The Virgin: Revenge (6 page)

some sort of cloth and a stack of diapers. I thought of Mai and headed into the store. “I just

spend too much time on my feet. After that many hours, nothing is comfortable.”

“True enough.”

We chatted a few more minutes while I eyed the gifts and then Mom sighed. “Paul is

waving me down. He bought a new grill and he’s experimenting with recipes every other day.

Sometimes, it’s bliss. Other days, my belly wants to hide. I think it’ll want to hide today. I have

to go, baby. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

“Buy something pretty for your new place, honey. You never settle in anywhere.”

I made an assenting sound under my breath, knowing that if I said anything I’d either

lie, or worry her.

Once the call disconnected, I turned and looked at the lady behind the counter. “I’d like

something like what you have displayed in the window, please.”

♦

“It’s lovely.” Mai beamed over the sleeper, although it looked almost identical to the

one her little girl wore.

“I have the receipt if you’d like to exchange it.”

“No. I adore it. It was so kind of you to the take the time on your day off. I know you

are probably enjoying having a time to yourself.”

I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. “True enough.”

Mai laughed. “Please. I know how Drake is.”

“He did warn me.” I gave her a polite smile and focused on the baby I held. She

smelled sweet. That warm baby smell that was unique to infants. “She’s so precious.”

“I know.” Mai sighed happily and then shifted her dark eyes back to me.

That penetrating stare had me fighting the urge to shift uncomfortably on the seat.

Instead, I just cocked a brow. “Yes?”

“I watched you, you know.”

“Your job was to get me trained.”

She waved a hand. “Before that. The day of the interview. Remember Ms. Simone?”

Hmmmm. Tricky ground. “Vaguely.”

Mai wagged a finger. “Liar. You can probably describe what she was wearing. In detail.

Man, I’d kill to have legs like hers.”

“You’ve got a better attitude.”

A bright laugh escaped her and the baby in my arms jolted a little, her eyes flying wide

before she settled back against me. “Oh, who doesn’t? You know why she wasn’t hired, don’t

you?” She leaned back, sighing a little, as elegant in her jeans and t-shirt as she’d been in her

suits and dresses. “Her resume was as impressive as yours was. I’ll admit, I was pushing

Drake to hiring her. Until that little
There is absolutely nothing I’m incapable of, Mr. Gallagher
…bit.

You know what she was getting at. You’re not stupid; I’m not.”

I shrugged. “Maybe she was just enthusiastic and it came out wrong.”

“Bullshit.” She leaned forward now, her eyes shrewd. “He doesn’t mix sex with

business. Ever. But he watches you. I’m not going to lie and say he’s never shown any sign of

interest in the women he’s worked with, but he doesn’t mix the two. He’ll keep his interest to

just that and he rarely lets the interest show, so it’s weird that I caught it.”

Something hot twisted inside me. It wasn’t hope. It couldn’t be that. Yeah, I
hoped
he

would want me and if I could play that, I would. But that hot, flighty little feeling was too

much for hoping he might want to fuck me. And that was all I wanted, all I could want.

Nerves? Could it be nerves?

Mai continued to watch me, her eyes unreadable. “Nothing to say?”

With a careless shrug, I managed, finally, to form words. “I’m not sure what you’re

seeing, because I haven’t seen it. Regardless, I’m just looking to do my job.”
Liar, liar, pants on
fire
!

But I’d become very skilled at lying, so skilled she just looked at me and nodded,

believing every word I said.

“I get that,” she said softly. “I’m just warning you. If he…well. Just be aware. Even if

he acts interested, don’t return it. Not if you want to keep the job. It’s a good job, but if

anything personal arises, you’ll be done at the company, and he doesn’t do commitment. I

don’t think he even does repeat dates.”

“That isn’t surprising.” I shifted the baby to my shoulder and busied myself with

looking down at her. “Don’t worry, Mai. Like I said, I’m here for a job. My career is the most

important thing my life.”

She watched me, her eyes wise, almost too wise.

Something told me she didn’t believe me.

But she didn’t argue with me, either.

Moving sucks.

Even when you don’t own a lot, and the movers are handling most of it for you; moving

still sucks.

My back ached from moving boxes from one room to the other, my thighs felt like

rubber and my feet hurt.

Of course, any more, my feet
always
hurt, but this was the weekend, two o’clock on a

Sunday and my feet should be getting a break. Instead, I was still carting boxes around.

The ringing of the doorbell didn’t put me in a better frame of mind and I almost ignored

it, but a lifetime of having manners drilled into me kept me from doing that.

Those manners almost failed me as I saw who stood on the other side.

What in the hell…

Sighing, I undid the chain and opened it to see Gallagher standing there. Sweat trickled

down my brow and I swiped it aside as I said, “Mr. Gallagher. I didn’t overlook a meeting, did

I?” I knew I hadn’t. I’d synced the calendars and double-checked everything before I left

yesterday at one.

“No. I was at Mai’s yesterday. She told me you were moving this weekend. I came by to

see if you needed help.”

He came inside without waiting for an invitation and I huffed out a sigh, staring at his

back. He wore a black t-shirt, one that stretched over hard muscles. It hung out untucked over

his jeans. Faded jeans. Perfectly faded and they clung to long, lean thighs. Bastard. Why did he

have to look so good? “You should have just called. Everything is under control. It’s not your

job to help me settle in.”

He turned and looked at me, a grin crooking his lips in a way that was actually rather

adorable, if I’d let myself
think
of him as adorable. But I couldn’t do that. Already my belly felt hot and tight and I wanted to run my hands through his hair. Soft, gleaming darkly red under

the lights. “Of course it’s not my job. It’s called being friendly, Shannon,” he said softly.

“It’s unnecessary.”

He tucked his hands into his back pockets, eying me. “So you’re all unpacked, then.”

“No.” I frowned at him.

“Then I can help.” He turned and moved deeper into the apartment. “This…isn’t what I

would have seen you choosing. There was something open near Mai’s. Did you see it?”

“I saw it. This suits my needs.” I floundered for some reason to throw him out, but

what in the hell was I going to say?
You can’t stay here? I’m dirty and I’m cranky and I’m not

wearing a bra and I can’t look at you without wanting you
?

That wasn’t going to go over well.

He tossed a look over his shoulder. “It suits your needs? What about what you want?”

My belly twisted, hot and demanding. What I
wanted
stood right in front of me.

Reaching for it was a different matter altogether.

Turning away from him, I strode over the refrigerator and opened it. “This is what I

want. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken it. Would you like a bottle of water?”

“No. I’m good. So…where do you want me?”

He stood only five feet in front of the bedroom door. The mattress was still stripped, but

who needed sheets?

I jerked my chin into the living room. “I need to get my books unpacked, as well as the

dishes.”

Once he was immersed in the books, I ducked into my bedroom and shut the door.

Whipping off my shirt, I pulled on the bra I’d stripped off earlier and then hurriedly dressed

once more. Because I didn’t want to risk having him offer to help in here, I took care of the few

boxes that remained. Mostly it was sheets and bedding, a picture of my mom which I tucked

into a drawer for now. I had changed a great deal in ten years.

She hadn’t.

That taken care of, I looked around. The majority of it was done, save for my clothes.

That could always be done later.

It took roughly twenty minutes to get the bedroom settled and then I opened the door to

find he had finished one box and was working on another. He glanced up at me. His gaze

lingered on me just a little too long and heat crept up my neck, along my skin, until I thought

about walking back over to the refrigerator and opening the door just to cool myself off. “You

don’t have a lot to unpack,” he said, turning back to the books he was shelving. He kept them

in the same order I’d boxed them in. Considerate. “Is there more in storage?”

“No. This is all I have, Mr. Gallagher.”

He frowned at me. “You can call me Drake.”

“I prefer not to, sir.”

He paused, one hand lingering on the spine of a book before stroking down it. “Any

reason for that, Shannon?” he asked, his voice soft, an odd tone in it. He did it again, too.

Lingering on the second syllable of my name.

When I didn’t answer, he turned his head, looked at me.

There was a look there, in the back of his eyes. My breath hitched in my lungs. I

wondered. Had to wonder.

Did he remember? If he did, he’d say it. Now, if ever, there was a time. We weren’t at

the office and this was the perfect time.

“Is it a professionalism thing or you just don’t much care for me?”

In my heart, a crack that I hadn’t realized was still there widened, split even further.

No. He didn’t remember.

Sighing, I moved back into the kitchen and reached for the box opener, cut open another

box. “I simply prefer to call my bosses their surnames. As to whether or not I care for you, you

are my boss. My personal feelings aren’t an issue.”

The one time my feelings
had
been an issue for me, they hadn’t mattered to him, at all.

Why was he concerned about them now?

“You’ve got to be the most tidy, efficient person I’ve ever come across.”

It took less than two hours. When he realized that all I had left were the towels and my

clothes, he took the box of towels and sheets and gestured to the bedroom. “You’ll be busy all

week and you’ll sleep better if you know you’re unpacked,” he said, giving me a narrow look.

“If you’re this organized, it’s in your nature. So unpack the clothes. I’ll handle the towels.”

“They are my towels.” I was tempted to insist, but at that point, I really wanted a long,

hot soak—one thing this place did have that I had coveted was a Jacuzzi tub and I was going to

soak until I turned into a prune. It would be easier if I didn’t have to unearth all the towels.

“Fine. If you insist, the bathroom is through here.”

I turned my back on him so I didn’t have the sight of him in my bedroom imprinted on

my memory and then I busied myself with hauling my suit bags and the suitcases out of the

closet. Two dozen suits made up the majority of my wardrobe and most of them would have to

be ironed. Oh, the fun we’ll have… I blew out a sigh and thought maybe the long bath wouldn’t

be as long as I’d like.

“Nice tub.”

I jumped and spun around to see him in the doorway, the empty box hanging from one

big, long-fingered hand. “Yes.” And damn him, now I had the image of him in my bedroom,

standing just there in the doorway with the decadent bathroom at his back, the black t-shirt

stretched across his flat belly, over wide shoulders.

My mouth went dry and my heart started to hammer within my chest.

Not the images I needed in my head. Turning back to the closet, I straightened out the

suits I’d just hung up and turned to the bed to get another handful.

He was already there, holding the remaining suits. I stepped aside as he came my way.

I wasn’t going to have a wrestling contest over the damn suits. That meant I might have to

touch
him. Then I’d have that memory in me as well.

“What else?”

What other memories?

I swallowed and headed over to the bed. “Everything else is personal. Which I can

handle easily enough on my own. Thank you for your help, sir.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Hungry?” I frowned and looked up.

“Yeah. You haven’t done any shopping—I saw the fridge. I know the neighborhood.

Mai isn’t far from here. There’s a great pizza place. Are you hungry?”

My belly rumbled, as if on cue.

His gaze dropped, lingered on my midsection, a grin curling on his lips. Sighing, I

turned away. “Do you really have nothing else to do with your time, Mr. Gallagher?”

“Oh, I can think of plenty I should do. But I decided I wanted to do this. Now I want

pizza. I’m going to get some either way. The question is, do you want to share it with me or

not?”

Damn him. Now I wanted pizza, too.

And what was I going to do, keep pushing him back until I figured out just what I was

here to
do
?

It sure as hell wasn’t because I
liked
having him work me into the ground.

“Pizza sounds fine,” I said, staring at the blindingly white wall in front of me.

Dinner. It would just be dinner. I could maybe convince myself to relax.

Mai had said he watched me and twice today I’d noticed him doing just that.