Playing Dirty

Thirty One

His attention was divided between the stove and the newscaster delivering a financial report from the TV but caught sight of her as she entered and smiled. "Just in time, breakfast's just about ready."

He turned off the stove and transferred the pancakes to a plate, adding in some strawberries and drizzled maple syrup over the lot.

"Smells yummy," she replied, coming to sit at the counter. The pancakes did look delicious and she dug in eagerly, eyes widening as she took the first bite. "Ryan, this is delicious!"

"Uh...well pancakes are just about the only thing I can make without screwing up." He shrugged and crossed over to the fridge, pulling out a carton of juice. "I know you don't drink coffee, and I don't have tea, is this okay?"

"Juice is fine." Sam took another bite and smiled at him, accepting the glass he poured out for her. "Thanks."

"No problem." Leaning against the counter, he pulled his own plate close and began to eat, shoveling large forks into his mouth.

They ate in silence, him watching the news, while she went flipped through her emails and messages. There were three missed calls from Yash - two from late last night and one around 3am this morning - and she realized with a guilty jolt that she hadn't told him she wouldn't be home last night.

Crap

"Problem?" Ryan asked. She looked up from her screen to see him watching her in concern.

"Uh...no," she shook her head and set the phone down, locking the screen. "Just going through some messages."

She drained her orange juice and finished off the last bite quickly then rose, gathering her dishes and his and carrying them to the sink.

"I should get going, I have to get back home to change first before heading into the office, so I might be a little late."

He stood as well. "Sure. Let me just throw on some clothes and I'll drive you home. And don't worry about coming in late, I told everyone to come in at nine for the meeting today."

"There's no need to drop me off, that will just be an extra hassle for you. It's morning now, perfectly safe to take the subway." She looked at him over her shoulder, turning on the tap to rinse off the dishes.

He chuckled and came up behind her, arms encircling her waist, the scent of his cologne and aftershave a pleasant aroma that stirred her senses. The heat of his body warmed her, and instinctively, her body leaned into his touch, soaking in the strength of his embrace, surprised to find him aroused and ready against her back.

"I don't mind." He whispered in her ear, reaching out to shut off the tap while the other arm drew her closer, lips tracing light kisses on her exposed neck. "It just means I get to spend more time with you."

The admission sparked a riot of emotions within Sam. Unsure of what to make of his words, she pulled away, hiding her confusion behind a wide smile. "I…"

The simultaneous beep of their phones mercifully saved any awkward conversation. Slipping past him, she hurried to grab her phone off the counter and opened the new message.

It was from Bradford Silverton's executive assistant letting her know of an impromptu executive meeting scheduled for eight am.

She glanced at the clock at the corner of the screen. Five minutes past six. A quick mental calculation told her she could just about make the one and half hour commute from here to her place and then to the office, accounting for the time it would take to get changed and grab her stuff for work.

"It's probably about getting the contract." Ryan said, glancing up from his own phone. "Give me five minutes to get dressed, it'll be faster if I drive you home."

"Okay," She'd arrived at the same conclusion. Alone, her thoughts wandered back to his admission but she shoved it aside, focusing on the upcoming meeting instead.

Ryan's guess was probably right and Bradford wanted to know their next steps now that the contract was secured. She made a mental note to discuss this with Ryan on the drive.

He was out in less than five, dressed in a light blue shirt and black suit pants, tie and jacket hanging over one arm. "Let's go."

A/N

(Another short chapter, sorry) but the subsequent chapters get longer. Also, updates on Wattpad will be much slower since I have to wait a certain period of time after a chapter unlocks on Radish to be able to post it here. You can however, read unlocked chapters on Radish.