A brown brow arched delicately. “You sure about that?”
He didn’t miss the subtle dare in her question, and it almost made him smile. He wasn’t sure about anything anymore when it came to her, but he was going to do his damnedest to live up to the pledge he’d made to her father. Keeping her at arm’s length was more to her benefit than his own, and she’d thank him later for doing the right thing.
“There is something I need to talk to you about before I go,” she said, drawing his gaze back to hers.
Cole braced himself. Here we go, he thought, suspecting they were about to embark on the dreaded morning-after conversation of how last night had changed things between them and where their relationship was headed now that they’d become lovers. The discussion was inevitable and something he wouldn’t avoid talking about if it meant Melodie left with a better understanding of where things stood between them.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked casually.
She took another drink of her coffee, then set the mug on the nightstand behind her. The movement caused the front of the shirt she wore to gape open, revealing the creamy slope of one bare breast. His mouth watered for a taste and his dick throbbed with renewed desire. That quick, he ached to pull her beneath his hard body and bury himself in her soft, feminine warmth.
She folded her hands in her lap, her expression serious. “I want to work on the Russell case with you and attend the charity event next week as your date.”
His mouth opened, then snapped shut again, her statement leaving him dumbfounded. He’d been prepared to divert a heartfelt spiel about how right they were for each other, not another campaign to convince him to let her accompany him to Thornton’s mansion to read Elena’s love letters.
Then a disturbing thought occurred to him. “Did you sleep with me in hopes that I’d change my mind about you working on the case with me?”
She leveled her gaze at him. “I slept with you because you’re a very sexy man that I’m attracted to, and I know better than to think that sex would sway you into changing your mind about anything,” she said wryly. “But I do think I’ve proven in many ways that I can handle the job. I’m familiar with the case, I’m capable of acting the part of your date, and you’ve seen for yourself that I can read an erotic love letter.”
She wrote them damn well, too, he thought.
“So, since you’ve yet to hire anyone for the job after interviewing at least a half-dozen women with more silicone than brains, I’m asking for you to give me a chance.”
He chuckled at her apt description of the women Noah had sent his way, and couldn’t disagree with her point. “Why do you want this so badly?”
“Because I like the excitement of the business. I always have, and I want to be in a more active role for the agency. And then there’s the fact that I’m discovering that I like stepping over the line of decorum every once in a while. Being sensible and practical has its time and place, but being adventurous has definitely made my life more interesting.”
And it was wreaking havoc with his. “I’ve already warned you that it could be dangerous,” he said, and finished off his coffee. “If we’re caught, Thornton would have every right to press charges and we’d most likely spend the night in jail and be slapped with a lawsuit. And if any of that happened, your father would never forgive me.”
She reached for his empty cup and set it next to hers, then stretched out on her side next to him. “Why don’t you let me worry about my father?”
He eyed where his shirt rode up on her thighs and wondered if she was wearing any panties beneath, then shook the thought from his head before he gave into the urge to check for himself. “Because your father trusts me to look after you and he doesn’t want you getting hurt in any way. And if something happened to you, I’d feel responsible.”
She sighed, the sound laced with impatience. “I’m absolving you of all responsibility when it comes to me, Cole, and I’d be happy to tell my father that, too, if it would help ease your conscience.”
“No!” he said so abruptly that she actually flinched at his rough tone. Clearing his throat, he quickly gained his composure and softened his voice. “I mean, let’s leave your father out of this.”
“Exactly,” she said smugly as her fingers toyed with the sheet draped over his lap, teasing him with her flirtatious behavior. “Let me accompany you to Thornton’s, and it’ll be our little secret that I’m working on the case.” She winked playfully at him.
He narrowed his gaze, but his attempt at sternness was betrayed by the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re trying to blackmail me?”
“There’s no blackmail involved. I’ve worked hard for you and the agency these past two years and I deserve this chance.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Consider it a promotion if you like. I’m also perfect for the job, and I think you know it, too, or else you would have hired another woman by now.”
She was so matter-of-fact that he could only stare at her and wonder if she was right. Had he subconsciously found fault with all those other applicants because once she’d made the suggestion to accompany him to the charity event no one else compared?
“What do you say, Cole?” she prompted, her eyes dancing with hope and a fresh eagerness he couldn’t bring himself to dash. “I swear I won’t disappoint you.”
He knew that to be true. She was well qualified for the job. She’d issued a very convincing argument, one he could no longer realistically refute. “Fine, you’ve got the job.”
She squealed with unfettered glee and leapt on top of him, hugging him tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
His body immediately responded to her enthusiastic embrace, hardening in a single rush of heat and desire. Her soft breasts felt like heaven against his chest, and he resented the thin sheet that separated his naked lower body from her soft thighs, which he wanted to spread out over his. Forgetting his vow not to touch her, he smoothed a hand down her back and over her hip. But before he could slip his fingers beneath his shirt to find out if she was naked, too, she lifted up on her hands and met his gaze, shattering the sensual moment.
“I promise you won’t regret your decision,” she said, grinning down at him.
The adoring look in her eyes made his pulse race. “Just remember that I’m in charge and you do as I say, no questions asked.”
“I swear I will.” She kissed him chastely on the cheek, her face wreathed with triumphant happiness.