Casual Affair

They stood there in silence, neither looking away. Her breathing became labored. Her eyes searched his for answers, and his did the same.

She knew it shouldn’t happen.

She knew she should put an end to it right then and there. Say “good night” and shake his hand.

No, shaking hands was lame—

He pulled her to him and kissed her.

She moaned. Loudly.

It had been weeks since she felt Zane like this. How she had missed it, craved it!

Forgetting her inhibitions—and her resolve—she flung her arms around his neck and he pulled her in tighter. She melted under that hold, loving his strength as he supported almost all of her weight. Images from their one night together flashed through her mind and, holy shit, she wanted to do it again.

Too soon, a car alarm went off, startling her out of her fantasies. Their connection broke, the moment ruined. She stepped back from him and fought to calm her breathing.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I got a little carried away.”

His expression was warm and sensual and his eyes burned with heat. “Do I look like I’m complaining?”

She nibbled her bottom lip. “I don’t think we should do this again. It’s not a good idea. Once was excusable. We could say we were drunk that night—”

“I wasn’t drunk.”

“—but knowingly doing it again could cause problems.”

The warmth turned skeptical. “Why would it cause problems?”

She’d have thought it obvious. “Because I’m working for you. Our company needs your account, and I don’t want to do anything that might screw that up. We have loans to pay off.”

He frowned. “I would never do anything to jeopardize your account. I promise.”

“It’s not just that.” She pushed out a breath of frustration. “Given any other circumstances, I would enjoy going home with you tonight, but…this situation is different.”

His frown deepened to a scowl. “What’s so different about it?”

She hesitated. But he deserved honesty. “Because I can actually stand to be around you outside the bedroom, which is rare. Granted, you still drive me crazy at work, but like tonight…I had a great time.”

“Me, too.”

She almost caved when he smiled. Especially when it only made him look even more confused.

“Things would just get too complicated,” she said. “I think we should go back to the way we were before…you know.”

“Before I put my cock inside you, and you came all over it?” he prompted with a cheeky grin.

It felt as though she had stepped into a sauna, the way her body heated up. She could vividly recall what it had felt like to have him inside her. And how much he liked to talk dirty while he was there. Lord Almighty.

Clearly, he was not getting the message.

“Yeah. That.”

He studied her for a minute and then offered a short nod. “All right, Bea. We’ll go back to the way we were.” He mumbled something under his breath—he liked to do that.

Wait. “What?” she asked, slightly taken aback.

Maybe he had gotten the message.

Damn.

“Nothing,” he muttered.

But she was almost positive she’d heard him say, “and see how long we last,” but she wasn’t going to acknowledge it.

He walked her to her car, where she turned to face him after she opened the door. “By the way, the next time you see Mike,” she said, “tell him that his American accent is the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

Zane threw his head back and barked out a laugh. “You should hear his German.” He started to walk away but swung back around when he was a few feet away. “By the way…you didn’t have any ice cream on your face. I just wanted to kiss you.”

She watched him stroll away from her, whistling to himself and looking annoyingly satisfied. The smug jackass.

And God help her, she loved that he’d left her smiling.

Chapter Eleven

A week later, Bea was on the phone with an eighty-three-year-old antique dealer in Granbury, Texas.

“And you’re sure it’s the original Bolt model?” she asked the sweet elderly gentleman. “I’m only interested in original.”