“Please,
Cory. Just tell me what the problem is and I’ll fix it.”
Oh how she wished it was that easy. She felt her cheeks flush
as she considered how he could fix her problem and she had to take a few steps back and turn away from him before replying.
“Actually, I got the impression you were hoping I’d quit. I thought that was why you were barking at me all the—”
“What? Why
on earth would I want you to quit?” He grasped her upper arm and turned her back toward him.
Cory was so stunned that he had touched her—was
still touching her—that she barely heard the words that followed.
“That would be like hoping to lose my right arm.”
His hold on her
gentled and his thumb moved up and down over the crook of her arm causing a field of goose bumps to rise. Her whole being
was suddenly focused on that small spot. The way his expression softened told her he noticed the response and was somehow
pleased.
He
added a slight movement of his fingers so his whole hand was now caressing her skin as he continued. “I can’t
imagine working every day without you being here. You’re not only smart and organized and a step ahead of me half the
time, but you…” He appeared to be searching for the right words but instead of completing his thought he withdrew
his hand and shook his head.
Something
in his voice struck a familiar, emotional chord within her and she placed her hand on his forearm. Even through the shirt
sleeve she felt the heat of his body beckoning her to come closer. “I…what? What were you about to say?”
“It’s
not important.” He started to turn away but she tightened her hold.
He met her gaze and, for the first time, she thought she saw
a reflection of her own unrequited desire. There was only one way to find out if she was right. “I wasn’t completely
honest a moment ago. I am leaving because of you. Or rather, because of something I want from you…but can’t
have.”
“That
doesn’t make sense,” he said with a frown.
She felt the muscle beneath her fingers tense but he made no attempt to reclaim
his arm.
“I
don’t remember you asking me for anything. Why would you say you can’t have it?”
“Because…” She closed
her eyes and took a slow breath. She wanted to answer him with an explicit demonstration of what she wanted from him. One
step and she could press herself against his lean body, test the firmness of his butt in her hands and discover if he tasted
as good as he looked.
She
controlled the urge by reminding herself that he’d never done anything to suggest he was attracted to her despite the
electrical vibe currently passing between them. “I never asked because if you turned me down or gave me what I wanted
just to keep me from quitting, well, that would be much worse than my not asking at all.”
She’d never tried to hide her feelings
from him. He had just never really looked…until that moment. Slowly his expression relaxed and she could tell the instant
her vague explanation made sense to him.
Holding her gaze with his, he cocked his head and arched one eyebrow. “What if there
was also something I wanted from you?” His hand tentatively covered hers where it rested on his arm.
Her pulse rate raised
a notch. Was it possible? Could he want me for more than my administrative skills? “You never said anything.”
His mouth curved into the grin she had come to love and her lips parted as though they knew she was about to be kissed.
“There
are some pretty strict rules concerning what I’ve been thinking about and if I did anything to offend you, not only
would I feel horrible but the ramifications—”
“Ramifications?” By now she was pretty sure they were both
thinking about ramming something of his into something of hers but first they had to stop talking about what they weren’t
saying to each other. “After all this time, you should know I’m not that easily offended.”
“Perhaps, but
then I’ve been very, very careful around you. Now it looks like I may have been too careful. Maybe a little
test would help set some acceptable boundaries here. Tell me, Ms. Servwell, how would you react if I did this?” His
hand cautiously raised and his fingers threaded through her hair then paused at her nape.
A shiver shot straight down her spine from his fingertips.
Her eyes closed as she marveled at the intense sexual reaction she felt from such a simple gesture. Her nipples contracted
so swiftly it felt as though they had been physically tweaked and a second later her clit swelled in hungry response. She
could barely breathe let alone speak but he had asked her a question. And she needed to give him an answer.