“Then why didn’t he just borrow it from her in the first place?”
Jonah ran his fingers through his messy hair. “I have no idea. The less I know about what he’s up to the better. Listen, just move things as quickly as you can and I’ll do what I have to on this end.”
They wrapped up their conversation and Jonah hung up. He’d given Emma some space this morning, hoping maybe the money would come through and he wouldn’t need to continue pursuing a woman who was clearly disinterested in him. It was fun for him, a challenge he’d never had to face before, but he couldn’t spend all his time trying to woo the ice princess. He still had a company to run.
Apparently that task was back at the top of his to-do list for the day. He had some time on his calendar, so he slipped out from behind his desk and went in search of his elusive prey.
He spotted her on the twenty-fourth floor down the hall from her office. She was leaning over the copier, pressing buttons and eyeing the pages as they spat out. Jonah was tempted to come up behind her and whisper something in her ear, but nixed the idea. Somehow he thought that might earn him a slap or a knee to the groin.
Instead, he just watched her from a distance, admiring the curve of her calves highlighted by her knee-length skirt and four-inch heels. She held a pen gently to her full, soft lips, the lower one pouting just slightly and urging him to reach out and brush his mouth across hers.
The best thing about watching her from here was that her defenses were down. She was relaxed, a faraway daydreaming look in her eyes as the constant rhythm of the copier lulled her mind into thoughts about something other than accounting. He didn’t know what she was thinking about, but the corner of her mouth curved in a smile. It made her face light up in a way he hadn’t seen before. She was always so proper and guarded around him.
It was then that she turned to glance down the hallway and spotted him. Her green gaze ran over the length of his body for just a moment, her tongue darting quickly across her bottom lip. He thought he caught the slightest hint of something other than derision in her eyes, but before he could be certain, she snatched her papers from the copier, turned on her heels and started off in the other direction.
She was avoiding him again. No more avoiding.
Jonah marched up behind her. She was easy to catch with those high heels slowing her escape. He spied one of the janitorial closets just to her right and got a bad idea. Without so much as a hello, he wrapped one arm around her waist and opened the door, tugging her inside.
“What on Earth—” she shrieked in surprise, but quickly silenced when the door slammed shut and they were suddenly cloaked in the darkness of the small space.
The room was slightly musty, smelling of industrial cleaner and old cardboard, but the subtle scent of her lotion cut through it all and sent a spike of need down his spine. Memories of the night with his butterfly flooded his mind in an instant. He’d made love to her in the small, private space of his laundry room when no place else was available. If he’d had a second chance with her, he would’ve made up for it with a bed covered in satin sheets and rose petals. That’s what she had deserved.
Again, like the laundry room, the janitorial supply room wasn’t the best or most romantic choice, but he would take what he could get. He had no intention of trying to seduce her here, but if this was the only way he had of getting her alone to talk, so be it. He was tired of this game.
He tightened his arms around her waist and tugged her close to him so she couldn’t get away. The closet was filled with any number of dangerous things she’d likely hurt herself with if she took a step back from him. She needed to stay right where she was. They were going to talk about what was going on whether she liked it or not.
So far, he was pleased enough with the situation. She was very still and quiet in his arms, albeit a touch stiff. He could hear the soft sound of her breathing, the rise and fall of her chest as she pressed futilely against him with her palms. He liked the feel of her in his arms more than he expected to. It felt natural and familiar somehow.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming under the door, he was able to make out her silhouette and the soft contours of her face. What he could see of her was fighting this tooth and nail. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips tightly pressed together. Emma’s shoulders were drawn up around her ears. She was strung tight as a drum, the comfortable woman from minutes ago completely forgotten.
“Relax, Emma. I’m not going to bite.”
“I need to get back to work,” she said, but there was half-heartedness in her voice that betrayed her. There was a part of her that was open to him. He didn’t know why she was fighting it so hard. It could be quite an enjoyable experience for them both.
“I want to talk to you first. You’ve continued to avoid me and have left me with no choice but to abduct you and make you listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m not talking to you in a closet with the lights off. It’s inappropriate.” Emma struggled against him in earnest, gaining little traction and succeeding in doing nothing but rubbing her belly back and forth against his rapidly hardening desire.
Jonah had to swallow a groan as her movements sent a wave of pleasure radiating from his groin. “Stop. Wiggling,” he managed through gritted teeth. “I just want to talk. I have no intention of taking advantage of you in here, but if you keep grinding your hips against mine like that, we may have to make some impromptu changes to the agenda.” The thought had undeniably crossed his mind, but even he had boundaries in the workplace. “I can tell you don’t think that highly of me and my reputation with women, but I can assure you that I much prefer the king-size bed in my loft for that kind of thing.”
“I don’t want to talk. Or to see your king-size bed.”
“I hadn’t asked you to.”
Emma stopped struggling and looked up at him. He could see the dim light reflecting in her eyes as they searched his face for something. Sincerity, maybe. She must’ve found it because eventually her body relaxed in his arms.
“Then what is it you want, Jonah?”
He couldn’t very well tell her that he wanted to distract her until he could clean up his brother’s mess. And in that moment, that wasn’t his biggest motivation. There was something about the way she said his name that sent a fire raging through his veins and made him want to pull her close and kiss her. It was different from the run-of-the-mill lust most attractive women lured from him. It was more powerful. Potent. And it demanded he take action.
“I just want to get to know you. There’s something happening here... I can’t explain it, but I want to see where it goes.” Jonah released her waist with one hand to reach up and caress her face. He just had to touch her, even if it earned him a slap.
Instead, he heard Emma’s sharp intake of breath and decided he wasn’t the only one whose plans were crumbling under the strain of their attraction to one another. “Tell me I’m crazy, but I know you feel it, too. You’re just determined to fight it. Stop fighting.”
“I...” Emma began to protest, but words seemed to escape her in that moment.
They escaped him, too. And words wouldn’t fill the need building inside him. Jonah leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. He expected resistance, but he found none. There was only a slight hesitation, then surrender. Maybe it was the safety of the dark, but his uptight auditor melted into him instead, matching the enthusiasm of his touch.
He’d been correct in his assessment of her. Under that straitlaced veneer was a sensual female looking for an outlet. Jonah would gladly provide it.
Deepening the kiss, he let his tongue slide across hers, drinking