She knew it was only supposed to be lust between them, but somewhere along the way, she had really started to care for Seth. Maybe if they hadn’t been forced to put off having sex, things might have been different. Now, she had gotten to know him more as a person rather than just a sexual partner and that could be bad. Despite the obvious enjoyment of each other’s company, he hadn’t suggested anything beyond sex. Never had there been the mention of an actual date. She was afraid that the delays at the Oceanix Resort could well end up breaking her heart.

It was Wednesday, and the official finish date for the installation was Friday. Mia hoped to finish on Thursday afternoon and surprise Seth that evening. She knew that he was having some painting done at his beach house, so he was spending every night at the hotel. She could barely control her need for him. Her desire for things to go further was also getting harder to ignore. Shit, maybe the old saying was right; Why buy the cow if you’re getting the milk for free? In this case, she was the cow and Seth had already tasted the milk. That was one saying she dearly hoped wasn’t true.

Seth was wired and edgy. Having Mia close for weeks had been somewhere between heaven and hell. She had done as he asked and not worn a skirt, but it didn’t help. She would look hot in a burlap sack. His cock had been hard so much that he felt like every drop of blood in his body stayed pooled there. He had missed meetings and was scattered on his calls. He cancelled anything that threatened to interfere with his lunch with her each day. He knew he sat riveted as she told stories of her childhood and later years. His brothers had actually been making fun of his unorganized state. His life seemed to be in some sort of free fall lately and he placed the blame squarely on Mia’s beautiful shoulders. Even Margie had long since stopped smirking at his behavior and now just gave him pitying looks. Hell, he had a longer relationship with his dry cleaner than he had with Mia, so why was he letting her practically take over his life?

As he sat brooding, his personal line rang and he absently answered. When he heard Ashley’s sultry voice on the other end, he couldn’t help but smile. They had grown up together and dated for about a year before she had moved away to California to pursue her true love: acting. She was now a regular on a daily soap opera, which she seemed to love. Their relationship had always been more a friends-with-benefits one rather than a great love affair. She was blonde, beautiful, and sexy, but best of all, a genuinely nice person. When she was in town, more often than not, they had dinner and sex. No strings, nothing exclusive, just two people who enjoyed each other both in and out of bed. He hadn’t seen her in well over six months so he was pleasantly surprised to hear her voice. He also shot a quick look toward the control room to confirm that Mia was still in the penthouse with her team working on the installation there. Fuck, why should that matter?

“Seth! It’s been so long, darling, I’ve missed you!” He smiled at the southern twang that working for years in California had never quite taken away. She told him that it was one of the reasons the producers of the show loved her so much; she was different.

“Ashley, it’s great to hear your voice. I thought you had forgotten about your friends here. I hear you are doing well, though.”

“Oh, I am,” she laughed. “We can save all of that for tonight, though. I’m in town visiting my parents for a few days and I would love to see you before I leave.” She lowered her voice to a purr, adding, “How about I come over to your place around seven?”

“Shit, Ashley, I’ve got a dinner meeting tonight that will probably run late. How about tomorrow night?”Margie walked into his office just as he was finalizing his plans for the next evening. When he ended the call, he couldn’t miss her frown of disapproval. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he asked, “What have I done now?”

Ignoring his question, she asked, “So Ashley is back in town?”

He smiled, knowing Margie had always liked Ashley. “Yeah, just for a few days, though.”

“You’re going out with her tomorrow night?”

He was puzzled by her sudden interest in his old friend. Other than making a few off-color remarks through the years about his fuck-buddy, she had never shown much interest in Ashley’s visits when she came by the office. “Yes, I am. Do you have a point?”

“Yes,” she snapped, “that you’re involved with Mia. Don’t you think it might be a bad idea to see Ashley?”

Beyond irritated now, he said, “I’m not ‘involved’ with Mia and there is no reason I shouldn’t have dinner with a friend if I want to. Now if that’s all, I need to get back to work.” He knew a verbal dismissal never worked on her and this time was no exception. He could see her physically digging in her heels.

“Oh, well, excuse me for misunderstanding. I guess the fact that you have been running around here like a schoolboy with his first crush the last few weeks doesn’t mean anything at all. I’ve never known you to put a woman ahead of work and yet you have cancelled at least five meetings lately so that you are free to eat with her. Heck, at this point, she probably thinks you don’t work at all. There are more hormones raging in this office between you two than in a strip club at happy hour.”

Seth could feel his face color at Margie’s comments. The fact that she was right about all of it made it even worse. He was helpless to hide his defensive tone when he said, “Can we stop making this into a big deal? Ashley and I are just having dinner. As for Mia, it’s just casual. Stop trying to see something that isn’t there.”

He almost preferred the anger in her eyes to the sympathy that filled them now. “You’re going to screw this up, and short of locking you up in the trunk of my car, there is nothing I can do about it. Mia is a nice girl, Seth. Give yourself a chance to have someone like that in your life.” With that parting line, she quietly closed the door behind her. Shit, he would have preferred if she slammed it.

When Mia walked in an hour later, he had once again moved his schedule around to have lunch with her. He knew he was a distracted companion at best with Margie’s words still echoing through his conscience. Was he grabbing onto Ashley’s visit like a lifeline to get some distance from Mia? Whether he admitted it to Margie or not, he knew where his evening would go lead with his friend. Making a date with her wasn’t only agreeing to dinner. He felt guilt eat at him as Mia sat across from him giving him her usual easy, genuine smile. She was so fucking beautiful his heart stuttered just looking at her. Could there be more between them than sex? Was he even interested in finding out?

“I’m not wearing any panties.” His body jolted as Mia’s words caught his attention. She gave him a devious smile as she watched him struggling to recover his composure.

“Honey, now might not be the best time to tell me that.”

She gave a soft chuckle before admitting, “It’s not true, but I had to say something to get your attention. I’d already asked you a question three times, but you were staring off into space.” Her amusement turned into a look of concern as she asked, “Is everything okay?”

He allowed himself a small show of public affection as he rested his hand over hers briefly. “Yeah, it’s fine. Things have just been hectic this morning. Speaking of, I heard about the latest delay with the cameras. Are you still looking at finishing on Friday?”

“That’s the plan. I know you’re ready to have your office back,” she joked.

“I’m also ready to have you under me again. Is that also part of your plan?”

Mia took a sharp breath, looking completely floored by his comment. He had been a bit surprised when he said it out loud as well, but it was the truth. It had been far too long since they had been together and he could barely think of anything other than sliding into her hot body again. “Yes, that is a big part of my plan. I would love nothing better than to go back to your office and fulfill your fantasy of bending me over the desk.”