‘I think it’s time we faced up to this, don’t you?’
Her eyes darkened.
So did his mood. ‘Tell me why not.’
‘You’re my boss.’
Bingo. An honest reason and one he felt compelled to overcome. ‘That’s just a situation.’
‘It’s unethical.’
‘No, it’s not. It happens all the time.’
‘That doesn’t make it right. There’s an imbalance of…power.’
‘I wouldn’t abuse that and, even if I tried, you wouldn’t let me.’
A shadow crossed her face. His heart pounded. They could get over this. They had to.
The direction of her gaze transfixed him. Slowly it lifted from his mouth to his eyes and he could see the golden flickers of light burning in the depths of the warm brown.
He was desperate to touch her. Desperate to wrap his arms around her, kiss her. He forced himself to go slowly. Move gently. He couldn’t afford to scare her off him any more than she was already. He cursed the circumstances in which they’d met. It wasn’t great for him either.
‘OK,’ he said softly. He climbed the final step, taking her hand off the banister with his and walking towards her. She stepped backwards. He kept walking. Forcing her across the little landing until her back was against the wall. He took another step nearer so only a fraction of air hung between them. He kept hold of her hand, his thumb stroking her wrist. He could feel her pulse hammering. He stared down at her, searching her eyes. The spark of defiance was there, but so was the heat and suddenly it was all heat. Satisfaction settled into him.
‘We’re both adults. We’re on equal footing,’ he said in a low voice.
She opened her mouth to argue and he stopped her the best way he knew. She melted into him immediately, her yielding sigh spilling in his embrace. His already hard body tightened further in response. Her mouth was so soft, so sweet as it opened for him. He fought for the strength to be gentle, not to ravish as his inner caveman wanted him to. But he couldn’t stop the escalation. Couldn’t control his desire to touch her everywhere, especially there. He’d been dreaming about it for nights, remembering the sensation as his fingers had skimmed from soft silk to even softer skin.
He reached down, sliding his hands under her skirt and slowly up her thighs. He had to know. Yes, there it was. His fingers reached the top of her stockings and flowed onto bare skin. The jolt of desire toppled his self-control and he groaned against her. She rotated her hips against him and he knew she wanted more. The floodgates had been opened and she was kissing him as hard and as hungrily as he kissed her. Her fingers pulled in his hair, holding him to her. He loved it. He ground his hips into hers and his senses sky-rocketed when she rocked viciously back against him.
His fingers traced up alongside the suspender strap. She parted her legs to give him greater access. He slid sideways until he reached the lacy edge of her panties.
He was certain she felt it as badly as he did. Wanted it as badly. He wanted to talk to her, to say it, to hear her say it, but he couldn’t bear to tear his lips from her silky skin and that reddened mouth. He teased her, running his fingers along the elastic of her underwear, and felt her try to spread her legs further against the tightness of her skirt.
He let her pull back from his kiss to gasp for air, pressing his mouth along the length of her throat as her head fell back to rest against the wall. Still his fingers teased even though her gasps and wriggling hips told him of her growing impatience. He smiled against the skin exposed at the top of her shirt, breathing in her flowery freshness. And then he felt her hands on the back of his thighs, felt the heat from them through his trousers as they swooped upwards, felt the pressure as they squeezed his butt, and he knew he was in trouble. Inner caveman began to assert dominance. Enough teasing. He cupped her mound with the flat of his palm, while stroking his fingers lower, deeper between her legs; he felt the dampness through the silk and lace and almost shook with need. He very nearly ripped the fabric away so he could taste her there with his mouth.
Then he heard it. The slamming of the stairwell door above. He pulled away from her, staring into her eyes. She stared back at him in confusion, the dazed look almost killing him. He wanted to keep going so bad. But not now, not here. He jerked his head in the direction that footsteps were approaching. He saw her eyes widen in shock as she registered their downward descent.
‘Damn,’ he muttered, wanting to swear far harder and louder. She pulled at her skirt in panic and deftly he took her by the arm and led her down. They seemed to fly. Excitement drove him. She couldn’t deny it now. She was as hot for him as he was for her. Lovers. He could hardly wait.
He swiped his pass and opened the door to the basement, pulling her inside, desperate to get that close to her again. Not wanting the brief moments apart to have given her a chance to build walls again.
Too late. She’d already skated out of his grasp and was facing him square with the icy barriers back in place.
‘I thought you said you weren’t going to touch me again unless I asked you to.’ She’d whispered, but it echoed anyway in the dimly lit concrete car park. Touch me, touch me. It was all he heard, all he wanted to hear.
‘You asked.’ It came out low and rough. He knew he was in dangerous waters with this whole boss/temp thing. Knew her discomfort about it was partly justified. Damn, but he’d been told she was right for the project and he’d wanted the chance to get to know her. And for that he needed time. Contact time. The sooner the job wrapped, the better; he’d make sure they weren’t assigned to the same one again.
She glared at him, her eyebrows raised, but the fire in her eyes wasn’t all anger.
‘You asked.’ He repeated with more confidence than he felt. He wished he could just pull her into his arms again and show her, but the moment had passed.
She made to refute but he held his hands up to silence her. Then he pointed to her face. ‘You asked with your eyes.’
Her gaze dropped instantly, her pale eyelids hiding the gold-flecked brown orbs that told him so much. He saw her struggling, saw how much this thing between them affected her. Well, she wasn’t the only one thrown for a loop. He shoved the inner caveman back behind his rock and aimed to lighten the moment.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said with a laugh that sounded as forced as it was. ‘Next time I’ll wait to hear the request.’
She looked up then and he almost gasped at the torture in her expression. She looked so torn. He wished she’d talk to him. Wanted her to open her heart and mind to him as much as he wanted her to open her body. He wanted the whole damn lot from her. Everything.
Hell, that was a first.
For a moment it looked as if she was going to say something, but then she bit on her lips, the action almost driving him to break his word. He said nothing as she walked past him and re-entered the stairwell. He stood, trying to catch breath, trying to the control the Eiffel Tower in his pants enough to be able to walk up the damn stairs again, let alone return to his desk and concentrate to some degree on work.
God help him if she never did ask.
Chapter Four
OUT of the corner of her eye Lissa watched Rory. He looked deep in thought, frowning at his laptop. She had avoided him as far as possible since the incident in the stairwell. She’d spent the weekend sightseeing in Bath with a girlfriend and had almost succeeded in forgetting about Rory for a three-hour period. The rest of the time he’d been foremost in her thoughts.
Back at the office on Monday the work had cranked up. Now the presentation to the client was only two days away and they were working round the clock. She’d been able to slip home ahead of him. Marnie and James were constant fixtures at their desks so they were never alone. Besides, she