only reason Xander didn’t lose his shit.
She’d
been the main reason his focus was off all morning, and the last thing he could
afford was to let Shane win this round. Clasping his hands together in his lap,
Xander crossed one ankle over the opposite knee and glanced over at Shane, who
was moving up beside him.
“Come on,
man. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Shane grumbled, his face contorted
with anger and frustration. He turned and stomped back the way he’d come before
Xander could say anything.
Uncharacteristically
restless, Xander leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he glanced
up at Mercedes to see that she was smiling. He wondered if she was entertained
by his unease. Probably.
Any other
day, he might’ve taken offense to her obvious amusement at his expense. But
today… Today he just couldn’t find it in him to get pissed off.
No, today
he was apparently going to spend every waking moment thinking about her naked.
The woman
had blown his damn mind last night.
Having
known her for years, Xander had to give himself a significant amount of credit
for keeping his hands to himself all this time. Lord knows he’d been tempted
ever since he first saw her in that rat trap of an office she had been working
out of back when Shane introduced them.
Rather
than try and seduce her, which he knew would’ve been futile because Mercedes
had a firm set of beliefs and his intentions didn’t fit them, he’d allowed
their relationship to mold into a rather intimate friendship.
Xander
didn’t have many friends, but those he did have, he kept close. Both Mercedes
and Shane were in that category. But, unlike any normal friendship, when it
came to Mercedes, Xander had suffered some unbearable physical aches through
the years, fighting tooth and nail to pretend the woman didn’t turn him the
fuck on.
Oh, how
she did.
But after
last night, seeing her in a different light, he wasn’t quite sure he could
continue on with the charade. Or rather, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Even if
it were obvious that she wasn’t happy about the outcome from their scene, no
matter how hard he tried, Xander could not stop thinking about the way she’d
come apart in his arms. It’d been incredibly difficult to make it through the
night knowing she was tucked in her bed while he was just one floor above
tossing and turning from an aching hard on that couldn’t be sated.
When
Shane approached again, Xander glanced over his shoulder, remembering where he
was and what he was supposed to be doing.
“Seriously,
X. Tell me you’re joking.”
“Do I
look like I’m joking?” Xander stated firmly, keeping his expression blank as he
forced his attention back to the task at hand.
It wasn’t
a secret that Xander enjoyed the shit out of getting Shane riled up, but this
morning he just wasn’t feeling it. It was usually the highlight of their
interactions, which these days seemed to be more and more frequent as Shane’s
business continued to grow.
Boone
Development, LLC, was a light year ahead of Gibson Enterprises, but that divide
was shrinking as Shane built a name for himself. And despite the fact that they
often found themselves in direct conflict with one another, Xander was
genuinely happy for the man.
“I’m
making an offer on the Milton building, and you fucking know it,” Shane said as
he stalked across the room once again. “Why can’t you ever make this easy for
me?”
“Life’s
not easy,” he told him, knowing his blasé attitude would only piss Shane off
more. It didn’t change how he felt about the whole deal.
They were
currently discussing an undeveloped opportunity zoned for either commercial or
residential that had just come up. Shane was interested in buying the property,
and Xander didn’t blame the guy. Shane was a housing developer, and this particular
area was growing by leaps and bounds.
The
problem was, there was more residential space than necessary in the area, but
he
She’d
been the main reason his focus was off all morning, and the last thing he could
afford was to let Shane win this round. Clasping his hands together in his lap,
Xander crossed one ankle over the opposite knee and glanced over at Shane, who
was moving up beside him.
“Come on,
man. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Shane grumbled, his face contorted
with anger and frustration. He turned and stomped back the way he’d come before
Xander could say anything.
Uncharacteristically
restless, Xander leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he glanced
up at Mercedes to see that she was smiling. He wondered if she was entertained
by his unease. Probably.
Any other
day, he might’ve taken offense to her obvious amusement at his expense. But
today… Today he just couldn’t find it in him to get pissed off.
No, today
he was apparently going to spend every waking moment thinking about her naked.
The woman
had blown his damn mind last night.
Having
known her for years, Xander had to give himself a significant amount of credit
for keeping his hands to himself all this time. Lord knows he’d been tempted
ever since he first saw her in that rat trap of an office she had been working
out of back when Shane introduced them.
Rather
than try and seduce her, which he knew would’ve been futile because Mercedes
had a firm set of beliefs and his intentions didn’t fit them, he’d allowed
their relationship to mold into a rather intimate friendship.
Xander
didn’t have many friends, but those he did have, he kept close. Both Mercedes
and Shane were in that category. But, unlike any normal friendship, when it
came to Mercedes, Xander had suffered some unbearable physical aches through
the years, fighting tooth and nail to pretend the woman didn’t turn him the
fuck on.
Oh, how
she did.
But after
last night, seeing her in a different light, he wasn’t quite sure he could
continue on with the charade. Or rather, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Even if
it were obvious that she wasn’t happy about the outcome from their scene, no
matter how hard he tried, Xander could not stop thinking about the way she’d
come apart in his arms. It’d been incredibly difficult to make it through the
night knowing she was tucked in her bed while he was just one floor above
tossing and turning from an aching hard on that couldn’t be sated.
When
Shane approached again, Xander glanced over his shoulder, remembering where he
was and what he was supposed to be doing.
“Seriously,
X. Tell me you’re joking.”
“Do I
look like I’m joking?” Xander stated firmly, keeping his expression blank as he
forced his attention back to the task at hand.
It wasn’t
a secret that Xander enjoyed the shit out of getting Shane riled up, but this
morning he just wasn’t feeling it. It was usually the highlight of their
interactions, which these days seemed to be more and more frequent as Shane’s
business continued to grow.
Boone
Development, LLC, was a light year ahead of Gibson Enterprises, but that divide
was shrinking as Shane built a name for himself. And despite the fact that they
often found themselves in direct conflict with one another, Xander was
genuinely happy for the man.
“I’m
making an offer on the Milton building, and you fucking know it,” Shane said as
he stalked across the room once again. “Why can’t you ever make this easy for
me?”
“Life’s
not easy,” he told him, knowing his blasé attitude would only piss Shane off
more. It didn’t change how he felt about the whole deal.
They were
currently discussing an undeveloped opportunity zoned for either commercial or
residential that had just come up. Shane was interested in buying the property,
and Xander didn’t blame the guy. Shane was a housing developer, and this particular
area was growing by leaps and bounds.
The
problem was, there was more residential space than necessary in the area, but
he
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