Part 11 (2/2)
”I asked if something was wrong. You don't seem like yourself today,” Reese said.
He shrugged. ”You're imagining things.”
The three of them had met for breakfast, and afterward, they would return to Luke's ranch and help him with moving some furniture around. Mac had decided she wanted to redecorate, and now with the three additional bedrooms, a ma.s.sive family room and a s.p.a.cious kitchen that he and Slade's crew had added on six months ago, what used to be a small ranch house had become a sprawling home with a lot of room for a larger family. It wouldn't surprise Blade, when Mama Laverne talked about fish again, that the fis.h.i.+ng rod would be aimed straight at Luke and Mac.
He glanced over at Luke to find him staring at him. ”You sure you're okay, Blade?” he asked.
”I'm positive.”
”Then where were you last night?” Luke asked. ”Slade was trying to reach you.”
Blade chuckled. ”I wasn't lost. I was out. And when I returned I didn't check my messages. I called him this morning.” He took a sip of his coffee and asked, ”Is there a law that says I have to be home at all times?”
”No.”
”Okay, then.”
”Kind of touchy today, aren't you? If I didn't know better I would think you needed to get laid or something,” Reese said with a grin on his face.
Blade didn't see a d.a.m.n thing funny about it, mainly because he did did need to get laid-and in a bad way. He'd never gone without s.e.x this long and all because of one woman. How screwed up was that? need to get laid-and in a bad way. He'd never gone without s.e.x this long and all because of one woman. How screwed up was that?
He opened his mouth, ready to give his cousin the scathing response he deserved, but Luke interrupted, eager to keep the peace. ”The rodeo school is looking good, Blade.”
Blade's frown turned into a smile. He always appreciated compliments about the work that he and Slade's company did, and Luke of all people knew it. ”Thanks. According to Townsend, the last coat of paint will be hitting the walls next week. The only thing left will be landscaping. Any idea when the horses will arrive? I want the corral and the new barn ready before they're delivered.”
Just the mention of horses got Luke talking, and Blade was grateful for the distraction. He could nod and feign interest while his mind wandered to other things-namely Samari Di Meglio.
He had gotten very little sleep last night. The worst thing he could have done was to let her mouth touch him. Even now he was getting excruciatingly hard just thinking about it. Women had gone down on him before, but never in the way she had. It was quite obvious she was a novice at that sort of thing. He could even believe that she'd never done it before. Her lack of experience had showed, but it hadn't been felt. As far as he was concerned, no pro could have done it better. There had been something about the way she had taken him in her hands, and later with her mouth, and applied the perfect amount of pressure and- ”Blade, you're daydreaming again.”
He met Luke's gaze. ”Am I?”
”Yes. Reese has been asking you a question for the last five minutes.”
Of course, he knew Luke was exaggerating. He cut his eyes over to Reese. ”Sorry. What was your question?”
Reese grinned again and Blade was tempted to knock that silly smirk off his lips. ”I asked if you were headed back to Houston for the party Jake and Diamond are hosting for Rasheed and his wife this weekend.”
”Yes, I'll be there.”
He would leave for Houston on Friday. The women in Houston knew how to treat a man. They didn't play games or seek revenge. They weren't teases. They weren't player haters. ”What about you?” he asked Reese. ”When do you take over Trevor's old job?”
Reese smiled. ”In a couple of months. Trevor is finalizing the projects he started. And yes, I'm headed back to Houston. In fact, I'm leaving here on Thursday to swing by Austin to get Kenna. She's going to the party with me.”
Blade nodded and didn't say anything, but after taking a sip of his coffee, he decided to ask, ”Has it ever occurred to you that if you ever get married, your wife probably won't take too kindly to the fact that your best friend is a woman?”
Reese leaned back in his chair. ”Nope, mainly because I'd never marry a woman who didn't get along with Kenna. Would you marry someone who didn't get along with Tanner and Wyatt?”
Blade frowned. It wasn't the same and Reese d.a.m.n well knew it. ”Since I don't ever plan to marry I can't answer that question,” he said.
”Well, I do plan to marry one of these days, although no time soon, and I would never consider marrying someone who couldn't accept my relations.h.i.+p with Kenna,” Reese said. ”And vice versa. She would never marry someone who could not accept her relations.h.i.+p with me.”
Blade shook his head and decided to play devil's advocate. ”And you know this for certain?”
”Yes. We've discussed it. Everyone has a best friend. I'm a man who just happens to have one that's a woman. No big deal.”
In Blade's book it was a big deal. But if Reese and Kenna were convinced it wasn't, then who was he to argue? He glanced over at Luke. ”Are you ready for us to leave and get started on your place?”
Luke nodded. ”Yes. I promised Mac that when she got home this evening I'd have at least one room finished. And you never make Mac a promise you don't intend to keep.”
Sam had a drowsy look on her face from a sleepless night when she walked into the office. The first person she saw after pa.s.sing through Security was Patsy, who was leaving the building.
The young woman smiled at Sam. ”More flowers came for you today and there's a card with them,” she said excitedly. ”I saw the florist bring them in.”
Sam gave her a slight smile and nodded as she made her way toward the reception area. Priscilla glanced up when she saw her and smiled. ”More flowers arrived today, Ms. Di Meglio, and there's a card with them.”
”Thank you, Priscilla,” she said as she made her way down the hall toward her office. Everyone was more interested in her secret admirer than she was. In fact, she was still trying to get over Blade's statement last night that he hadn't been sending them. All this time she'd actually thought he was.
Thoughts of Blade were still in her mind and had been since last night. After he'd left her place she had picked up every condom packet off the floor and placed them in a drawer in her bedroom. She had actually counted them-thirty in all. Had he honestly thought he would use even half that number?
She rolled her eyes, thinking, yes, he probably had. If he would have had his way, he would have humped her all night and she would have enjoyed every minute of it.
She drew in a deep breath at her sensual confession. Chances were she would have gone to sleep totally relaxed, sated and satisfied. Instead, she had slid between the sheets tense, annoyed and obsessing about what she could have had-and all in the name of revenge. Whoever said getting even was sweet hadn't met the likes of Blade Madaris.
She opened the door to her office and her gaze immediately went to the huge arrangement sitting in the middle of her desk. These flowers were more beautiful than all the others had been, and whoever was sending them certainly had great taste. But the ones Blade had given her last night had these beat.
She walked around the desk and pulled out the drawer to put her purse inside. Then glanced up to see Peyton and Mac standing in the doorway. ”We heard the flowers came with a card this time,” Mac said with a huge grin on her face.
Sam rolled her sleepy eyes. ”Evidently the entire office has heard about it,” she said, sitting down behind her desk and leaning back in her chair, thinking she could certainly use a good eight hours' worth of sleep.
”Boy, you look tired,” Peyton said, laughing. ”Didn't you get any sleep last night?”
Sam glared at her friend. ”Don't mess with me, Mahoney. I'm so not not in a good mood.” in a good mood.”
Mac crossed her arms over her chest. ”And why aren't you in a good mood, Sam? I thought you had a date with Blade. Didn't things go the way you had planned?”
Sam refused to answer that. Instead she s.n.a.t.c.hed the card off the flowers. ”I know the only reason the two of you are here is because you're dying to know who's been sending me flowers.”
”Like you don't already know,” Peyton said smartly, as she stepped into the office and took a chair across from Sam's desk.
”I thought I knew, but I found out last night it wasn't Blade.”
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