He leaned his face against her hand. “I should frighten you.” His voice was raw. “You should run away. I’m not the guy next door. I don’t believe in relationships. I don’t believe in happily ever afters. I’ve seen what they do to people. And I don’t want to hurt you, I really don’t.”
“You’re hurting me by pulling away.”
“Becca…” it was a breath. A plea, maybe. She felt his words curl around her, heat her skin and make her own breath catch. Bold, she took a step closer, until she was inches away from him. He was looking at her, eyes dark, imploring.
&n
bsp; As though she had the strength to walk away.
She didn’t. Not now.
Without batting a lash, he slid his arm around her waist, pressing his strong palm to the small of her back. But he didn’t close the gap between them. And she really wanted him to.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
He grimaced. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” She tipped her head up. His gaze was fixed on her mouth.
“Because if I kiss you, I’m going to carry you to your bedroom and strip your clothing off and neither of us will survive it.”
“So that’s it. We go to work and pretend this never happened? Just smile politely at each other across the still room?”
There was a rumble in his chest. As though he was trying to laugh but couldn’t. “I don’t know. I guess…”
“Maybe if we kissed again it wouldn’t be so good. We could get each other out of our systems.” It was a lie. She knew it and he did, too. She was bargaining, trying to find a way to feel his mouth move against hers again. Anything to quench the constant, pulsing need rushing through her body.
She was an addict desperate for a fix.
He pressed his hand against her back, pulling her closer, until her soft body was against his. She could feel the ridged plane of his abdomen, the thickness of his chest muscles, and the hard, aching need, that he was feeling for her.
“You want to know what I did when I got back to the office today?” he asked, his voice thick.
She blinked at the abrupt change in conversation. “What?”
“I spoke to my lawyer. Talked about ways to pay you off and get you to leave the company. How to avoid getting sued for being an absolute asshole.”
“I’d never sue you.”
“You should.”
She shook her head. “And I wouldn’t leave either. I love my job.”
“I know.” He sounded lost. “And that’s why I told him it was impossible. You love your job, I own the company. We’re at an impasse.”
She could smell the scent of his soap. Clean and woody. It filled her senses, the same way he did. “The ball’s going to be interesting,” she murmured.
“You’re not going.”
“Yes, I am. My invitation arrived by courier today.”
The corner of his lip twitched. “Lawrence always did like to make sure he got what he wanted.”
“I don’t care what Lawrence wants.” She felt emboldened by his touch. By her need. “I care what you want.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“Why not?”