Текст книги "Beauty and the Boss"

Автор книги: Diane Alberts

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Six

At exactly five o’clock Monday evening, Maggie closed her computer, slid it into her bag, took a deep breath, and stood. A few coworkers had already gathered their belongings, and they shot her some surreptitious glances the second she moved. She wasn’t sure whether it was because she was leaving earlier than normal, or if it was because word had spread about her and Benjamin being engaged.

Either way…

They were freaking staring.

And they had been all day, too. At first it had been mildly amusing, but after the tenth person stopped by her desk to chat—correction, to gape at her ring—it had gotten old, really fast. Obviously, some sort of announcement was needed.

She might as well get it over with.

“Just do it, Maggie. Stand up, and announce you’re dating Benjamin,” she muttered under her breath. Fisting her hands at her sides, she cleared her throat loudly, ignoring her racing heart. “Yes, I’ve been secretly dating Mr. Gale, and yes, I have been since before I even started working here. And yes, I’m engaged to him. He gave me a gorgeous ring.” She led her hand up high, rotating it every which way. “Here it is. Now, can we all move on, and stop staring at me like I’m a freak?”

People ducked their heads, returning to whatever they’d been doing earlier. Maggie nodded once, smoothed her skirt, and headed for Benjamin’s door.

That went surprisingly well.

Hopefully this next step would, too.

“You can do this. Everything will be fine,” she whispered under her breath, staring at the Empire State Building as she went. She could just make out the red neon sign on top of the old New Yorker Hotel, too. “It’s fine. This’ll be fun. You’re strong and steady, like that building. Benjamin won’t make you cave. You won’t kiss him or touch him. You’re not going to lose.”

If she said it enough times, maybe she’d actually believe it.

After a long, calming breath, she lifted her hand and knocked three times on his door. She heard a muffled “come in” through the wood, so she twisted the knob. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d left the office before seven, and Benjamin rarely did either, but tonight…

They were going to do it together.

Be rebels.

It had taken most of the last two days to get everything lined up properly, but she was ready to show him what a real first date should be like. When she walked in, the frown he wore faded a tiny bit, and he studied her without lifting his head from his work. “Hey. How’s it going out there?”

“Awkwardly. They’re all staring.” She waved a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. He looked so handsome sitting behind his desk in his navy blue suit, with his perfect hair begging to be touched. “Like, constantly. I’m about to drag my desk in here so I can have a closed door, too.”

He set his pen down and sighed. “Do I need to say something?”

“No, please. It’s fine.”

“Okay.” He paused again, frowning. “Why are you in here, if you don’t need my help?”

Her cheeks heated, because he seemed annoyed at her intrusion. “We’re leaving.”

“What?” He glanced at his watch and shook his head. “No way in hell. I’ve got at least two more hours of work here on my desk, and it’s only five o’clock. Not to mention, you still haven’t gotten me that report you owe me. I told you it would wait, but I didn’t mean forever.” His tone was dismissive, as if having dealt with her, he expected her to leave.

He was sadly mistaken.

The only way she was leaving was with him.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, fighting back the irritation rising within her at his tone. He wasn’t making it hard to resist him with that attitude of his, so it really wasn’t fair that she still wanted him.

Sighing, he glanced up again. “What now?”

“The same thing as before.” She tapped her foot faster. “It’s after hours. The ‘boss’ you has to go away, and my ‘fiancé’ needs to come out to play. We have a date.”

That got his attention. He perked up and pushed his chair back. “In that case, come on over. Give me some sugar, darling.”

She shook her head, despite the way her pulse leaped when he grinned at her roguishly and patted his lap. All she could think was: yes please.

After he’d stopped playing by the first-date playbook the other night, things between them had changed. It was like a switch had been turned off inside of him, and he’d become a different man. It had been hard to resist the more controlled version of him.

This version made it impossible.

Forcing herself to stay still and not climb onto his lap to purr louder than her cat, Lucifer, did when she groomed him, she crossed her arms. “Not quite what I had in mind.”

“Pity.” He gave her a darker, even more seductive look that made butterflies take off in her stomach and explode midflight. “What did you have in mind, then?”

“Me.” She crept closer. “You.” Leaning across his desk, she grabbed his tie and tugged him to his feet. The way he watched her, all hot and possessive, made her thighs quiver. “Leaving, together, in front of the whole office. The rest is a secret that you’ll find out about when we get downstairs to our limo.”

He cocked a brow. “You hired a limo?”

“Nah.” She smiled and pulled him out from behind his desk by his tie. He came willingly, a barely leashed wildness emanating from every single muscle in his body. She swallowed hard, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she’d bitten off more than she could chew with Benjamin Gale. “I called your butler, and he told your driver to be waiting for us.”

He gripped her hip, stepping into her personal space while not technically breaking any of the rules she’d laid out. “How did you get William’s number?”

“I’m just that good.” She yanked his tie one last time before letting go, trying her best to ignore the annoying voice inside of her that screamed for her to kiss him. “Now get your coat. We’re leaving this office, hand in hand, so they see us being super cute.”

He adjusted his abused tie, eyeing her. “You’re being bossy. I kind of like it. It’s hot.”

She shot him a flirtatious smile, saying nothing. She was too busy trying to resist him to be witty.

He shrugged into his dark grey pea coat, never tearing his eyes off her, and a smile lit up his face. When he smiled, he chipped away at every defense she had in place against him. Lucky for her, he hadn’t seemed to figure that out yet. “Are we going to get through this date without you running away again, or should I change into sneakers, just in case?”

“You never know.” She walked up to him and held on to his jacket, staring up at him through her lashes. “We’ll see how tonight goes.”

“So this is a test?” Benjamin grinned and gripped her chin, tipping her face up to his. “If so, I intend to pass with flying colors. I don’t like failing.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” His mother had said almost the same exact thing, but she didn’t point that out. “Which is why you’re doomed for disappointment going up against me.”

He came closer. “Have I told you how gorgeous you look today, Maggie? That red blouse really brings out the gray in your eyes.”

Her heart fluttered, and she bit back a smile at his charming flirtation. His hold on her chin burned her skin and made her insides all jittery. She tried to hide that from him. He didn’t need any more ammunition against her. “I don’t have gray eyes.”

“Sure you do.” He tipped her face to his a little more. “But up close, when you smile, or try not to smile like you’re doing right now, there are tiny little specks of blue, too. I plan on seeing those blue specks a lot in our time together. I discovered something about myself the other night. I like making you smile more than I like anything.”

She took a deep breath, holding it in. She had no idea what to say to that. He’d literally rendered her speechless, making her doubt her ability to maintain her businesslike approach to this engagement, and they hadn’t even left his office yet. “Benjamin…”

“Yes?” he asked, reaching out slowly and curling his hand securely around her nape. Then he lowered his head to hers. His lips were so close. Close enough that all it would take was a quick push from her heels, and she’d have what she wanted from him so badly, no matter how hard she tried to deny it. He held himself back, clearly waiting for her to give him a sign if his kiss was welcome or not. And that was the problem—it was. “What is it you need, darling?”

Oh, crap. He was pulling out nicknames now. She was so screwed. “Why do you keep calling me darling?”

“That’s what you are to me.” He lifted a shoulder and ran his thumb along her jaw. “And it seemed like a good fit. I was right. It feels good.”

“Yeah…it does.” And so did he, but she needed to keep her head on straight. She tugged free. He didn’t let go right away. “But no one’s in here, so there’s no reason for us to kiss, right?”

“Right. Of course.” His grip tightened for a second, and he pressed his mouth into a tight line, but then he let go. “Sorry.”

She missed his touch immediately, but it was for the best. After she’d fought so hard to get it, she wasn’t going to lose everything over a pretty face—although, to be fair, it wasn’t just his face that had her swooning. It was everything—his smile, the way he slowly warmed up to her, and how he treated her differently than everyone else he interacted with. How he made her feel special with a simple smile or kind gesture. “Okay, so when we go out there, we’ll go to my desk, and I’ll grab my jacket. You take it from me, and help me put it on. I guess a soft kiss for their benefit will be permitted.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his voice deeper than ever before.

She hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you, Benjamin. It’s that I do.”

He didn’t say anything to that, just stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

But she knew herself better than he did, and she didn’t want to risk getting her heart broken over a guy who could never be hers for real. Not in a million years. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t become friends…hence this date she was taking him on.

From what she’d seen, and what he’d said, he was a loner. He never went out with the guys, or had a buddy drop by to say hi. To the best of her knowledge, he didn’t have any friends at all. He needed a friend more than he needed yet another lover.

She had a feeling he didn’t hurt in that area of his life.

He flexed his jaw, enfolded her hand in his, opened the office door, and inclined his head to the waiting office—which was still half filled with people packing up for the day. “Ladies first.”

“Don’t forget. Jacket, help, chaste kiss.”

He nodded and repeated, “Yes, ma’am.”

After taking a deep breath, she headed straight for her desk and grabbed her jacket as planned. The second she picked it up, he took it. “Please. Let me help you with that, darling,” he said, deadpan.

People exchanged looks. They seemed less than impressed. If he kept up this emotionless acting, they could quit the charade right here and now. She shot him a frown as she slid her hands into the arms of her coat. “Thanks, Benji.”

He choked and turned red. “What the hell? Never call me that ag—”

Grabbing his coat lapels before he blew everything she was trying to accomplish, she kissed him. His arms immediately closed around her. As with the last time, he snatched control of the kiss, commanding it and her to his will.

He seized her hips and yanked her closer to his body. A soft moan escaped her, because an impressively hard bulge pressed against her stomach, and she couldn’t help it. She wanted him, despite all logic and reason telling her to keep her distance.

And if they had been alone, she might just have taken him.

Which was why they couldn’t kiss in private. She obviously had no self-control when it came to Benjamin Gale. The first step to overcoming an obstacle was admitting to it…or however that cliché went. And her problem was Benjamin Gale.

She needed to get over it.

Tilting his head, he slanted his mouth across hers and teased her, running his tongue across her tightly sealed lips. She shouldn’t let him—oh, screw it. She was opening her mouth and kissing him. Logic could kiss her butt. But when she gave him what he wanted, he pulled back, ending it without entering her mouth.

He didn’t let go of her, though.

Instead, he smoothed her hair off her face and gave her a tender smile that, if she didn’t know better, she’d swear was real. Pressing his cheek to her temple, he whispered, “You said to keep it chaste, right?”

“Huh?” She blinked, trying to get her thoughts back in order. Needing a break from his intense stare, she glanced around—and found every set of eyes on them. Craaaaap. How had she forgotten about their audience? At least he’d kept his knee firmly in check this time. She smoothed his jacket, even though it wasn’t messed up at all, and stepped back. He let go of her. “Uh, right. That was perfect.”

In more ways than one.

Stupid, sexy, irresistible man.

He buttoned her jacket for her and leaned down, pressing his mouth against her ear. “Just for the record, I can do that again later, when we don’t have anyone watching us. I could have you naked, writhing, and screaming in my bed the second you gave me the green light. And you wouldn’t regret a damn second of it.”

Oh, I bet I would. She pressed her thighs together, but it did nothing to assuage the ache his words created inside her. “Benjamin, that’s a horrible idea.”

“It might be.” He dropped one last kiss on her temple. “But I swear I’ll make it worth your time…more than once.” He skimmed his hand down her hip, barely touching her butt, since people were watching, and stepped back. After a quick glance at his crotch area, he tugged his jacket down to cover his erection. “And that’s a fucking promise.”

She bit her tongue to stop herself from moaning again, because she really, really wanted to collect on that. And she also wanted to lift that jacket up to get a better look.

Like…really.

Chapter Seven

Benjamin followed her down the sidewalk toward his waiting town car, adjusting his tight pants again. As she walked, her soft brown hair blew gently in the breeze, looking way too touchable to resist for long. And with her, he didn’t want to resist at all. There was something about her that made him want to ignore years of self-restraint and controlled emotions. That made him want to be different. He wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing or not, but he didn’t give a damn.

He was going to roll with it. See where Maggie Donovan took him.

When she passed his town car, he stopped and cleared his throat. She glanced over her shoulder at him, her brow wrinkled. His heart rate increased just because she was so damn pretty, standing in the last afternoon sun on a busy New York street, wearing a black wool coat and a purple knit hat, staring at him. It did things to him.

Things he didn’t fully understand.

The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her, right there in front of all the people pushing past them, hit him like a fist to the gut. He didn’t, though. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. After all, there was no one around to fool, so he wasn’t supposed to kiss her. “You walking to our date, or what?”

“Oh, right.” She shoved an errant piece of hair out of her face and shivered. Her cheeks were rosy red, just like the tip of her nose. “I zoned out for a second there.”

He waved his driver off so he could open the door for her himself. “No worries.”

She slid inside and peeked out at him. “I’m here now.”

“Good.” He followed her in and closed the door. Something smelled tantalizing and his stomach growled, but he couldn’t quite place it. After he settled in, he teased her. “I’d be pretty damn bored if I was going on this date by myself.”

Shaking her head, she glanced out the window and muttered, “But I’d be safer.”

“Maggie.” Even though she’d spoken, he had the feeling it hadn’t been to him. “You’re doing it again.”

She startled, only further proving his point. “Doing what?”

“Talking to yourself.”

“Yeah.” She adjusted her skirt and shrugged. “I do that sometimes.”

He smiled. He couldn’t help it. “So you said.”

“Oh.” She blushed even more. “Right.”

He turned her way. His thigh brushed hers, and she shivered before shifting closer to her side of the car. For the first time in he didn’t know how long, he was excited. This date was going to tell him more about Maggie. What she liked. How she thought. What kind of woman she was. And he couldn’t fucking wait to find out so he could blow her mind when it was his turn to pick the date again.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” The car pulled away from the curb, and she smiled, seeming to shake off some of her nerves. “First? Close your eyes.”

“Are you going to strip naked for me? If so, I’m not closing my damn eyes.”

She rolled hers. “Not a chance.”

Sighing dramatically, he leaned back against the seat and did as she requested. His heart sped up, because even doing something as juvenile as closing his eyes so she could surprise him was exciting. Fresh. Fun. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had fun, before she’d crashed into his life. “Fine. My eyes are closed.”

She waved her hand in front of his face. He felt it. When he didn’t react, she pulled something out that crinkled. After setting it on his lap, she dusted off her hands. “Okay. Open them.”

He did, and glanced down at his lap. A Wendy’s bag sat in his lap, hot and greasy and artery clogging—but so fucking good. “Is that…?”

“A spicy chicken sandwich and cheese fries?” She grinned, looking way too damn proud of herself. “You bet your last cow it is.”

His last cow? The things that came out of her mouth…

His stomach groaned in anticipation, and he stared at the bag. This was his favorite bad meal, his vice. He’d lived off this shit in college, but he hadn’t had it in…God, at least six years. “How did you find out?”

“Oh, I’m just that good,” she said again. Leaning back, she grinned and pulled out her own bag. “Eat up. I won’t judge you…much.”

And the thing was, it was true. She wouldn’t judge him for…well, anything. And that was so refreshing and amazing that he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Or her. He opened the bag, his mouth watering. “I’m going to have to do double time at the gym tonight after this, but it’s worth it.”

“Is that when you work out?” she asked, dropping a fry into her mouth. He couldn’t look away from her lips. “At night?”

“Yeah.” Clearing his throat, he pulled his own meal out. “I do it before bed.”

She swallowed. “Where do you go?”

“My place.” He opened the lid of his cheese fries. “I have a gym there.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. I should’ve guessed.”

They fell into companionable silence as they ate. By the time they finished, he felt a hundred pounds heavier, but more satisfied than a college kid after a night in a strip club. If someone had told him he’d eat Wendy’s on a date with his fiancée, he’d have laughed till he fell over.

Yet, here he was.

“Thanks for the dinner,” he said, wiping his hands off with a napkin.

She did the same, grinning. “You’re welcome.”

So. First tip? She liked Wendy’s. Not expensive restaurants. “Now that we’ve stuffed ourselves…” Looking outside, he tried to figure out where they were. They were approaching Penn Station, heading down Eighth Avenue. “What’s next?”

“This.” She handed him a beer. His mother had always said it was a poor man’s drink, and he was never to be seen with one in his hand. He didn’t agree, but he also refused to give her yet another thing to bitch about. “Drink up.”

He tightened his hold, remembering how much he’d enjoyed beer, once upon a time. “Where did you find out about this?”

“That you drink the best wines and whiskeys in public, but truly prefer a twenty-bucks-a-case bottle of beer?” She lifted hers to her lips. “Oh, I have my ways, Benjamin.”

He studied her, lifting his own beer to his mouth to take a swig. It meshed well with the Wendy’s he’d just eaten. He’d asked her to show him what she liked in a date, and instead of taking him to some pottery exhibit or boring art exhibit—she was giving him everything he liked instead. It didn’t make any sense. Why would she do that?

Why would she care?

Lost in thought, he swished the beer in his mouth before swallowing. “Let me guess.” He swirled the amber liquid in the bottle. “Our destination is a place that most people wouldn’t suspect I like to go to, but you somehow discovered it.”

Her lips twitched, and he saw those blue flecks in her eyes that he’d come to crave more than anything else. “Fine. I’ll tell you. We’re going to the Rangers game.”

Jesus. She’d done her homework, all right. If he wasn’t aware it was what she did for a living, it might’ve creeped him out. He understood now why she’d been upset at his botched attempt at a date Saturday night. It was painfully clear that she’d put a shitload of thought into this outing, into the things he’d like, and all he’d done was take her on his generic first date—and he’d assumed she’d be just as lost in his charm as other woman always had been. Maggie was a special kind of woman.

The kind who cared more about his fun than hers.

He swallowed hard, shame churning in his gut. “Let me guess. You found out because you’re just that good?”

“Nah. That one was easy to figure out all on my own,” she said, laughing. “You have a puck on the corner of your desk.”

And that made him feel even worse. She was so much better at this than he was. He was used to skating through life without a care, getting what he wanted from people with a snap of his fingers, and he’d dared to treat her like the rest of the people in his life.

He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

A few hours later, in the last seconds of the game, Benjamin shot to his feet, a beer clasped precariously in his left hand. The opposing team had slammed a Ranger into the wall, and a fight broke out. “Get the piece of shit!” he shouted, laughing when the Ranger knocked the other guy to his ass. “Fuck yeah!” As soon as the words left his lips, he looked at Maggie. “Sorry. So sorry.”

She laughed. When she was chilly and rosy, she had freckles that danced across her nose and cheeks. “You can shout curses in front of me. I won’t faint.”

People started clearing out of the arena, but he didn’t move. Neither did she. Truth be told, he didn’t want the night to end. It had been…fun. So much fucking fun it was almost like a dream. Like he’d fallen asleep at his desk and would soon wake up with his head resting on a stack of reports, instead of having Maggie at his side.

If that was the case, he didn’t want to wake up. He wanted to stay where he was.

He enjoyed hanging out with Maggie, and if they got up, it would be over. She’d go home, and he’d go home, and he’d be alone in his apartment, like always.

Funny. That didn’t sound as appealing as it had a week ago.

“But still.” He sat back down, his knee brushing against hers. He clenched his jaw. All night long, those accidental touches had been killing him, and she suffered, too. He saw the tension in her growing with each soft touch. He felt it, too. “It’s a respect thing. Gentlemen shouldn’t curse in front of ladies.”

She snorted. “Lucky for you I’m not a lady. I’m just me.”

“Ah, but I disagree.” He turned Maggie’s way, and those gray eyes of hers were glowing with so much life. And, damn it, he wanted to feel that way, too. To remember what it felt like when he’d been…well, himself. “You’re more of a lady, and more deserving of respect, than anyone else I’ve ever met. You’re amazing Maggie, and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.”

She swallowed hard and shifted closer to him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He glanced away, before he did the unthinkable and touched her cheek, or gave up resisting, broke the rules, and kissed her. The worst part was he could see the matching desire burning in her eyes, but she refused to give in. “And I’m sorry for my outburst.”

All his life, he’d been taught to hide his emotions. To never show happiness, fear, or even excitement. For a while, he’d balked against those constraints. He’d been alive. But then his father had died, and all that had changed. Around Maggie, the balance shifted again. Tiny pieces of the real him came out to play.

And it was good to get a portion of himself back.

“It makes me happy, seeing you so…” She set a soft hand on his arm. “Free.”

He couldn’t see it, since he’d refocused on the ice, but he could feel it deep down to his soul. It was as if when she touched him, she somehow made him brighter—which was ridiculous. “I’m not free.”

“And you never will be, with your mother on your back.”

He lifted a shoulder, watching the Zamboni smooth the ice. “It’s fine. She’s just got a set of goals in mind for me, and when I don’t follow through with her plans, she gets upset.”

That, and she hates me—for good reason. But he wouldn’t say that out loud. It would only sound like a pity party, and he didn’t do those.

“I get that,” she said softly. She sipped her beer, also watching the machine as it smoothed away the blemishes in the ice. Too bad they didn’t make those for your life. Benjamin could think of a few incidents he’d like to smooth over, too. Maggie went on. “My ex was like that. Overbearing. Controlling. Irrational.”

He glared down at his beer. “I hope you kicked him to the curb quick.”

“Not quick enough.” She side-eyed him. “Not before I needed a court order against him to make him to leave me alone.”

He growled deep in his throat, not even meaning to. The fact that she’d been scared enough—hurt enough—to need an injunction infuriated him. “What’s his name? I’ll kill him.”

“No need.” She smiled, but it was a sad one. “He did that himself, after writing me a note that told me it was all my fault.”

He swallowed. That kind of history explained so much about her reluctance to let him in. To trust him. Hell, he didn’t blame her. Not after what she’d been through. And the worst part was, Maggie was the kindest person he’d ever met. She didn’t deserve that. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said.

“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.” She lifted the beer to her lips. “Either way, it only proves how bad I am at relationships. It’s why I stopped trying. He wasn’t the first guy to show me that love isn’t worth the fight, but I swore he’d be the last.”

Which was why she refused to let him kiss her. She was scared they’d come to a messy end. And even with all of that, she had gone through a hell of a lot of effort to give him the best date he’d ever had. She’d shown him kindness he could never, and had never, shown another person. It was humbling, and embarrassing, and it made him like her even more.

He’d needed her to reminded him what it was like to open yourself up and let another person in. And, against all reason, he wanted that person to be her. He wanted all of her. Even if he didn’t deserve her.

“Christ.” He shook his head and glared down at his beer. “I’m sorry.”

She froze, her beer still at her lips. Lowering it, she swiped her hand across her mouth. “What for?”

“For not putting in even a fraction of the effort that you’ve obviously put into this date.” He reached out and caught her hand, and for once she didn’t pull away. “I’ll do better next time. I swear it.”

She swallowed hard. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not like we’re actually dating.”

He’d become so good at hiding his desires and emotions that he’d forgotten how to voice them out loud. But with Maggie, he wanted to, and he wanted to stop pretending that she was just a way for him to keep his position. “So you keep saying.”

She sipped her beer, not meeting his eyes. “Well, that’s because it’s true.”

He had the distinct impression she said that out loud for her benefit instead of his. He also suspected that she didn’t believe it any more than he did, because it felt fucking real. Right here, right now, it did. “It doesn’t matter anymore if this is real, or if it isn’t. I think you’re fooling yourself, and me. Or maybe I am.”

Her breath whooshed out. “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

“That’s because I’m not making any sense,” he said, frustration clear in his tone. He rested a hand on her thigh. It trembled under his touch. “You obviously put a hell of a lot of thought into this date, which either means you wanted to prove a point about how much I screwed up Saturday night—”

“What?” She shook her head. “No. Not at all.”

He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Or you care about what I think and feel, and wanted to make me happy.”

She swallowed hard. “Yeah. And so what if I do?”

“It’s been a hell of a long time since anyone gave a damn what I wanted. This thing we have between us? It’s no longer just for show. Not on my end.” He gritted his teeth, trying to think of the best way to articulate his thoughts without sounding like an idiot. “I want you.”

“Benjamin…”

“Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll never mention this again.” He held on to her chin with his thumb and forefinger, keeping his touch gentle enough for her to turn away if she wanted. She didn’t. “Tell me you don’t want me to fuck you. Tell me I’m wrong.”

She closed her mouth, opened it, and said, “You’re not wrong. I do. But—”

“Shh.” He pressed a finger to her mouth. “You don’t want to want me, because you think it’s a horrible idea, and that I’m going to hurt you like all the guys before me.”

“Right,” she whispered, her eyes drifting shut. “And you’re my boss, so when that happens, it’ll be even worse. That’s why it’s a terrible idea.”

When he hurt her. Not if.

She was so certain that’s how they would end, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that—besides the fact that he didn’t like it. “All great ideas start with bad ones. No one gets it right all the time.”

She swallowed. “But this is all happening so fast, and—”

“It’s not, though.” He removed his finger from her soft, kissable lips. Lips he couldn’t have. “I’ve wanted you ever since the first day you started working for me. You walked into my office with your hair down. You wore that black skirt, and a blue blouse, with a pair of black heels. Do you remember what you said to me?”

A small sound escaped her, and she stared at him as if she couldn’t believe he remembered what she wore that day. “I think I told you my name, and informed you that I intended to be the best researcher you’d ever met.”