She arched her eyebrows. “Oh, can I?”
Matthew squeezed her buttocks. “If you can’t be seen with me at Dawson’s, then you’ll have to take care of me.”
“Don’t worry, Matthew. I’m going to take very good care of you.”
5
MATTHEW GLANCED AT his watch and realized he was running late. He got up from his chair and tried to find an empty spot on his desk to set down the file folder. Deciding it wasn’t going to happen, Matthew tossed the file on the closest stack of papers and headed for the door.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Wendy,” he said as he opened the door to the reception area. His voice trailed off when he spotted Sydney sitting in the chair instead of the newspaper editor. He stared hungrily at her. It had been a few days since he’d last seen her, and the distance had not been his choice. If he hadn’t been dealing with his mayoral duties or urgent matters with his family’s orchard, Sydney had had to attend local events.
“Sorry, Matthew. Wendy had to make a switch at the last minute. You get me today,” Sydney said as she closed the book she was reading.
Matthew blinked and watched her stuff the hardback book in her bag. He caught the word seduce in the title. Heat zinged through his blood. “Is that what your book club is reading?” he asked gruffly.
“Yes,” Sydney said as she zipped up her bag. “It’s not nearly as provocative as the title suggests. In fact, I’m pretty much slogging through it.”
Matthew was willing to help her through it.
“I can’t believe Laura recommended it,” Sydney continued. “I’m going to get back at her when it’s my turn to select a book.”
“Will there be a special project for this one?” Matthew asked. Please let there be. He wanted to see what Sydney would do to seduce him. It wouldn’t take much. She would only have to motion to him with the curl of her finger and he would come running.
“Special project?” Sydney said as she walked toward him.
“Didn’t you have a writing challenge with your last reading assignment?”
“Oh, I learned my lesson with that one,” Sydney muttered with feeling. “No more special projects if I can help it!”
Matthew led Sydney into his office. He barely heard Tanya say she had to run over to the city clerk’s office. Every sound was muted as the blood roared in his ears. He wasn’t sure how everything had moved so fast between Sydney and him, but he didn’t want to inspect it. He didn’t want to break the sexual spell that swirled around them.
He shouldn’t be alone with Sydney, Matthew decided as he closed the door behind them. What they had was more than sexual, at least for him. He had fallen hard for Sydney the moment he had met her. As he’d gotten to know her over the past six months, his admiration and affection for her had only deepened. But this was just something casual for Sydney. He should protect himself and gain some distance.
He should... Matthew’s mind whirled as lust sizzled through his veins. He stepped ahead of Sydney and motioned for her to sit in one of his visitor chairs. She pulled at his hand, the movement so sharp he came to an abrupt standstill. Eagerness, hot and biting, clutched his gut as he turned around.
“So, I’ve been thinking...” Sydney dropped her bag onto the floor and grabbed the front of his T-shirt, her fingers curling in the soft cotton, and pulled him closer. “I don’t want a one-night stand or a fling. I want to explore what we have.”
Matthew looked into her eyes and his breath hitched in his throat when he saw the powerful need and the wild desire there. “I thought you were against the idea.”
“We can get away with this as long as we keep it a secret,” she said in a whisper.
Her words stung. He understood this was a big leap of faith for Sydney, but he didn’t want to hide how he felt about her. He wanted the world to know that they were together.
“What changed your mind?” he asked gruffly.
“I was making decisions based on what happened to me last year with my ex,” she admitted with a frown. “But you are different. You’re not going to betray me. You won’t hurt me.”
“I won’t,” he promised. How could he hurt her? He had no power over Sydney. She was the one who would destroy him if she walked away.
“But I still have to protect my career. So this is just between you and me,” she said as the eagerness shone in her eyes. “We don’t go out together in public. Anything we do happens behind closed doors.”
Closed doors. His office door was closed. He suddenly remembered reading this scenario in her notebook. In her fantasies, he had taken her against his office door. Matthew licked his bottom lip as anticipation pulsed hard and deep. He followed mindlessly as Sydney walked backward. She stopped when her spine bumped against the door.