“You might regret it later when you get sick of me touching you.”
I kept my huff to myself and the words I wanted to say, which wasnever.
But I should have known something would interrupt our little sexual experiment, and when Jasper’s phone pinged with a message a little while later and the relaxed expression vanished from his face, I should have taken it for the omen that it was.
PART3
EBB TIDE
TWENTY-TWO
JASPER
“Praise be toBeyonce,”Finn declared as he rushed onto the plane and fell into the seat next to me. “I didn’t think I was going to make it. I can’t believe the train broke down.” He looked around and then smiled. “First class suits you, Professor.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d argued when the stakeholders insisted on flying us out to the Whitsunday Region on the East Coast of Australia in first class. Apparently, it was company policy that we had to if we were flying that distance. I wasn’t happy about it, but Finn gave me that look that told me to keep my opinions to myself.
It had been a week since we… made out, hooked up, had a one night stand. I wasn’t sure what to call it because after we left that hotel, we’d not talked about it, and there had been no attempts at a rerun. I mean, there had been the old glance, and the sexual tension sometimes crackled in the air, but I was starting to think that was wishful thinking on my part.
I’d thought about talking to him about it, but this week had been non-stop. Trying to set up this trip, working out what the hell was happening in the data and the potential implications if their findings were as screwed as they appeared. And then there was the slight problem of Travis. He’d texted me when I’d been with Finn.
I knew he was interviewing for another job, and that’s why he’d asked for annual leave. The research team had phoned me for a reference as soon as he applied. At first, I gave Trav a glowing one, but then, after speaking to Thomas, I emailed them, telling them I couldn’t do without him and to spread the word to anyone else thinking of poaching my number one deep-sea engineer that he was not available.
I glanced down at my phone, rereading Travis’ text for the millionth time.
Travis: Motherfucker. How could you? You know how much I love what I do, and you’ve made me unemployable. I might be forced to work for you while I sort this out, but I will never forgive you for this. We can add it to the list.
I’d not replied because I knew this would take some grovelling to fix, but this was Travis. We were friends. He had to forgive me. Didn’t he?
FINN
“Wait here,”I instructed as Jasper and I walked across the foyer of the hotel towards the reception desk.
“It’s fine,” he replied, looking exhausted.
I cocked my brow, my hand landing on my hip. “Can you let me do my job, please, Professor?”
His lips curled into a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
I walked to the desk, greeting the curled haired woman who checked us in and handed me the keycards to our suite.
“You’re on the 11th floor, Mr Wells, room 1011. It’s one of our best suits, so we hope you enjoy your stay with us, but if there is anything you need, please call down and ask for Liza. I’ll be happy to help.”
I offered her a smile. “Thank you.”
Jasper and I headed to the lifts and stepped inside, Jasper leaning back against the wall, closing his eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked, desperate to reach out and touch him, but far too confused about what, if anything, was happening between us and not in the mood to be rejected by someone I had to spend the next three weeks with in a foreign country.
“Exhausted. I thought those bed things were supposed to make sleeping easier. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling.”
“You could have watched a movie,” I chuckled.
“I did in the end. And now I feel like a zombie.”
I couldn’t resist, wrapping my hand around his bicep, deciding that it was a platonic enough move to be classed as an employee checking on their boss, rather than a needy ex-dancer trying desperately to get a read on what the hot, newly out, gay marine biologist wanted to happen between them.
“What do you need, Professor?” I heard the desire in my voice as the words tumbled out, and Jasper must have too, as his eyes popped open and his gaze locked onto mine, but before he could say anything, the lift doors opened.