist double standard. I appreciate complexity in a woman.”

“I like my men simpler, I think.” Alexa chuckled, drawing laughter from Adam and easing the tension in her shoulders. He could be so serious. What she had taken as intriguing depth in London struck her now as exhausting.

“Fine. Let’s be simple. This weather is already dreadfully warm. I fear that by summer I’ll be melting.”

“Yes. You will be. Stay inside in the afternoon, drink margaritas, and you’ll be fine. I warned you. May through September are miserable. How long are you going to be in Austin anyway?”

“At least until May.”

Shit.
She’d assumed he would be here for the festival and maybe a couple of weeks more. Until May? She forced a smile. “Then, you’ll be getting out just in time.”

“If I don’t extend, then yes.”

There was no reason for the dread she felt. She’d been honest with him, but the thought of him hanging around into the summer, looking at her with that expectant depth in his eyes, made stomach knot. “You’ll set up the office, and then what?”

“I help manage systems integrations. If I stay on until that’s completed, I might be here through the summer.”

“Do yourself a favor and escape before then.”

“You can’t be ready to send me packing already?”

In the face of Adam’s unwavering scrutiny, Alexa searched the room for their waiter, shaking her glass of melting ice. Where was the drink she’d ordered when they sat down? The slight, bow-tied man caught Alexa’s roaming gaze and signaled that he’d be there in a minute.

“Of course not. Just joking about the weather.”

“Are you attending any of the festivities in the next week?”

“We’ll see how my schedule goes.”

How it would go was that she would be clearing the deck for Graham. Maybe he was a little peeved about her “thing,” but she could think of a dozen ways to make that up to him.

Adam pouted. “That’s too bad. I have passes to see The Strokes on Tuesday.”

She shook her head. “I can’t make The Strokes. You should go, though. They’re great. I saw them at ACL last year.”

“That’s another music festival?”

“Yes. Austin City Limits. It doesn’t have as much of all the other stuff going on. It’s just one big outdoor concert series in the park.”

The arrival of their waiter with drinks and appetizers distracted Adam from responding.

“Here you go. Sorry it took me so long. Your food will be out in a bit.”

“No problem.” Adam smiled, dismissing the server. “I might see if I can unload the tickets, then.”

“Don’t do that on my account. I’m sure you can find one of your clients to go. Or go by yourself. You won’t be the only one flying solo.”

“I’ll think it over. But if you can go, give me a call.”

“Sure.”

She squeezed her two limes into the clear, effervescent liquid, which she prayed had more vodka in it than her first round.

Adam ran his thumb along the full, sensuous line of his bottom lip. The loud ringing of a mobile phone at the next table shocked Alexa out of her contemplation of Adam’s mouth.

She enjoyed her trip in November—especially her time with Adam. Maybe…Why not?
Stop!
Knowing Adam wanted more from her than she could give him answered her question.

Plus, there was Graham. He made her laugh, and she wanted more nights like last night. She couldn’t turn herself into a piece of meat being tugged at between two alpha dogs.