âWould you come here?â Shane asked in a soft tone.
A wave of longing washed through her. Darci recognized the danger, but she was so tempted.
His voice was deep, persuasive. âNobody takes off their clothes, and no hands below the waist.â
âCan you stick to those rules?â
âI can if you can.â
âI can.â She had no choice.
He smiled. Heart thudding, she took the three steps that brought her in front of him. He reached for her hand and drew her into his arms.
She knew she shouldnât relax. Still, she couldnât help herself. Just for a few minutes, she promised. Darci felt the strength and the intimacy of his body pressed to hers. It was taut and sexy, and absolutely forbidden.
* * *
Sex, Lies and the CEO is part of the Chicago Sons series: Men who work hard, love harder and live with their fathersâ legacies â¦
One
âDonât answer that,â Darci Rivers called out, rushing across the hardwood floor of the cluttered loft apartment.
âItâs not going to be him,â said Jennifer Shelton as she dug into her purse.
Darci slid on sock feet around a pile of packing boxes while the phone jangled again. âItâs him.â
âItâs notââ Jennifer glanced at the display on her phone. Then she looked up at Darci. âItâs him.â
Darci deftly scooped the phone from her roommateâs hand. âYou will not give in.â
âI wonât give in.â Even as she spoke, Jennifer cast a longing glance at the phone.
âHeâs dead to you,â said Darci, waving the phone for emphasis as she backed a safe distance away.
âMaybe heâsââ
âHeâs not.â
âYou donât know what I was about to say.â
Darci hit the end button to cancel the call and tucked the phone into the front pocket of her jeans. âYou were going to say âmaybe heâs sorry.ââ
Jennifer pursed her lips together. âMaybe he is.â
Darci angled for the kitchen area of the open-concept space. A sloped wall of glass stretched up beside her, overlooking the distant Chicago skyline. Skylights decorated the high ceiling, while two lofts bracketed either end of the spacious, rectangular room.
The phone rang again, vibrating inside her pocket.
âGive it back,â said Jennifer, following behind.
Darci rounded the end of the island counter. âWhat was it you said to me last night?â
âIt could be a client.â
âWhat was it you said to me?â
âDarci.â
âIf itâs a client, theyâll leave a message.â
It was nearly seven oâclock on a Tuesday night. Though Darci and Jennifer prided themselves on being easily available to clients of their web-design business, it wouldnât kill them to miss one call.
âWhat kind of customer service is that?â
Darci pulled the phone out of her pocket to check the display. âItâs him.â She declined the call and tucked the phone away.
âSomething could be wrong,â said Jennifer, taking another step.
Darci couldnât help but smile at that. âOf course somethingâs wrong. He only just realized you were serious.â
On the counter, she located a packing box labeled âwine rackâ and peeled it open. Sheâd wisely packed the corkscrew with the wine bottles for easy access after the move. Now, if she could only remember which carton held the glasses.
She pointed at another box on the island. âCheck the white one.â
âYou canât hold my phone hostage.â
âSure I can. You made me swear I would.â
âIâve changed my mind.â
âNo backsies.â
âThatâs ridiculous.â
âYou said, and I quote, donât ever let me talk to that son-of-a-bitch again. I think the wineglasses are in the white box.â
Jennifer clamped her jaw.
Giving up, Darci reached out and pulled the carton closer to her, stripping off the wide packing tape. âHe cheated on you, Jen.â
âHe was drunk.â
âHeâs going to get drunk again, and heâs going to cheat on you again. You donât even know if that was the first time.â
âIâm pretty sureââ
âPretty sure? Listen to yourself. You need to be 100 percent positive he never has and never will, or else you have to walk.â
âYou are so idealistic.â
âAha.â Darci had located the wineglasses. She extracted a pair of them and turned to the sink to give them a rinse.
âNobody can ever know for sure,â said Jennifer.
âAre you listening to yourself?â
There was a long silence before Jennifer spoke. âIâm trying hard not to.â
Darci grinned as she shook water droplets from the wet glasses. âThere you go. Welcome back, girl.â