Love.com (32 page)

“Fine, but just remember, you sleep on the couch
.” Emily hitched up her briefcase. “This isn’t an adult sleepover, Ian. This is business.”

“No adult sleepover? No fair. I’m bummed,”
Ian replied with a wicked chuckle. “I’ll be sure to leave my Superman jammies at home. Can we still have popcorn and watch movies all night?”

Emily couldn’t help but smile
at his playful words. “I mean it, Ian. This is a work night. If you’re going to play hero until Wednesday; you don’t interfere with my routine. No popcorn, but maybe one movie.”

“Deal,”
Ian replied and smiled smugly down at her. “I really do have Superman jammies, Emily.”

“I’m not surprised,” she said dryly as she passed him on her way out of her office.

~ ~ ~

Emily was conscious of the silver Porsche in her rear view mirror all the way back to her place.
Ian had an overnight bag in his car already, anticipating she wouldn’t refuse. It unnerved her that he would plan it all and assume she would go along with his staying with her until her family returned. He assumed much; too much.

Emily was determined she wouldn’t give into this insatiable need she had for him and prove she was just as pathetic as before. Dr. Simon said she represented no challenge to a man like Ian. It hurt to hear it, but it was true.

Were he to apply enough pressure, she knew she would drag him up to her room this time. Who was she kidding? She was no closer to being over Ian than when he left a year ago. She might be smarter now, but some things never changed. Her feelings for him remained intact, untouched, despite her resolve to forget him and move on.

Ian never let on his coming back had anything more to it than the job offer. She knew it was a joke. He wasn’t
earning even half of what he made while working for Ambidor. Art Director salaries were good, but not that good. Maybe he meant what he said and wanted the simpler things in life? Until she nailed down what those things were, she wasn’t about to over-like him again.

Emily turned on the light when they entered the kitchen from the garage, not surprised when Willie launched himself at her, barking excitedly. She managed to keep him from knocking her down. Ian grabbed him by his collar and dragged him to the sliding glass doors. She could see Willie was unused to being manhandled. She could hear his resentful growls as Ian shoved him out back and shut the doors.

Emily eyed the brown piles of dog doo and a yellow puddle on the tile apologetically and cleaned it up. Ian watched Willie playing out back, the whole back yard lit up with the security light.

“How long have you had him?”

“Willie? I got him five months ago.”

“You need to get him trained, Emily. Dogs like him can be really destructive if they’re not housebroke
n.”

“Yeah, I know,”
Emily said from the kitchen as she tossed the paper towels into the trash and washed her hands. “This is my second briefcase since I got him. I’m on it, but he’s stubborn.”

“Dogs like him are
really smart, Emily, but they get lazy if they spend too much time alone.”

“
With the hours I put in these days; there’s no help for it,” Emily said as she joined him at the sliding glass doors, watching Willie frolicking with one of his toys in the backyard. “He’s going to obedience classes, but it’s a battle.”

“
I have some experience with dogs,” Ian replied, smiling to see Willie tossing his toy in the air and catching it. “I’ll see what I can do to help you. Getting a dog door might help while you’re at work.”

“That sounds complicated,” Emily said and smiled. “I didn’t realize getting a dog was this much responsibility.”

“They’re easy to install. I’ll pick one up if you like?”

“You don’t have to go to any trouble
, Ian.”

Ian gazed down at her and back at the dog. “It’s no trouble.
I don’t mind. I’m pretty handy with tools, Emily.”

Emily was aware of an awkward silence between them. She
took that opportunity to fetch blankets and pillows for Ian upstairs. She took a handful of DVD’s out of her room on impulse, some of them her favorites. She came back downstairs and saw him wrestling with Willie on the living room floor.

Ian
won her dog over easily. Willie was his devoted friend; would no doubt sleep with him on the couch tonight. It was his thing, picking his favorites among her house guests.

Emily couldn’t help laughing at their antics, reminded her dog wasn’t used to a male influence. She fixed them both a glass of wine and joined him in the living room. Willie was breathing hard, staring up at Ian adoringly.

She handed Ian a glass of wine. “I think you made a friend for life.”

Ian chuckled and continued to play tug-of-war with her pet, using an old sock. “He’s a great dog, Emily.”

“I didn’t know what kind of movies you would like, so I grabbed a few.”

Ian looked at the DVD’s she handed him and raised a
disgusted eyebrow at her choices. “Beaches? Oh God, must we? Come on, Emily? How about Diehard or Rambo?”

They compromised on one of her favorites of all time
; Footloose. Ian grudgingly allowed he liked it better than the others she picked out. She popped it in the player and sat on the couch with him, Willie lodged between them.

As the story played out,
Emily fought to keep her mind on the movie, and not the man at her side. By now Ian had his socks and shoes off, his shirt all the way unbuttoned. He kept bugging her for popcorn, reminding her they forgot to stop for take-out on the way home.

“I can make you a sandwich, if you’d like?” Emily could see he was hungry and got u
p, not waiting for him to respond.

Emily found ham and cheese in her refrigerator and made him a
sandwich, with dill pickles on the side. She returned to the living room and handed him the plate.

“You’re not eating too?”

“I’m still full from our lunch,” Emily admitted with a smile. “I sometimes skip dinner.”

“You don’t need to be on a diet
anymore, Emily. You need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

Ian nibbled on his sandwich, his blue eyes never leaving her face. “Want a bite?”

“I’m really not hungry…but thanks,” Emily said, her eyes riveted watching him bite into his sandwich, high color riding on her cheeks.

“You look hungry,” Ian noted as he set the plate down on the coffee table in front of them. “But not for food.”

Emily blushed to the roots of her hairline, knowing exactly where he went with his implication. She opened her mouth to deny it, but couldn’t. He was right. She hadn’t thought of anything all day but having sex with him. She stared at him, looking away at the last, knowing she would hate herself to give into him again.

“Come here, Emily.” Ian leaned back against the back of the couch, patting the place beside him.

A part of her wanted to refuse,
to keep that safe distance Dr. Simon drilled into her. The other part just wanted to be held by him, feel his strong arms around her again. The last part won out. She scooted into his side. She said nothing and watched the movie; glad Willie now snoozed between them. 

His arm brought her tighter against his side. She found herself finding a spot for her chin on his chest as she watched the movie, conscious of his hand on her back, rubbing it ever so softly. The sensation of having him near was heady. It also reminded her of how badly she’d allowed herself to be hurt by this man
once before. Emily didn’t realize it when his hand slipped under her blouse. She gasped when he unsnapped her bra. A thousand denials sprang to her lips. Dr. Simon’s words fell upon deaf ears. Ian looked at her with his smoky look, searing her insides before he kissed her.

The feel of his lips on hers was her undoing. She
moaned, holding him closer. Ian dragged her over until she straddled his lap, yanking up her skirt. She gasped as he jerked down her pantyhose, ripping them at the last. His hand found her warm and wet. He didn’t allow her to question what they did. He freed his sex from his trousers and jerked her down onto him, arching hungrily upward, holding her hips still as he ground inside her.

Emily held the back of the couch for dear life, eyes closed tightly; breathing hard as he rocked her on top of him, bringing her to a frenzied orgasm within minutes. She was holding him
tightly, her body gripping his as he rolled her onto her back. He undressed her slowly. When he came to her again, it was slow, sweeter than anything she could recall from their time together before.

Ian wore down her defenses easily; making her wonder if she would ever be free of him. S
he fell asleep before she dwelled on her weakness for him or questioned what they did, her head flopping down against Ian’s chest, her leg curling over his lap.

Emily woke with a start, sitting up in her bed. She glanced at the digital clock at her bedside, grateful it was twenty minutes before the alarm was to go off. She eased out of bed
. She was alarmed to see she wore only her slip and nothing more. She couldn’t recall going to bed on her own the night before. She was embarrassed she must have fallen asleep on the couch with Ian. Knowing he put her to bed made her tense. She felt shy facing him, after what happened between them on the couch.

Once she was showered, dressed, and had her make-up on, she went downstairs. Ian was up reading the paper at the bar, Willie at his feet
. She smelled the most wonderful smells coming from the new stove she rarely used.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well? I made you an egg
white omelet since you’re so determined to be good,” Ian said as the paper came down. He was dressed and looked like he’d been up for hours. “I already put the dog out.”

“Thank you,
I did sleep well, like a rock. I’m sorry if I fell asleep on you. Seems to be a habit of mine lately,” Emily said, pouring herself a cup of coffee and peeked under the lid of the frying pan. She couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her from the aromatic smell within.

“
Eat, and while you do, let me tell you what I found out while you were asleep.”

Emily fixed herself a plate, eating the heavenly omelet with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers with an abundance of melted cheddar cheese with
delight.

“The silent alarm was tripped at the office in the night.”

Emily stopped chewing, swallowing with difficulty. “Was it her?”

“They don’t know. Whoever it was made it as far as
your office and Evan’s before security chased them off.”

“Was anything stolen?”

“Just a laptop left in Evan’s office by one of the reps,” Ian replied and gazed at her with a troubled look. “What do you know about Watterman?”

“He died before I came
there to work,” Emily said as she set her fork down. “I know Evan went to work for him, married his daughter, and the rest you know.”

“Emily, I think Tabitha is after something else
now. Why would she risk coming back to the office? Does Evan have a safe in there? Any securities he kept in it? Any valuables?”

“No, he keeps everything in the bank.
I have keys to his safe deposit boxes.”

“Who has access to the
se keys?”

“He has one
set and Janice—”

“Where
are his secretary’s keys to the boxes now?” Ian looked grim as he tossed the paper onto the bar. “She retired last week after he left, right?”

“Yeah, she turned them in
to me,” Emily said quietly and her eyes widened suddenly. “I put them in my desk! Oh my God! I didn’t think anything of it, Ian. I meant to give them to Evan whenever he comes back.”

“My guess is she got the keys
, Emily.”

“Evan wouldn’t leave much in there now that he’s staying in New York.”

“Emily, she’s wanted for possibly murder,” Ian pointed out. “She’s out of time and money. My guess is she’s hoping to find something in there of value so she can run.”

“Evan wouldn’t leave
any cash in there,” Emily argued and stopped, remembering he was going to divorce his wife the year before. His biggest concern at the time; that Jessica not get her hands on all his money. Tabitha would have known about it if he hid money there, being his girlfriend at the time. Knowing Evan, he probably bragged of putting one over on his wife’s lawyers. “Wait, he probably does have money hidden. It’s something he would do.”

“Tabitha must know about it
. That’s why she ransacked your office and his. She was looking for the keys to his safe deposit boxes.”

“I think it’s time we call
in the police, Ian.”

“
We will, as soon as we get through to Evan. How many keys were on that ring Janice turned in, Emily?”

“Three, maybe four,” Emily said and shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

“We need to get on the phone and call Evan and find out where those boxes are kept before the banks open for business today. She gets her hands on that money; she’ll run.”