by Jill Shalvis
Hence the danger.
“So will you stay the week?”
Her heart sighed. “I’ll stay the week.”
“And you won’t get us stuck in an elevator again?”
“If you’ll…”
“What?” he murmured.
Kiss me.
“Tess?”
She gave him a smile through the ache in her heart. “Nothing.” She turned away and studied the control panel. “Think our few minutes are almost up?”
Once again, his hands settled on her hips as he turned her to face him. Slowly he drew her close.
“What are you doing?”
“With you, Tess, I swear I never know.”
She put him off-kilter. Perversely, she was glad and slid her arms around his neck. “Never?”
“Well…” He looked at her mouth.
And because she couldn’t help herself, she closed the gap and put her mouth to his.
A rough groan rumbled from deep in his chest. His hands slid up her arms to cup her head, which he held in place. As if she was going anywhere! As before, the very connection kick-started her pulse. His mouth was warm, firm and didn’t have to work at all to coax hers open. In less than two seconds, they were glued together, bodies straining, hands fighting for purchase. Tessa could hear the little whimpers for more coming from deep in her throat and, if he hadn’t let out a ragged groan and pressed her back against the wall for better leverage, she might have been horrified at herself at how far gone she was, but at least he was just as far gone.
When he finally pulled back, his breathing as ragged as hers, she put a hand to her fluttering belly and cleared her throat. “Was that work-related?”
He frowned and said, “What? No.”
“Just checking.” She tugged his head back to hers. “You see?” she whispered, her mouth a fraction of an inch from his. “It’s not all about work—”
“Tess—”
She kissed him again. And then again, before he took over. He had a thigh insinuated between hers and his hands were busy making her body hum when suddenly the elevator jerked and started moving.
It was over.
Feeling overcharged and sensitized, Tessa blinked when the doors opened on the fifth floor to reveal Reilly’s office just the way she’d seen it last.
Everything looked so…normal.
In a bit of a fog—no doubt, a sexual one—she stepped off and felt Reilly do the same behind her.
She turned and looked at him. Other than wearing his work-out clothes, he looked the same as always. In cool, tight control.
“What?” he asked.
Slowly she shook her head. Damn it, she’d broken her vow. She’d kissed him. And now her nipples were hard and achy, straining against her blouse. Between her legs she was hot and damp. One more touch, she thought, and she just might implode on contact.
And he was standing there as if nothing had happened.
If that didn’t put it all into perspective…. She forced herself to move as calmly as he did toward the front desk, and then pretended to bury herself in work.
And marveled at his ability to do it for real.
CHAPTER 13
AS TESSA LEFT for work the next morning, her sister popped her head out of her door and made a big show of checking her watch. “Hmm.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”
“Your car is working again so I wonder why you’re leaving so early.” She eyed Tessa’s sleeveless purple blouse and cream skirt. “Let me guess, you’re wearing the purple lingerie today?”
“Maybe I’m not wearing any.”
Carolyn’s mouth fell open and Tessa laughed. “Don’t you have something else to do other than speculate on what I might or might not be wearing?”
“Sure. I can speculate on whether you might or might not get hurt. Who is this guy who’s making you glow? Eddie’s son? Reilly? I want to meet him. Rafe asked me about him, too.”
Because when Rafe had called Tessa the night before, she wouldn’t tell him anything either. “Nobody’s making me glow except for this chilly morning.” But she relented and kissed Carolyn. “Now, go have a good day, one that doesn’t include obsessing about my life.” She got to the carport and slid into her car. She patted the dashboard as she did every morning. “Good girl,” she coaxed and turned the key.
Nothing.
This was not happening. She shook her head and tried again. And then again, and finally had to concede she needed a new car. A new used car.
As was becoming routine by now, she took the bus, glancing at her watch every three seconds. She was still plenty early, and if she ran the block from the bus stop to the office…
Reilly was on a different treadmill this morning, looking long and hard and sleek and damp. Tessa sagged back against the wall, breathless from both the run and the view.
“Can I help you?” asked a woman dressed in white work-out shorts and a green polo shirt emblazoned with the logo of the gym.
Tessa jumped and straightened. “Um…no. Thanks.” Guiltily, she got back on the elevator and fanned her face all the way up to the fifth floor.
Reilly came in shortly after, carrying a duffle bag that she knew held his clothes for the day, clothes he’d change into after his shower. And though he greeted her before he headed toward his office, he looked awfully tense for someone who’d just worked out. She waited a little while—imagining him in the hot water all wet and sleek and soapy—before she brought him some files she knew he needed.
“Thanks,” he said and didn’t look at her.
She moved to the door, then stalled. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.” He was using his adding machine, his fingers racing over the keys.
So much for stalling. Still, she tried one more time. “Where’s Cheri?”
“She’s defected. She’s helping out Eddie.”
“And how is your father? Any more trouble?”
“No.”
“Okay, then.” She bit her lip, wondering how else to drag this out, but she had nothing.
Back at her desk, she worked for a few hours before she took a call from Eddie.
“Is my idiotic son there?”
“Well…yes.”
“Is he sleeping at his desk?”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because the boy is burning the candle at both ends, that’s why, babysitting me all night, then working all day.”
“He said you were doing fine.”
“Because he’s making sure of it. He’s always over here. I wanted some time with him, but this is ridiculous. Tell him to go home. Demand it.”
“Eddie,” she said, laughing, “have you ever had any luck demanding anything of Reilly?”
“Well, no.” He laughed regretfully. “At least tell him I just heard from the police. They think Sheila’s left the country. That means I’m safe. Oh, and tell him I promise not to date any more psychotics, so he can relax.”
Tessa didn’t think this was a conversation she wanted to deal with. “Why don’t I just transfer you to him?”
“Because he’ll listen to you. Look, whatever you do, just don’t let him come to my house tonight, okay? He needs his rest. I’m going to be just fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“As much as it secretly thrills me that he cares enough to want to keep me safe,” Eddie said, more serious than she’d ever heard him, “I’m completely positive. He can’t go on like this, he just can’t.”
“And the police are certain—”
“Don’t worry about me. Just keep Reilly from trying to babysit me again tonight.” His voice softened. “Be patient with him, Tessa.”
“Eddie, I can’t just—”
A dial tone sounded in her ear. She pulled the phone away and stared at it. She was to keep Reilly from trying to babysit Eddie. Right! The man was sorely mistaken if he thought she had that kind of influence over his son.
No one did. Reilly was his own man, who came
and went as he pleased. His own man who, in spite of himself, cared deeply about the people around him.
She thought that just might be the sexiest thing about him. Sexier than his alpha behavior—and she hated to admit just how sexy that was. Sexier than how hard he worked. Sexier than kissing him, and that was pretty damn sexy.
Glancing at the clock, she rose and hit the intercom button for Reilly’s office. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and thought she heard a low, guttural grunt of a reply.
Well, no one would ever accuse him of talking too much, that was sure. A few minutes later she was back in the building, armed with takeout Chinese, her favorite. Heading straight down the hall, she let herself into Reilly’s office.
He was so engrossed with his computer, he didn’t move.
She came up behind him and dangled the bag between him and the computer screen. “Guess what time it is.”
“I could tell by the scent coming down the hall.”
So he had heard her coming. That shouldn’t have surprised her; he had the finely honed senses of a warrior. “Let’s go to the staff room,” she suggested.
“I’m too swamped.” But he put his computer to sleep and turned to face her as he rubbed his temples, looking so tired, she set the bag on the desk and touched his arm. “You look terrible, you know that?”
He let out a laugh and said, “Well, don’t hold back. Just tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I always will,” she said softly and kneeled before him, putting her hand on his knee. “Reilly? Why don’t you go home early? Get some sleep.”
“Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you’ve been up how many nights in a row now, making sure your father is safe?”
His eyes went a little chilly. “That had to be done.”
She sat back on her heels. “Wow, you’re good at that.”
“At what?”
“At shutting people down.”
“I’m not shutting you down.”
“No, you’re shutting yourself down. Making sure you don’t feel anything—not worry for Eddie, annoyance at Cheri, or…whatever for me.”
“Whatever for you? What the hell does that mean?”
“We kissed in the elevator yesterday and you walked away like we’d shaken hands. You never felt a thing.”
“What should I have felt, Tess?”
“You know what? Never mind. Be a non-feeling robot.” She stood and moved to the door.
He stood, too. “What did you just call me?”
She turned back and said, “A non-feeling robot.”
“You really think I don’t feel?” he asked incredulously. He stalked the length of the office to stand toe-to-toe with her. “I have plenty of feelings, damn it.”
She knew he did, just as she knew he hid them. She felt bad for upsetting him, but he’d asked for it. “Why don’t you ever show any?”
“Maybe I don’t like to exhibit everything I feel for show-and-tell.”
“Right, because if you keep all your feelings inside, you can control them.” She lifted her hands to cup his face. “That makes me sad, Reilly. Sad for you. You never vent. You never say how you feel about Cheri working for Eddie, though it clearly bothers you. You never say how you feel about what is happening to your father or what happened to us—”
“You think I don’t feel anything about any of that?”
“Unless you tell me, how would I know?”
He stared at her.
“Look,” she said, relenting. “I know some people have trouble getting in touch with their feelings. It’s not easy, but you need to vent or—” She broke off when he picked up a file on his desk and flung it at the opposite wall, where it opened and rained papers down to the floor. “W-what was that?”
“A vent,” he said roughly. “How was that?”
“Um…” She swallowed. “Good. Really…good.”
“That’s how I feel about what happened to us,” he said. “That’s how I feel about what happened to you.” He grabbed her and she expected anger or maybe a hard, thorough kiss, but instead he put one light, gentle hand over her throat, where her bruises had started to fade, the other at the small of her back, nudging her closer.
Her entire body softened to fit his.
“If I could go back and erase that night, I would.” His hands were soft and tender, his eyes utterly fierce. “I’d like to make sure you never got hurt again. Are you getting how strongly I feel about that, Tess?”
She nodded and whispered, “Yes.”
“Good.” He pulled her hard against him, putting his mouth very close to hers. “I blame myself for that night. And I’m going to have to blame myself for this as well, as there’s no one to point a finger at. I hate it when that happens.”
And he closed his mouth over hers.
CHAPTER 14
HE WAS KISSING HER, he was finally kissing her, fierce and demanding. Tessa gave it back to him, gave him all she had and when he came up for air, she couldn’t help it, she bit his lower lip.
With an oath, he came back at her, his big hands holding her head still for another long, ravishing, deep kiss. It was amazing, it was earth-shattering and she literally shook with it, and yet she wanted to dance and shout.
He’d really kissed her. He’d really started it and frankly, she didn’t intend to let him finish for a good long time. Lifting her hands, she ran them over his arms and shoulders and chest, but that wasn’t enough, she needed more, so she pulled his shirt front from his trousers and slid her hands beneath to his chest, roaming over his hot, sleek flesh.
He sucked in a harsh breath and bent a little so he could band his arms more tightly around her. They stumbled then, back against his desk. A stack of files fell to the floor.
Laughing breathlessly they straightened away from the desk, landing with a thud against the opposite wall, where he pinned her for a long, blissful moment during which his hands slid beneath her blouse as well, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples.
“One of these days,” he growled, “I’m going to get you back into a bedroom. Yours, mine, I don’t care.”
With a rough sound of frustration, he undid her buttons, pulled both her blouse and bra down her arms and touched her skin-to-skin this time. Shivering, she dug her nails into his back while he dragged hot, wet, open-mouth kisses down her throat, taking special care with each and every still-visible mark on her. Only when he was done, silently paying homage to every inch, did he wander his way to her bare shoulder, then back up her collar bone, still licking, tasting, kissing.
It wasn’t enough. Even as she thought it, he plumped up her breasts with his hands, driving her crazy with nothing more than his mouth. He didn’t lift his head for a long time, and far before he did, Tessa’s body came alive—glowing, aching, pulsing with pleasure and need and heat. She wanted to make wild, messy, mind-bending love right here in his office, she wanted—
“Tessa.” Breathing heavily, he put his forehead to hers. His fingers went from making her writhe and whimper with pleasure to drawing slow, soothing circles on her back.
Not a good sign.
“This is not a smart idea,” he said a little thickly.
Definitely not a good sign. “You have a lock on your office door,” she managed to say.
He looked at the door, at the lock in question, and she could see him hesitate.
She didn’t want him to hesitate. She wanted him naked.
“I have a client coming in at two.” He leaned back to look at the clock.
Ten minutes until two.
She wanted to cry. Wanted to howl, and by the looks of him as he shoved his fingers through his hair, he felt the same way.
“We could go lock the glass doors,” she said quickly. “And pretend you’re not here—”
“Tess. I can’t take you here, not like this. We need privacy.” He slid her bra straps back up. The backs of his fingers brushed her pebbled nipples, ripping a shiver from he
r.
He groaned. “And hours,” he said roughly. “We need lots of hours.”
“I think I only need a minute.”
He closed his eyes and murmured, “Don’t make this harder.” He slid his fingers into her hair and tilted her head up to his. Eyes still closed, he kissed her, one long, clinging kiss that made a soft, clingy noise that tugged between her thighs.
“Tess,” he whispered, just that, just her name.
Her heart stumbled and she hugged him hard.
They heard the doors opening, signaling the arrival of his client and they stared at each other.
“I’ll bring the files you need,” she said, but didn’t let go of him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For showing me how you feel. I know it must have been hard.”
He smiled ruefully and said, “Hard? You don’t know the half of it.” He shifted his hips against her, showing her what exactly was “hard,” making her laugh softly as she pulled away.
* * *
MUCH LATER, long after he’d seen his client, Reilly surfaced from his computer and stretched, glancing at his clock.
Six-thirty.
He pushed away from his desk and went down the hall, wondering if—
No, Tess hadn’t left without saying goodbye. She sat at the front desk, bent over a stack of papers, her hair falling into her eyes as she chewed on the eraser on her pencil and muttered to herself.
Just seeing her there made something within him soften and relax. “Hey,” he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.
For the first time since he’d met her, she didn’t jump. Instead, she craned her neck to give him a smile that was at once both sweet and unbearably sexy.
His gaze dropped to her mouth.
So did hers and she let out a little laugh that sounded just a tad unsure. That made two of them. “It’s past quitting time,” he said.
“I know.”
“I appreciate all the extra work you’ve put in since Cheri’s gone Benedict Arnold on me.”
“You’re going home, right?”