Talk to Me (19 page)

to be accommodating to the fans he met on the street. After al , he knew what side his bread was buttered on—he understood he had what he did

because of them. Right now, though, he just wanted to be left alone to formulate a plan.

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Jamie avoided talking to Drew throughout the show. Then, after the show ended, she closed everything out and pondered whether or not to cal

Rob. She wondered if it was too late—it was hard to tel what proper etiquette was, since her view was so skewed with her schedule. She hated

that she second-guessed every little decision she made concerning men. Between Drew and Alison, she was turning into an insecure mess.

She plopped down into the chair in her cubicle and booted up the computer. Stal ing for time while she debated what to do, she checked e-mail,

the weather report, the news, and an entertainment Web site. Final y she got disgusted and turned away.

Reaching into her bag, she began to root around for the business card Rob had given her. She found it and laid it on the desk, biting her lip. She

blew out a loud breath.
He wants to hear from me—I know he does. So why am I hesitating? Is it because Drew is back, or because I could be

waking him up
? After arguing with herself for a few moments more, she reached for the phone, picked it up, held it, then dropped it back into its

cradle.
This is crazy. Why am I letting him tie me in knots like this? I should just call Rob. He made it pretty clear he was interested, unlike Drew.

What's stopping me? If it's too late, he'll understand once I tell him about my schedule.

Her mind flashed back to Drew's blue eyes going dark with arousal when she touched him, and how he felt when he was inside her. But then she

remembered the way he'd acted that first morning after they'd slept together, and then at the diner.

She picked up the phone again and dialed. It rang and then was picked up.

“Rob?”

Because of the logistics involved with the remote location, it would take her a while to close out tonight, Drew knew. She'd have extra work to do

with the engineers at the arena, and he prayed she'd stil be around when he got there. He didn't even know exactly where she lived in Brooklyn and

didn't relish the thought of going al the way out there to blindly chase after her.

Vaguely he wondered if he could get her address from someone at the station, but short of breaking into the station manager's office to look for

her personnel file, he was fresh out of ideas. He knew he would, though, if it came to that, miserable excuse for a man that he was right now.

He entered the building, flashed his badge, and made for the elevators. His fingers tapped out an impatient beat on his thigh as the elevator

climbed up to the station. Final y the doors opened. He headed straight for her cubicle.

Relief flooded through his system. She was there. She hadn't seen him yet; her back was turned to write something on a piece of paper. She

was on the phone, and while she finished her conversation, he took the opportunity to drink her in. Dressed in a sleeveless white blouse, a black

knee-length skirt with a wide red belt, and cherry red open-toed shoes with a thick black strap around the ankle, she was a vision. Sexy librarian

was the best way Drew could classify it, and apparently he liked sexy librarians, because his blood was starting to boil.

He snapped to attention when he heard her giggle. He recognized that giggle—it was one a woman used to flirt with a man. His eyebrows

knotted as an unfamiliar burst of jealousy hit him like a sledgehammer.

“Of course I'm excited to see you.”

She didn't get any further in her conversation before he'd charged in and grabbed the phone out of her hand. Jamie let out a piercing squeal as

she whipped around to face him. Drew ignored her for the moment, demanding “Who the fuck are you?” to whoever was at the other end.

“Who the fuck are you?” the man repeated.

Jamie made a play for the phone, objecting al the while, but he held fast. “The guy she's with. She's going to be busy tonight, and every other

night, screaming my name. Sniff up some other tree, jerk off.” He slammed the phone down and saw the fury in her eyes. It was arousing as hel for

some reason. He was losing his fucking mind. “Hey,” he said.
Wonderful start. Very clever. That'll knock her socks off.

“What the hel is wrong with you?” she yel ed, jabbing him hard in the chest with her index finger.

Redirecting her anger back at her seemed the best tack to take until he got a better handle on what the fuck was going on, so he demanded,

“Who was that guy?”

“A friend,” she shot back at him.

“A friend? Like hel . I heard you on the phone. That wasn't a ‘hey, friend, how are you’ little giggle you gave him—that was a woman playing coy.

What were you doing, making plans to go out with another guy?”

If it were possible, she looked even madder. “What do you care? You made it pretty clear you were done with me.”

He clenched his jaw and spat out, “When exactly did I do that?”

“When you rejected me! It was pretty easy to see you didn't want me around anymore. I may not have been around the block as many times as

you, but I'm not stupid. I know when I'm being brushed off.”

He rubbed the pads of his thumbs into his temples, hard. This woman was driving him to the nuthouse. He continued, trying to keep his temper

in check. He spoke in a measured tone, hoping it would help dissipate the situation before it got even more out of control. “I didn't brush you off. I

believe I told you I was tired and that we'd see what happened after a good night of sleep. When I woke up the next morning, you were gone.”

Before she could protest, he held up his hand. “And no matter what you think happened with us, you sure as fuck shouldn't have been picking up

some other guy while you're involved with me. Were you planning to fuck him?”

Her mouth dropped open. “That's none of your business!”

That statement made him livid, even as he knew it wasn't any of his business, since he hadn't made any promises to her. “It's completely my

business,” he shouted as he lost his cool; as he lost himself. “You're mine.” He jerked his thumb back toward his chest. He knew this was crazy; he

knew he was going about this entirely the wrong way, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. She was slipping away. Here he'd wanted to hurry back

to her to figure out where they were going, and she was about to let another man touch her, to take what was his. His vision blurred red.

“Yours?
Yours
?” She started to push past him, but he blocked her way. “Let. Me. Go.”

“Not until we finish this.”

“No problem. Let me speak slowly, so I can be sure you understand me. For your information, Drew, I am
not
yours, or any man's, possession.”

He started to argue again, but she cut him off.

“Save it. I know exactly what you meant. And besides, why do you care so much who I see, who I go to bed with?”

“You're mine,” he repeated more softly, feeling the color drain out of his face and a wave of nausea sweep over him. When had a woman had

this kind of effect on him, positive or negative? He couldn't remember. He was at a loss about how to react to this. His gut told him to sling her over

his shoulder and get her back to his place, but his head told him she wouldn't appreciate the caveman routine. A heavy sigh escaped.

“How can I be yours, Drew? Did you profess your undying love while I wasn't paying attention? I'm pretty sure I would've heard that.”

She began to tap her exquisite little foot, and his breathing quickened as his mind flashed back to that night seemingly ages ago when he'd

been sucking on her toes. He wanted that back—he wanted
her
back.

“From your viewpoint, we were fucking—that's it—remember? You're not a relationship guy, and what we had was casual. I got that message

loud and clear. So now you have no right to come in here, being al overbearing, and tel ing me who I can and can't date.” She swiped at a tear and

continued, her voice breaking. “You didn't even cal me while you were gone, not once.”

He knew he had to say something fast or she was going to be gone. He was losing his chance. “I was figuring stuff out.” He fidgeted with the cap

in his hands, staring at the floor and then back up at her.

Jamie stared back for a moment as if trying to read his mind, then sidled up close to him, smiling a purely feline, predatory smile, and he knew

he was in trouble.

“Figuring stuff out, huh? I'l tel you what. I won't see anyone else if you admit it,” she told him, cocking her brow.

“Admit what?”

She crushed her soft body against him, and he shuddered involuntarily at the contact. “That this thing is more than just sex.” She stared at him

expectantly, obviously waiting for his reaction and undoubtedly figuring he'd balk. How wrong the poor woman was. She waited a beat more and

then pushed him hard, scooting around him. “I knew you couldn't say it,” she retorted as she walked away.

He caught up with her before she'd made it ten feet, grabbing her by the upper arm to stop her. Women had told him he was arrogant, cal ed

him a prick and much worse in his day, but none of those insults hurt more than her not believing in him. He unceremoniously hauled her into the

now-empty studio and let her go. “You think I can't say it?” he asked her, using al the tools of his voice as he stalked her mercilessly, backing her up

farther into the room. “You think you've got me al figured out?” He continued his pursuit, giving her a grim smile, knowing he had her. “I'm about to

show you how wrong you are. You don't have me figured out at al , darlin'. No more running. You
are
mine, and I intend to make that
very
clear to you.”

Her ass bumped into the equipment table, and he continued to advance on her until their bodies were flush and he was staring down into her

gorgeous, expressive eyes—eyes that held so many emotions, he hardly knew where to start: anger, confusion, arousal. God, she was sexier than

it should be legal to be, and his groin tightened like never before. If he didn't get inside her, didn't get release soon, he was gonna friggin’ lose it.

Jamie couldn't take her eyes off him. He was a force to be reckoned with, and God knew, she didn't have the strength to fight him. She wanted

to be mad at him, to pummel him, to scream and cry and rant, but was rapidly losing steam as he watched her with an expression of sexual hunger

and something else, something she'd never seen before.

“So let me get this straight,” he began, his voice once again seducing her even as she fought against it. As he continued to speak, her eyes

fluttered shut in a feeble attempt to lock herself away from him. He ran his index finger down the side of her face with the gentlest of touches, and

she shivered. “You thought just because I wanted a little distance when things got intense that meant I didn't want you anymore?” He rubbed his

erection into her stomach, and Jamie couldn't contain the strangled cry of need that escaped her lips.

“Oh, I want you, honey, and I'm interested in a lot more than just your pussy. I pul ed away because this thing we have is new to me, and it scared

me, but I want to know you. I want to know everything.”

She wanted to believe him, but she was so, so afraid to. Then, before she could respond, he crushed his lips to hers, taking possession of her

mouth in no uncertain terms.

When he final y pul ed away, she laughed. “You real y are a beast, you know that?”

He smiled, but it was humorless. “You have no idea, but you're about to.”

Drew lifted her onto the table, and al she could do was squeak in surprise. His big, rough hands gripped her hips and pul ed her to him. His

sexuality was so potent, she felt drugged. Her head fel to the side, giving his ravenous lips, tongue, and teeth more area to roam. She was utterly

powerless to resist him.

He lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes wild with need. It was the most erotic thing she'd ever seen.

“I want you,” he told her again. “I want to know what makes you happy, what you want from life—I want it al . But right here, right now, I want to

make you mine in the most elemental way.”

He buried his face in her cleavage as his hands delved underneath her skirt. Finding only a scrap of a thong, he tore it aside easily and slid two

fingers into her. She bucked. Any doubts she might have stil harbored died away as he plunged his fingers into her again.

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Drew didn't want to wait to sink into her softness, but he kept a tight leash on his hunger. He wanted, no, needed to take her high—higher than

he ever had before. He knew he more than satisfied her in bed, but he needed to do right by Jamie, to show her he meant what he said. It would be

a mistake to rush things—she would think he was lying and that al he wanted was sex, and he couldn't blame her for that. He had to convince her he

was in this for the long haul. Taking her here was merely a prelude to what he had planned for later.

Before they got too carried away, he locked the door and lowered the blinds. Very rarely was anyone around at this time of night, but he couldn't

take the chance. This was the second time in as many weeks that he was having sex in the office, and that was playing with fire as it was. He didn't

relish getting busted bare-assed banging his own producer. He doubted it would be conducive to upward career mobility for either of them.

He hurried back to her and took her face in his hands, kissing her with as much gentleness as he could. Trailing his mouth down her face, he