He had the oddest desire to protect her from the workload he had inflicted on her—even while he’d noted her pleasure in it. He had the oddest desire for her, period. It had stopped his concentration earlier, had simply shut down all channels until he’d pulled his attention forcibly away from her. No person had had the power to disrupt his thoughts so thoroughly before.
It was more than simply a blast of lust, Morgan. Maybe you should admit that to yourself.
Yet what else could it have been? He didn’t experience any other feelings. Just look at the way he’d run the one and only time he’d linked up with a woman who wanted more from him. More than his father could give, more than Rick knew if he could give. At least he chose to go forward honestly, not let anyone down …
Around the table, people scooped up folders and files.
Rick nodded. ‘Then that’s a wrap. Anything else, get it to me in writing tomorrow.’
The room cleared while Marissa continued to write. In the end, he reached out and stilled her hand by placing his over it. Gently, because for some reason she drew that response from him whether he wanted it to be so or not.
Touching her was a mistake. Her skin was warm, soft, and the urge inside him to caress more of it was unexpectedly potent.
Wouldn’t his youngest sister gloat about this fixation of his? Faith had tried to convince him to fall for the ‘right kind’ of woman for years, to take the leap into emotional oblivion and surrender and believe he’d like it.
What was he thinking, anyway? This was all completely irrelevant. He’d done the not-getting-involved-life-alone mental adjustment years before and he hadn’t changed his mind.
He never would. He’d seen too much, thanks to his father.
There were no emotions involved in desiring Marissa Warren. Just some unexplained stupidity. ‘We’re done here. Let’s put you into a taxi so you can get home. Unless you drove to work?’ He removed the steno pad and pencil from her grip, pushed them into his briefcase on the table and took her elbow to help her up. A simple courtesy, nothing more.
‘I should type the notes while they’re fresh. No, I didn’t drive. I hire a Mini from a neighbour when I go to Milberry to see Mum and Dad. It’s heaps cheaper than owning my own car and I don’t often need to drive.’ The words stopped abruptly as she came fully to her feet and swayed.
‘Marissa? Are you okay?’ He pushed her chair out of the way with his thigh and caught her beneath both elbows even as he registered the personal snippets about her. Registered and wanted to know more, and cursed himself for his curiosity.
‘Sorry.’ She caught her breath. ‘I feel a bit light-headed.’ Her body sagged into his hold. For a moment her forehead rested against his chest and all that curly hair was there beneath his chin.
It came naturally to curve his body around hers. He simply did it without thinking. She felt good in his arms, smelled sweetly of gardenias and some other floral scent. He wanted to press his face into her hair and against her skin and inhale until he held the scent of her inside him.
Total insanity, and he had no idea where it had come from. It must be too long since he’d taken a woman to his bed. He had focused more and more on work over recent months.
‘Take some deep breaths.’ The instruction was to Marissa, though he could do with it himself. ‘You won’t faint on me, will you?’
‘No, I just need a minute.’ Her breasts brushed his chest as she drew a series of breaths.
His whole body was sensitised, his vaunted self-control rocked. He wanted to take her there and then, but he also wanted to cup her head in his hand, tenderly brush her hair from her brow.
Why was she faint, anyway? Lack of food? Was she ill?
‘I stood up too fast and I shouldn’t have had two bottles of drink in a row like that on an empty stomach. I think I gave myself a sugar overload.’ Her fingers curled around his forearms.
‘You should take better care of yourself.’ The admonition skated far too close to a proprietorial concern. ‘I shouldn’t have had you work so late without food either.’
‘It’s my responsibility to eat enough.’ She muttered something about thighs and coffee tables.
Rick gave in and raised his hand, stroking his fingers over the soft skin of her jaw. Simply to lift her face, he told himself, to search her eyes, see if she had recovered sufficiently.
Long lashes lifted to reveal brown eyes that slowly came into focus and filled with belated acknowledgement of their nearness.
Perhaps it was the late hour, the silence of the room or the many hours of work that had gone before that momentarily shorted out his brain, because he lowered his head, his lips intent on reaching hers, something inside him determined to make a connection.
She took a deep steadying breath and straightened away from him and the welcome he had glimpsed in her eyes was replaced with the rejection he should have instigated within himself.
The sense of loss startled him and his hands dropped away from her more slowly than they should have. None of this made sense. None of his reactions to her. They shouldn’t even exist because he’d told himself to shut down any awareness.
‘I’m sorry. I’m fine now.’ She held out her hand for her notes and pencil. So she could keep working and truly faint?
‘I’ll keep these for you for tomorrow.’ He closed the briefcase and guided her towards the door. He simply wanted to ensure his employee was okay. This had only truly been geared towards that.
Aggravatingly off-kilter, Rick took Marissa straight to street level and left the building at her side.
‘Hand this taxi receipt to accounting so they can reimburse you as well,’ he instructed as he flagged a taxi forward from the rank. ‘Are you able to start at eight tomorrow? I realise that’s early and today has exhausted you but, as well as our regular workload, there’s a visit scheduled to a petting zoo. An early lunch for business discussions, and then the zoo itself …’
‘I saw that in the BlackBerry.’ Her chin hiked into the air and her brown eyes flashed. ‘I’ll be here at a quarter to eight so I can meet with the supervisor and brief one of the early shift temps on the work required in Gordon’s office before we do whatever work we can and then leave. You don’t need to make any allowances for me.’
Rather than making him feel bad for asking for another long day out of her, her expression of determination went straight to his groin—a reaction he needed as little as all the others. Perhaps he should have remained in the building and done some laps in the top floor swimming pool before he went home. Like a few hundred or so.
‘Then thank you for your willingness to put in the hours.’ Rick helped her into the taxi. He would not respond to her in such a confusing way again. It was intolerable and unacceptable and he was locking it down right now.
Just like your father would?
And he could leave his family life out of it. That had nothing to do with anything.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He turned his back and strode away, promising himself he would leave all thoughts of her behind him.
‘That’s great. Keep smiling. You all look wonderful. Your families will love these photos.’ Marissa had two cameras dangling from her left arm by their straps and another one in her hands. At her side Rick held three more.
They were at the brand-new Sydney animal petting zoo and their group of Hong Kong businessmen guests were one hundred per cent enchanted. She and Rick snapped pictures as fast as they could.
She’d made a vow to herself