A Clandestine Corporate Affair(27)

Nathan flipped Ana over. She let out a gasp of surprise as her back hit the floor. She opened her mouth to protest, but as he plunged himself deep inside of her, a moan of pleasure emerged instead. Arching into his thrust, her legs wrapped around his waist, nails digging into his shoulder. He barely had a chance to establish a rhythm before her body started to quake, clamping around him like a vise, and he couldn’t have held back if his life depended on it. In that instant time ground to a screeching halt and there was nothing but pleasure.

When time started moving again, he looked down at Ana lying beneath him, eyes closed, breathing hard, her hair fanned like crimson flames against the blanket. The woman was pure sex.

“You okay?” he asked.

Her eyes slowly opened, filled not with tears this time, but a satisfaction he was pretty damn sure she could see mirrored back in his own gaze. She nodded and said breathlessly, “I know we probably shouldn’t have done that, and it’s going to complicate the hell out of things, but…damn…it was so worth it.”



Sex with Nathan had always been out-of-this-world fantastic. But tonight he shot her clear to a different galaxy.

She wasn’t sure if it was so good because it had been so long, or because it was the first time after having Max. Or if Nathan was just really, really good at making her crazy. Whatever the reason, it was a shame that they could never do it again.

Nathan must have been thinking the same thing. He rolled onto his back, sighed slow and deep, and said, “I guess we should have the talk now.”

She threw an arm over her eyes and groaned. “Do we have to? Can’t we just enjoy the afterglow for a while?” She looked over at him. “In fact, could we just not talk at all?”

He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. She wondered if he had the slightest clue how sexy he looked like that. How difficult it would be to keep her hands to herself now. “You want to wait till later?”

“No, I mean never. I have no expectations of this being anything but one time, and I’m assuming you don’t either. So, it happened, it’s over, end of story. Let’s not ruin it by having a conversation.”

His this-is-too-good-to-be-real look made her smile. “You’re sure about this?”

“It is what it is. Analyzing it to death isn’t going to change anything. In fact, it would probably just make things even more complicated. At this point my only concern is Max.”

“If that’s how you feel.”

She really did, for the most part anyway. Did she want more? Of course. Sentiments of love would be nice, and she certainly wouldn’t balk at a marriage proposal. Hell, at this point she’d be happy with a semipermanent, exclusive sexual relationship. But she knew that wasn’t smart, because ultimately it was going to end, and she refused to put herself in a position to get her heart stomped on again.

There was someone else out there for her. He probably wouldn’t be as wonderful as Nathan, or as good in bed. And she would probably never love him the way she loved Nathan, but loving someone too much wasn’t such a great thing, either.

“It is,” she told him. “I mean, it was probably just something we needed to get out of our systems. You know?”

“Well then, there’s a problem.”

She frowned. “What problem?”

He lowered his eyes and she followed his gaze down to his crotch.

Oh boy. He clearly hadn’t gotten it out of his system yet.

Okay. This was not a big deal. They were already lying here naked, so she couldn’t really see the harm in doing it one more time. Or heck, two more times if that’s what it took. And since Nathan used to have the libido of an eighteen-year-old, and that probably hadn’t changed, it was a distinct possibility.

But after tonight, it was definitely over.





Eight





Nathan sat in his office the next morning, feeling more relaxed and all around happier than he had in a very long time. Eighteen months, to be exact.

Only problem was, that happiness never lasted.

His life would be going really well, and he would start to think that things were different, that her love had changed him, then something would happen to flare his temper and he would realize that nothing had changed. Wasn’t it better to get out while it was still good? Because the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Ana. This situation, their relationship, was supposed to be about Max and what was best for him, yet lately it seemed to be more about Ana and Nathan. Letting this go any further would be a mistake. So, the next time she tried to put the moves on him—and knowing Ana, there would probably be a next time—he would nip it in the bud. He would be the rational one. Whether she wanted to believe it or not, he knew what was best for her.