Playing for Keeps Read online

  Their gazes met and held. Slowly, giving her plenty of time to kick him again if she wanted, he reached for her hand. Nothing with her was ever going to come easy, he knew this and was okay with that. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I hate that I let you think I’d believe you were having sex with a client on the job. That was shitty, really shitty. I don’t blame you for getting mad. You should’ve kicked my ass.”

  She looked down at her hand in his. “I think I got mad because what you thought was happening is so far from my reality that it isn’t funny. I haven’t had sex with anyone for three years.”

  He waited until she met his gaze. “That’s a long time,” he murmured, wanting to know more. What had happened three years ago to so thoroughly put her off being intimate with someone?

  “It didn’t feel all that long.” She paused and slid him an ironic glance. “Not until . . .”

  He went brows up.

  “We kissed.” She looked at his mouth like maybe she wanted it back on hers.

  “It was a pretty great kiss,” he said.

  “Was it?” She shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

  His laugh was low and rough as he pulled her into him. She always went toe-to-toe with him, challenged him in a way no one else ever did. It was sexy as hell. “Liar,” he whispered and cupped the back of her head, bringing her mouth to his. “But let me remind you . . .”

  He kissed her, a sensuous, delicious kiss with a lot of tongue that had heat exploding in his chest and radiating out to every part of his body. It rushed north to get his heart kicking hard and south to rev up the rest of him, melting everything else along the way. Her mouth was every bit as eager as his, trailing up his jaw, teeth nipping at his ear, and then down his throat, and he just about lost consciousness. By the time they surfaced, he was more than half-gone.

  And given her heavy breathing, she felt the same.

  Then she shivered and he ran his hands up and down her arms, feeling like an asshole for keeping her outside in this temperature. “You’re icy cold. I want to get you back inside. How much longer are you working?”

  She touched her fingers to her mouth, still looking dazed.

  “Sadie?”

  “Right.” She looked at her phone and shook her head. “Rocco just texted me that Cal’s rescheduled. I’m done.”

  Relieved, he nodded. “Then let’s get you home. You parked nearby?”

  “I took the bus today.”

  “What happened to your car?” he asked.

  “It’s still out for repairs. I’m picking it up later this week.”

  “Okay, then let’s go get Lollipop from Rocco and I’ll drive you home.”

  She shocked him by nodding and keeping her hand in his as they took the stairs. At the Canvas Shop, Rocco handed Sadie a container. “Lasagna leftovers. Take it,” he said. “I’m going out tonight and don’t want it to go to waste.”

  “You’re going out?” Sadie asked, sounding surprised.

  Rocco grinned. It was the first time Caleb had ever seen it and it was a good look on the guy.

  “Got a call from an old friend. An apologetic old friend,” Rocco said cryptically. “We’re having dinner.”

  Sadie narrowed her eyes. “Tell Tyler if he hurts you again, I’m coming for him and it won’t be pretty.”

  Rocco laughed. Laughed. And then nodded. “I’ll pass along the message, but he said he already kicked his own ass.”

  Sadie hugged Rocco, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, “Keep your guard up.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Rocco asked.

  Sadie was quiet as Caleb walked her out to his car, which he’d started remotely, heater cranked. When he opened the passenger door, both woman and dog sighed in pleasure at the vents blasting warm air at them.

  As Caleb slid behind the wheel, Sadie’s phone rang and she grimaced. “It’s my mom.”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “Take it if you want.”

  She sighed again and answered. “Hey, Mom. Yeah. Okay.” Pause. “Okay. Uh-huh. Yeah, okay.” Another pause. “Okay.” Still another pause. “Okay. Okay. Bye. Okay. Okay . . .” She pulled the phone from her ear and disconnected. “Bad connection,” she murmured. “Must be the tunnel we just went through.”

  There’d been no tunnel. He smiled. “Tough call?”

  “It was my mother,” she repeated, like that explained it all.

  “Where am I taking you?”

  She rattled off her address, though he didn’t have to plug it into his GPS. He knew the city inside and out. She lived in a neighborhood called the Tenderloin, one of San Francisco’s most notorious areas. The funky colorful streets were a mix of dangerous and trendy, featuring a mixed bag of hole-in-the-wall places to eat. Nightlife ranged from dark, dark dives slinging beer and shots to speakeasy-style bars serving craft cocktails. Residential buildings coexisted with underground indie live theater and packs of homeless people living in tents right on the sidewalks. He managed to find a spot a block down from Sadie’s building, across from the police station where a guy in handcuffs was being marched inside.

  “I know it’s a nutty place,” Sadie said, peering out the windshield, “but the Korean barbecue on the corner is delicious and my neighbors are all really nice.” She unhooked her seatbelt and faced him. “Thanks for the ride.” She turned to the back, leaning in to kiss and hug Lollipop goodbye. “See you tomorrow, baby.” She went to exit the car and gasped in surprise to find Caleb already outside, holding the door open for her.

  She slowly rose to her feet, their bodies extremely close between the car and the opened door. “Bet that move of opening the door works on women all day long,” she murmured.

  “That ‘move’ is meant to be good manners and nothing more,” he said. “It’s not a pickup tool.” He smiled. “I don’t need it.”

  She laughed. “You’re right. You don’t. You don’t have to walk me up.”

  “I know I don’t have to,” he said. “I want to.” He opened the back door and let Lollipop out, holding her leash. “Lead the way.”

  “Look, Suits—”

  “We’re back to that?” he asked. “Seriously? You just had your tongue halfway down my throat. It’s time to use my name. Say it.”

  “You’re right,” she said. “I did that to irritate you, so you’d get back in your car and leave.”

  It didn’t escape him that she still didn’t say his name. “If you want me to leave, all you have to do is say so. It’s your choice, Sadie. It’s always your choice.”

  She stared at him for a beat, and then another. Then she gestured with her chin and they walked to her building. She lived on the third floor and it was a walkup. At her door, she pulled out her key but didn’t use it. Instead, she lifted her face to his. “Thanks for the ride.”

  “Open up,” he said. “You should never loiter in this hallway.”

  She unlocked the door but then blocked his way in, bending to give Lollipop another proper goodbye. This took like five minutes. Finally rising, she met Caleb’s eyes. “Goodnight to you too.”

  And her goodbye to him had taken a second. But he’d told her it was her choice and he’d meant it. “Goodnight.”

  Lollipop tried to get inside. Sadie paused, looked behind her into the apartment and then bit her lower lip. “Fine. You can come in. For a minute.”

  The dog was all in.

  So was Caleb. He shut and locked the door behind him, taking a sweeping gaze across her place. It was small, with comfortable-looking and very lived-in furniture and colorful throw rugs scattered throughout.

  Cute. Cozy. But not warm. In fact, it was freezing in here. “Something wrong with your heat?”

  “No.” She moved into the kitchen and put fresh water into Lollipop’s bowl. She put the container Rocco had handed her into her fridge, which was looking pretty bare.

  “Just haven’t had a chance to go to the grocery store,” she said to his unasked question, turning away to scoop some food for Lollipop