I glance over my shoulder. “Do that.”

Chapter Six

~Mac~

She walks out the door, shutting it firmly but not slamming it, behind her. I drag my hands over my face and cringe when I hear my younger brother walk into the room from his office.

“So that’s her?”

“That’s her.” I turn to him, and despite his being two years younger, it’s like looking in a mirror.

“She’s pretty badass,” he says with a nod. “And it sounds like you finally met someone who won’t take your shit.”

“I don’t fling shit,” I reply with a scowl. “I don’t lie to anyone.”

“Nope, you’ve never been a liar,” Chase agrees. “But you’re used to doing things your way, and it sounds like she’s not going to bat her eyelashes and let you run the show.”

“You’re exaggerating.” I shake my head and walk into my own office. My brother and I started this business together a year ago, and it was the best decision we’ve made. Business is booming. “But you’re right. She’s not a passive woman.”

“Good. You’ve been fucking around with too many passive women,” he says with a smirk, and leans his shoulder on my doorframe.

“You fuck around with passive women,” I remind him. “Like Mom says, we’re two peas in a pod.”

“The passive women work for me for now. I don’t think it’s working for you anymore if Kat can basically tell you that you’re an ass and you still have that look on your face.”

“What look?”

“The I want to fuck her seven ways to Sunday look.”

“It’s not just that.” Frustration hangs heavily in my voice as I lean back in my chair. “The sex is fucking amazing. I won’t deny the chemistry. But there’s more there than a romp in bed.”

“A relationship?”

My gaze flies to his and I stop cold. “I don’t do relationships, Chase.” And it’s not because of any deep-seated mommy issues, or past hurts. I’ve just always focused on work, on building something strong with my businesses, and a serious relationship, leading to a wife and kids, has never been a part of those plans.

“Okay, friends with benefits?”

“I just like her.” I rub my hand over my lips, and for reasons I can’t describe, want to punch my brother squarely on the chin.

“You don’t have to put a label on it,” he says reasonably. “Just date her and see what happens.”

“Date her?”

“Yes, it’s a new invention where two people hang out together when they want to get to know each other better.” He rolls his eyes.

“I don’t have time to date.”

“You’re fucked up,” Chase says, shaking his head.

What else is new?

“I wasn’t going to do any of this,” I say, and stand to pace the room.

“Yes, you were, but now that you’ve done it, you don’t know what to do next. Women aren’t usually difficult for you, brother. You charm them, you fuck them, sometimes for a few months, then you move on. You don’t give them much thought after the fact. But this one is different.”

“She’s different,” I agree.

“Okay, so go buy her some fucking posies and romance her a bit. You can’t order her around and expect her to fall in line the way you do with everything else.”

She falls in line perfectly in the bedroom. I smirk. Maybe that’s what’s so damn alluring about Kat. I can dominate the hell out of her during sex, but outside of the bedroom she’s strong and opinionated and doesn’t need to be told what to do in the least. She’s unexpected and different.

“You’re right,” I reply. “And romance isn’t usually my strong suit.”

“I’ll help,” he says with a bright smile.

“Romance is your strong suit?” I ask with a laugh. “You’re worse at it than me.”

“Then together we should rock it.” He shrugs.

“We aren’t doing anything,” I remind him, and slap his cheek playfully as I walk past him. “I’m leaving for the day.”

“Flowers.” He follows me into the reception area.

“What?”

“Women like flowers.”

This woman will like something else.

“You should start taking your own advice and find a nice girl to date,” I tell him, locking my office behind me.

“I think I’ll sit back and watch how you do,” he replies. “There’s no need for us both to be humiliated at the same time.”

“I’m not going to be humiliated.”

“You hope.”

I flip him off and walk out of the office and down to the busy Portland street below. It’s a Friday, at the end of the workday, so traffic is insane as businessmen and women fight their way through traffic to get to their suburban homes.

Living in the suburbs has never appealed to me. I like the chaos of the city. The sounds. Even the smells.

And the people. Walking through town every day makes me feel alive. There’s a heartbeat to the city that I never want to leave.

My condo is less than a mile away from my office in the Pearl District. This part of the city used to be full of factories and warehouses, but in the past fifteen years it’s changed. The buildings were converted into condos and apartments, boutiques and restaurants moved in, and it’s now a trendy part of town.