Disgruntled (15 page)

“Oh.”
“You sound disappointed.”
Disappointed?
Todd lifted Reva’s tank and dispensed with it in
seconds. He hooked his thumbs in the waist of the shorts
and dropped them to the floor. An odd blanket of selfconsciousness covered her as he stepped away and admired.
“The only thing that disappoints me right now is how many
times we’ve dropped our clothes and had interruptions.”
Todd let Reva tug his shirt over his head again. When his
arms caught, he grabbed a fistful of cloth and flung it.
Likewise, he shucked his pants in record time. She would
have liked to slow him down but the anticipation prevented
it. They’d had all the disruptions needed for one night. This
was almost like launching a space shuttle. Mission in sight,
staff on board, time for launch.
She ran a hand down his torso until her fingers came in
contact with the hard, heated length of him that pressed into
her hip. Todd groaned. He captured her wrists as she started
to move, then tossed her to the mattress. One knee firmly
planted between her thighs and pressed against the very heat
of her own waiting body, he trailed kisses from her neck to
navel. She reached for him again but he dodged her fingers.
Raising his own index finger to her nose, he wagged it and
said, “No, you first.”
Gulp. Really?
He lowered back to her belly and she felt hot air as he licked
and blew over the skin. His veiled eyes glanced at her before
he lowered that warmth further. All Reva could do was
watch. Mesmerized. The tingle that trickled across her lower
region and warmed from his touch made her want to smile
back, but she didn’t dare for fear he’d stop. She didn’t move.
Or at least she didn’t intend to, but wow. He brushed his
thumb across
there
and then followed it with his tongue.
When he stroked again, she clutched into his shoulder and
bit out a soft squeal. She had to touch
him.
Surely he wanted
her to? She pulled on his hair to bring him to her.
“Did I do that?” she asked. Todd glanced at the red marks
where her fingers had clung moments earlier. He shrugged.
She watched the shoulder muscles in his back roll as he
dragged his body up until he could take her lips. He licked
and sucked as intensely as he’d worked the rest of her. She
melted her hips against his, completely aware of the very tip
of his hardness pressed where his thumb and lips had been.
“Your turn,” Reva whispered as she moved her legs to give
room.
“In a minute.” He settled in comfortably but didn’t force it.
“I wasn’t finished. You weren’t.”
No, she wanted him to like this. It wasn’t about her. She
needed him to enjoy so she took control. She rolled over
him and lowered her hips slowly.
“Wait.” Todd sucked in a breath. “Not yet,” he protested,
but she ignored it. Reva slipped down further, until she had
him completely engulfed inside. When his eyes rolled closed
and he palmed her hips, she stroked again.
That was the moment he gave in. She felt it in the way he
tugged her tighter and thrust to put their movements in
synch. Yes, he liked it.
Her.
When he buried his face in her
shoulder and blurted out a soft curse as he thrust again and
again,
his
shoulders
bunched
along
with
the
string
of
muscles down his back. Todd’s body racked and quivered
inside her as he came. Reva didn’t stop moving until he let
out an exhausted laugh and gripped her tightly. “I’m spent,
honey. I’m spent.”

Damned nosy neighbor. It’s a fricking Peyton Place around
her house with everyone always staring at the cars and
people as they pass. Why had she wanted to live in a place
like
that?
There’s
absolutely
no
privacy.
Brent
hadn’t
anticipated one of the neighbors would peer through the
fence at her. The cell phone warned him of the person’s
presence. Had it happened a few seconds later, he would
have been fully bathed in the light of her back window and
therefore easily identified. Not that it mattered. He had no
criminal background so seeing him wouldn’t necessarily
mean much.
Still,
it
angered
him
that
so
many
people
in
her
neighborhood had an inordinate amount of interest in each
other. It had become impossible to meander past her house
in the daylight. He shrugged as he waited at the drive-thru
for his food to be delivered. He glanced at his watch. Nine
p.m. She had worked late tonight. Obviously, she had no
life. He grinned at the person in the window that passed his
food out. Or maybe it hadn’t been work. Brent remembered
the body lock he’d seen her in with the dark-haired guy the
other night.
It didn’t make sense that someone who got that much action
would be so difficult to get along with. So demanding.
Normally,
that
made
them
more
relaxed,
not
less.
He
grabbed some fries out of the bag and headed to his place.
He mused that his habit of going by her house might be
misconstrued by some. In truth, he’d never intended to keep
going by, but he found it interesting. The first time it was
just curiosity—a need to see what her life was like and
perhaps
better
understand
the
way
she
treated
him.
Unfortunately, he saw nothing—not even her. So, he’d
continued to drive by until he got a glimpse of her pulling
mail from her mailbox. She hadn’t even noticed him pass by
within forty feet. So, he kept going. He kept watching. It was
a bit like watching a car accident. You knew it was a bad
thing and perhaps dangerous, yet you couldn’t avert your
eyes.
It was too pretty of a night to go home and a drive by Reva’s
was out of the question. Not with all her nosy neighbors.
Brent coasted into Beason Park, near his home, around 9:40
and doused the headlights when he’d come to a full stop at
the far edge. He left the stereo blaring with his favorite tune
from Kenny Chesney. He leaned the seat back. The weather
was a bit muggy and he rolled down the windows to defog
the glass.
A tap on the back fender startled him and he swiveled
around to view the intruder.
“You mind turning that down? It’s too peaceful out here to
listen to that crap.”
“You don’t like good music? Or just anti-American?” Brent
had lost all patience and certainly hadn’t the mood to deal
with a complaining vagrant. “Go find a bench or something
to lay on.” He flittered his hand in a
get lost
gesture and slid
the windows of the truck back up. The door jerked open and
a small, fragile hand with inch-long red fingernails lunged in
front. It turned the key in the ignition, pulled them out, then
tossed them to the floor.
“Honey, I’m as American as it gets, but on a night like this I
want to listen to the crickets or the locusts, not some
asshole’s radio. And I
never
hang out on the benches in this
park, not even in the daylight.”

He noted that the woman smelled like trees, and flowers. It
seemed an odd combination.
He had ignored the voice, the hands, everything to that
point. He’d written the girl off as a vagrant. When she pulled
the door open, he was immobilized briefly by the shock of
the action. When Brent regained his control, he bailed out of
the car and attempted to tower his six foot height over the
woman.
“You don’t scare me,” she said.
He noticed her hair was brown like Reva’s, yet she had more
of a mouth. She put one hand on her hip and rested the
other
one
behind
her
in
the
waistband
of
her
jeans.
“Whatever you’re doing here, you’re up to no good. This is a
nice park and we don’t need any perverts hanging around.
Now go on and get out of here.”
“I’m no pervert.”

The glittering spark of car lights caught Reva’s attention as
they shone through the side window of Todd’s room. She
was disoriented for a second then came to terms with the
situation. An arm sprawled over her waist and the warmth of
Todd’s body snuggled against her back. The soft huff of his
breathing tickled her neck.
She rolled to her back and he stirred. The bright light of the
numbers on his clock told her that if she didn’t get up and
shower, she’d be late for work. Yet, the warmth of him
against her invited laziness. “I need to go to work,” she
whispered.
Todd opened his eyes and leaned in to kiss her. “No
problem.”
She liked the way his hair arched up from his pillow and
how the dark shadow of whiskers lined his face and chin.
When his mouth touched hers, she felt the same excitement
she’d felt when he massaged her skin the night before.
Without thinking, she dropped a hand down his back and
pulled his hips in against her.
He groaned. “I’m getting
mixed signals here. What you’re doing and what you’re
saying don’t exactly match up.”
She smiled and shrugged. “Sorry.”
Reva slipped out of Todd’s bed. She pulled her pajamas back
on, thankful that it was dark out and the neighbors wouldn’t
see her return.
“I’ll drive you Reva.” It was awkward. She sensed hesitance.
He tugged his jeans over his hips and fastened them.
“No, I can just hop back over the fence.”
He pulled her to him and put a hand under her chin to lift
her eyes to his. “Surely we don’t need to sneak around like
we’re still in high school, do we?”
“Of course not, but I’m in my night clothes. I don’t want
people to see me like this and think—” She strung her
fingers through the tangles in her hair.
“That we just slept together? Do you really think they care?
Besides I don’t think it’ll shock anyone.”
“I just want to go home without being seen.”
“Without being seen or without being seen
with me
?”
“The first one. Look at me. I’m a mess.”
“You’re gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. If you want to go
over the fence, fine, but I’m going with you.”
“Why?”
“I want to walk through your place real quick just to be safe.
Okay?”
She pulled her robe tight and waited while he slipped his tshirt over the abs that had earlier warmed her back. A brief
smile escaped her lips.
Later, in the office, Reva’s thoughts continued to stray back
to the night before and the change that occurred. She found
herself forced to block it out and consciously focused on the
projects
meeting
she
implementation.
He
had
advantage of the help of his team members so she’d taken
the initiative and assigned two staff to him. The meeting
would be their first. She wanted to jot down a few notes
before they arrived.
With her head down and focused, the tap on the door
startled her. She jerked up, realizing she had daydreamed
again. Her eyes had glazed over as she pretended to focus on
writing notes, but her thoughts had gone elsewhere. She had
remembered her fingers sliding over the tiny scar on Todd’s
hip, a small white discoloration. She’d have to ask about
that.
She
didn’t
know
why
but
she
had
a
newfound
preoccupation with scars and their sources.
“Hey, are you okay this morning?”
had
arranged
on
Brent’s
continuously
refused
to
take
Brent looked jumpy. He hung his head in the door but
seemed ready to run at the slightest need. “Yeah, sure.
Why?”
“What’s the meeting for? Is there a problem?” He looked
over his shoulder at approaching voices.
“Not really. I just assigned some people to your team and
wanted to meet to discuss the remainder of the project.”
She registered the annoyance in his expression but there was
something else too. It almost resembled—relief? That was
strange. Reva shook her head.
“Okay, Good. See you in a bit.” The sound of his footsteps
on the carpet receded down the hall.
The meeting started late and went downhill from there.
Brent had arrived twenty minutes after the arranged time.
He apologized and stated that he had been in one of the
executive’s
offices
and
it
delayed
him.
A
smug
grin
accompanied his announcement before he launched into a
monologue as if the room had waited for his grand entrance.
To Reva’s annoyance, they had. She noted it as one more
reason
his
project
had
gone
nowhere
while
others
progressed smoothly. Brent was easily sidetracked, wanted
complete control of every detail, and didn’t have the needed
experience to delegate properly and control interruptions.
Brent
announced
to
the new
group
members
what
he
expected of them and why “he’d suggested” they be part of
the group.
Really?
Reva frowned. When he stopped and took
a drink from the Diet Coke he’d brought with him, Reva
cleared her throat.
“So, let’s get a few things clear before we move forward.”
She handed a stack of papers to each person. “These are
copies of the project plan that we updated to include the
division of responsibilities. I want everyone to understand
that their part of this project is important to its success and
staying within the timeline specified on the plan is necessary.
You were invited to participate due to the large scope of the
project
and
the
need
to
delegate
some
of
the
responsibilities.” She paused to look at each person. Perhaps
she should clarify that it was not at Brent’s request to include
them, or that he had actually been rather defiant. Doing so
would have been more accurate. And belittle Brent. As
much as he deserved it, she suppressed the desire.
Brent took the opportunity to interrupt. “If anyone feels
they can’t meet the deadline or has issues with what they are
requested to do, contact me immediately. As the lead for the
project, I want to be aware of any conflicts or issues.”
“As do I,” Reva added. “I’d like to take that one step farther
though. We will meet in my office every week until the
project is complete. Be prepared by bringing your status
updates with you. That should include a brief description of
what was completed prior, what is left to do, and any
hiccups or roadblocks that we need to be aware of.”
“I’d like to see all of them the day before to review the
content
before
we
discuss
them
with
Reva,”
Brent
interjected.
That was enough. His desire to control what she heard and
saw was evident in every word and action. It had to stop.
“Brent, I appreciate that you want to be so thorough.
However, this doesn’t need to be that formal. I’d like
everyone to submit the information directly to us in this
meeting with no prior review or critique. We’ll discuss it
together and address issues. I don’t want to stifle the flow of
information nor accidentally leave something out.”
Brent glared and shut his mouth. Reva noted the tight lines
around his lips that signaled his frustration but ignored
them. She delved into the papers that were handed out and
the remainder of the meeting was spent discussing the
project plan.
When Reva finally drove home that evening, she had a
headache. Rubbing her temple, she noted the pain seemed to
crawl up her forehead and nag at her. Not only had Brent
been
argumentative
and
disrespectful
throughout
the
meeting, one of the team members had returned to discuss it
that afternoon.
“I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this or not,” she had
started, “but I think you should know that some of your
staff are saying very negative things about you.”
Reva hated the cowardice of people complaining behind her
back but there was nothing she could do. The nature of
gossip was that it was said without the target’s knowledge—
therefore the target had no recourse but to act with grace
and ignore it.
“Really?”
“Yes, they’re questioning your decisions on this project.”
“Who’s they?”
“I’d rather not say but he—”
“So, is it a
they
or a he? If it’s only one person, that’s a lot
different than a group.”
“Technically,
he
has said a lot of things to a group of staff,
which I overheard. A great deal of them blaming and
derogatory toward you.”
Reva smiled and kept her composure. “There’s nothing I can
do about gossip. If the things you heard weren’t directly said
to me, it would be wrong to reprimand someone based on
hearsay. Not to mention that, while I expect everyone to do
their jobs with a good attitude, it’s not possible to force
someone to like me.”
The woman eyed her suspiciously and rose to leave the
room. “But he’s making some pretty big accusations. I just
thought you should be aware, that’s all.”
“What kind of accusations?”
“He
inferred
that
you
were
delaying
his
project
and
interfering to the point of causing errors. That your plans
were wrong and he had had to fix a lot of your mistakes.”
Reva wanted to laugh. Isn’t that what people commonly do
when they can’t accept their own responsibilities? “I believe
a psychologist would call that transference…when a person
transfers individual problems or issues onto someone else.
Look, I am not going to get into the details on his project
and discuss performance issues with another staff member.
That’s
neither
fair
nor
appropriate.
Let’s
just
say
that
mistakes were made and the steps we’re taking now should
correct them and get us started down the right path. I really
appreciate you coming forward with this. Your loyalty is
refreshing.”