He moved forward. She spoke even faster. “You give orders to the guys and they listen to you. I don’t understand it. It’s like you’re trying to do my job. But it’s my job, not yours. I’m perfectly qualified and competent to do it.”
God, she couldn’t stop talking. And she didn’t even recognize her own voice anymore.
He stepped around to her side of the desk.
“And just because you’re good at it doesn’t mean you’re any better at it than I am. You—”
Her sentence squeaked to a halt when he put his hands on her trembling shoulders and drew her forward. Instinctively, she raised her hands between them. He didn’t say a single word. All he did was wrap his arms around her and hold her against his solid chest.
She held her breath and remained stiff, but then she had to breathe. Slowly she became aware of the steady beat of his heart, the warmth of his embrace, the heady male scent of him. The tension in her shoulders eased. Somehow, he made her feel safe and protected. Cherished even. Stupid, she knew, since she’d only met him a few days ago, but it didn’t change the feeling. No one had ever held her like this before.
Not even her dad the day she’d fallen off a ladder and broken her arm on her sixth birthday.
Tears overflowed her bottom lashes. She squeezed her eyes tight. The harder she fought them, the faster they fell. A single sob escaped. Justin’s arms tightened and his hand pressed her head to his shoulder. She didn’t resist even though moisture soon dampened his tee shirt.
It didn’t last long; she wouldn’t let it. After a steadying breath, she pulled her arms from where they’d ended up wrapped around his lean, solid waist. She was afraid to look up.
His hand lifted to her cheek and his thumb skimmed the moist skin. “It’s okay to be shook up, Marley. Nobody’s invincible. No one expects you to be.”
“I expect me to be.” She raised her hands to wipe her face, pushing his away in the process.
“It’s too much.”
She finally looked at him. “If the men out there see any sign of weakness from me, all their respect will be gone.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that. Just like any you might have had is, I’m sure.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yeah, sure.” She would’ve turned away, but he caught her arm.
“There’s not many people I respect more than I’ve come to respect you in the past few days.”
She met his gaze and saw the truth of his words. The jittery feeling that had taken up residence in her stomach since the day she met him went on full alert. Only now she couldn’t fool herself that it was because of the job. It was all him.
She lowered her lashes to break eye contact. “Thank you.”
His mouth caught her attention as one corner lifted in the beginning of a smile. It was a damn fine mouth to go along with his damn fine body. How would it feel on hers? She’d only been kissed a handful of times. Dating had never been important to her, and she’d never been curious. Until now.
He took a step closer. She realized she’d been staring at his mouth and jerked her attention up. His expression changed. He looked…intentful. Was that even a word? She wasn’t so sure—she’d have to look it up some—oh, hell! Now she was babbling in her mind.
“Something about you got my attention from the moment we met.”
That struck her as funny. “Would that have been my bra?”
Justin grinned. “There was that. But it was only half as intriguing as the woman wearing it.”
She rolled her eyes to combat the unfamiliar thrill his words evoked.
He lifted a hand to rest on her shoulder. Gave a gentle squeeze. “Everything okay now?”
She nodded as his thumb skimmed the pulse at the base of her throat. When his touch returned to rest over the throbbing point, she felt a steady increase and knew he did too.
Curiosity killed the cat, Marley.
Cats have nine lives.
His head lowered toward hers. His gaze dropped to her mouth. The first brush of his warm lips against hers made her sway closer. She closed her eyes and lifted her chin for a better connection. When she braced one hand on his chest for support, she was shocked to feel his heart thundering beneath her palm.
His other arm slid over her hip and around her waist to pull her against him. The nerve endings in her entire body came alive, overwhelming her with unfamiliar sensations. She suddenly felt as if she’d had one too many beers on a sweltering summer night.