Indigo Nights (Nights #3)(32)

Beth: Stop.

Dylan: You’re going to be begging me not to when I twist my fingers around your clit.

Beth: I have to go.

I shut down my phone, knowing I couldn’t ignore his messages if they were sitting there waiting to be read. I didn’t need to be thinking about what Dylan’s body could do to me while I was with my family.

“You okay?” Ash asked.

“Yeah. I thought it might be the studio. It wasn’t.”

“On a Sunday?” Haven asked.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I wrapped my blanket around myself, trying to hide my flushed skin and tight nipples.

Dylan James was relentless. But I liked it, was drawn to him.

He made it all so simple. So basic. He wanted to see me again because he wanted me naked. But when we were together, it seemed like more than that. And it was the more I was afraid of.

Haven took my hand. “If I hadn’t taken a chance on Jake, I would never be where I am now. You were a girl when you met Romano. You needed someone. Now you’re a woman. A strong, independent woman. You’re not the same person. History isn’t going to repeat itself. Take a chance.”

Still gripping the phone in my hand, I relaxed back into my chair. She was right. I wasn’t the same person. And Dylan wasn’t Romano.

Just a taste more of him wouldn’t hurt, would it?



Dylan

I looked out on the Chicago cityscape, then back to the president of Raine Media. “Tell me why we shouldn’t sell you or shut you down. I don’t see any plan to get your numbers back on track, let alone a viable one.” I’d called Ted to my office to go through his numbers. When I’d taken a closer look at what was going on over there, I’d realized they’d only made small attempts to make any of the changes we’d asked them to. Changes that were essential if Raine Media was going to survive.

“I have to look at what’s best for the company. The changes you asked for aren’t good for my business.”

The ego on this guy was incredible. “You get that this isn’t your company, don’t you? This is my business and if I ask you to make a twenty percent reduction in overall costs, then that’s what you do. You don’t nod at me, then ignore me and go back to business as usual.”

“I stand by my decision.” He leaned back in the chair. He must have read some shitty management book that told him going toe to toe with his boss was a good idea. He should ask for a refund from Amazon.

“I understand,” I said. I stood and walked around my desk, toward the door.

Ted followed me, giving me a smug grin. I took his hand and shook it. “Thanks for coming in. You’re fired.” I opened the door to the outer office where my assistant sat. “Marie, Ted needs his exit paperwork. Can you arrange that please?” I’d warned Marie so she’d have everything prepared; she’d take his pass and notify everyone back at Raine Media.

I didn’t glance at Ted’s face. I wasn’t interested. We were idiots for not spotting the problem sooner. I’d let the employees of Raine Media down by not realizing their boss was incompetent. Most of the time, I found, in business you just needed to hire good people and get out of their way. Somehow, we’d forgotten that. We needed to go back to basics.

I closed the door and went back to my desk. We’d almost written that business off. It felt good to have found the source of the problem, or one of them, at least. That familiar thrill of getting a decision right gripped me. I might have taken a second look at Raine Media because of Beth, but ultimately giving Raine Media another chance had been the right decision. Without knowing it, Beth had saved jobs, maybe even a company.

My cell vibrated against my desk. Beth and I had been texting for the last few days. She was fun and I found myself looking forward to hearing from her. She’d send me photographs of the desserts she’d made. I’d tell her all the different ways I wanted to make her come. I wanted to remind her what I could do to her, to convince her to see me again.

She’d sent me a picture of chocolate mousse in a martini glass, the caption reading Where do you want it? My dick jumped in my pants. It had recently become my favorite dessert. Fuck. That blow job should be recorded and distributed for women to use as instructions. The experience had been exceptional.

I typed out a response.

Dylan: Anywhere you care to put it.

Beth: You around on Thursday? I get in around lunchtime.

Part of me had thought that although she enjoyed our teasing over the phone, I’d never actually see her again. There was something about the way she’d said goodbye that’d made me think she’d gotten what she needed from me and wouldn’t be back. Maybe I’d been wrong.

Dylan: You got the TV thing?

Beth: They’re interested. I’m flying in to finalize details on Friday.

I grinned at my phone. I was looking forward to seeing her. I liked her smart mouth and perfect skin. I liked the way she talked to me, about anything I asked her, as if she hid nothing. It must have been why I’d ended up talking to her about Alicia. Her openness inspired the same in me.

I took a deep breath and jumped off a cliff as I typed.

Dylan: Do you want to stay at my place?

Having a woman share my space hadn’t happened in forever. I f*cked women at my place, but they didn’t sleep, brush their teeth or unpack a bag. Ever. But it didn’t make much sense for Beth to have a hotel room when I planned on keeping her in bed every moment she wasn’t at WCIL TV. I wanted her to be comfortable with me. I wanted to show her I wasn’t hiding anything from her. I wanted her in my home.