Or a dream to build a kiss on?
No. No. No. She didn’t need this complication. She needed to focus on her goals. Her trip. Nothing and no one was going to get in her way. She made one last-ditch effort. ‘I need to go,’ she snapped out, and reached for the lift panel.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘WAIT.’ Jared moved like lightning, positioning himself in front of the control panel for the second time. Sophie opened her mouth to argue but he spoke over her. ‘There’s no need to rush off.’
‘You don’t think?’
Her voice held a slight edge—hysteria or humour? He didn’t know her well enough to be sure. She closed her eyes on a soft groan that sounded suspiciously like surrender. His body clenched at the sound and he wondered if she made that noise when she had sex. And just for a moment, looking at her—head tipped back, throat exposed, eyes shut—he could imagine… When she opened them again they were wide and dark gold and…well, simply irresistible.
He reached out to let his fingers glide through the midnight silken waterfall over her shoulders. ‘I think you should give it further serious consideration before you decide,’ he murmured, bringing her hair to his nose and inhaling the soft herbal fragrance.
Eyes fused with his, she stepped away and he followed until he had her against the elevator wall. He wasn’t backing off unless she told him to…and she wasn’t saying anything at all. In fact, whatever it was that was flaring to life between them now was as much from her as it was from him.
He caught both her hands, raised them level with her head, and, with her wrists against the wall, he slid his hands over hers. Palm to palm where heat met heat. Still watching her face, he drifted his fingers down. Slowly, so that he could absorb every tiny line and ridge in her palms, then lower still to the rapid beat of her pulse at her wrists.
Enclosing her hands in his, he worked his thumbs deep into her palms—lazy circles, over and over, then slid his fingers between hers, a slow, sinuous rhythm. An erotic imitation of how their bodies would move together when he got her into bed. He saw her gaze widen, her pupils dilate. He leaned close to linger at her mouth, just enough to remind himself of her taste—
‘You!’ Her whole body stiffening, she reared back. She yanked her hands away, rubbing at her wrists as if they’d been bound. Her eyes flashed hellfire while the air inside the elevator seemed to plummet. ‘You—’
‘Sophie. Calm down.’ He hesitated then reached out but she shrugged him off.
‘Don’t. Just don’t.’
He blew out a slow breath. The hand massage was a dead giveaway. He’d intended it to be because the charade was over. It was time she knew he knew. ‘You…read it.’ Her voice gathered intensity like a low-pressure system crossing the coast. ‘Not the first couple of lines, oh, no, you didn’t stop when you realised it wasn’t meant for you. You read the whole freaking chapter!’
‘I couldn’t put it down. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you this morning.’
‘Yes, you should have.’
‘Would it have made a difference?’
‘Yes. No.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. How the hell should I know?’
‘So…it was a fantasy or a daydream?’ he ventured aloud. ‘Or a real dream?’
Heat streamed up Sophie’s neck. ‘Of course it was a real dream! Why on earth would I fantasise about you? I don’t even know you.’
Those amused eyes twinkled down at her. ‘We seemed to know each other fairly well.’ He smiled. Sophie squirmed. Thank you so much for pointing that out. ‘I’ve been recording my dreams for years,’ she struggled on. She didn’t tell him about her counselling sessions. None of his business. ‘They bring forward stuff from our unconscious, help us understand ourselves better. It was nothing to do with you, per se.’
He tilted his head and his voice was low when he said, ‘What do you think it meant, then?’
She’d done some of her own research. Dream theorists might say she wasn’t getting enough love in her life. And they’d be right. That eating in dreams, particularly fruits, like luscious juicy blackberries for instance, were associated with sexuality.
Yep, sexual frustration. Right again. And she was hardly going to tell Mr Sanderson any of that. Nor was she about to tell him she’d never had a dream quite like it. ‘I’m at a complete loss,’ she said tightly.
‘Erotic dream or not, that’s some attraction we’ve got going here. You feel it too. Come on, Sophie, admit it. I’m not letting you out of this lift until you do.’