Bargaining with the Bride(38)

Which, she supposed, was fitting. Why not have an audience for her personal suffering?

"I'm an idiot." She said the words to the dog slowly, but when he simply panted at her in response, she leaned her head back against the headboard and sighed.

There was only one thing to do now. If Garret was at work, which he most definitely was, she'd just have to spend the day devising a new set of rules. Some stipulations for their, um, additional experiments.

If he wanted to continue them.

God, let him want to continue them...

She picked his shirt off the floor and buttoned into loosely before trotting down the steps two at a time. After some coffee, it was going to be go time—

"Ah!" She must have leapt two feet in the air, but Garret didn't seem to notice.

Hell, he didn't even turn around. He just kept flipping whatever it was he had on the stove, shaking his head all the while.

"You know, I could understand your surprise the first time, but don't you think a second time is a bit much?" He shot her a grin just as Tesla swept by her leg.

The bristles of her fur almost made her want to jump again, but she steadied herself. One step at a time.

"What are doing here?" She asked.

"I live here."

"No. You don't. But that aside, I meant what are you doing here right now? You should be in the office."

"There are certain benefits to being the boss." He sat an plate with a warm bagel in front of her and she glanced from it to him before reaching a reluctant hand out for the cream cheese.

"Okay. I'll bite." She smeared the spread on the bagel, and then met his gaze again. "What's your plan?"

"I wanted to have a meeting with you. To make sure you were okay."

She worried her bottom lip. He was going to tell her it couldn't happen again. She could just tell. It was something about the way he spoke. Like he was in a meeting with a very important but very moody client.

"I'm fine." She crunched into her breakfast, and then watched as Tesla circled her feet for crumbs like a pudgy vulture.

"Good."

"How are you?" she countered.

He smiled. "I'm quite well."

"Good, good." She nodded, and then swallowed hard.

It would have been such a help if he would only freaking sit down. If he'd just, she didn't know, act normal for once. He'd been so normal at dinner and when they'd gone shopping, but whenever they were alone, it was like something flipped in him. Like he was all steely business.

Or, at least, that how it had been every time except last night.

Then he'd been hard and soft all at once. Compassionate and passionate. And so strong...

"I think there's a matter that we need to discuss." As if he'd read her mind, he finally took a seat across from her.

Okay, that was something. Common ground.

She cleared her throat, "I assume you're referring to our copulation." She'd said it in her best scientific voice, but he broke out into laughter.

"Exactly." He nodded.

"Look, uh, I understand if you'd rather not. I could see where it might mess up your statistics and stuff and I know there's a lot going on with me and—"

"That's not at all what I was going to say," he was so sincere when he spoke that it made her heart beat a little faster.

"You...weren't?"

"No. I was going to say that last night was the best night of my life. Of course, I'm your boss and I want you to know that if you'd rather not continue, I would understand."

She couldn't be hearing him right. This was straight-laced cut-to-the-chase Garret telling her that he wanted to fuck her five ways from Sunday? And, okay, it might have been a little more shocking if he'd phrased it that way, but she knew what he meant.

"What does this mean for your experiment?"

"I see no reason why we can't continue."

"And what about work?"

"What about it? I wanted to have sex with you before, I see no reason for my action to change now that I have."

She nearly choked on her coffee, "You what?"

"Come on, don't tell me you didn't know."

"That's exactly what I'm telling you."

"And Natalie never said anything about it?"

"Who listens to Natalie?" She spluttered, trying to find that last part of her mind that might be able to think straight. "So, had you been planning this for a long time? Like, did you do this whole thing to get close to me?"

"No, that would be insane."

"Says the man who moved into my house without telling me. And just left in the middle of a make-out session. And—"

"I get the point. But no, that's not why I did this. I did this because you're my friend and valued employee. The fact that I did nothing about how much I wanted to pull your tight skirts up to your waist had to do with your relationship status, not anything else."