Gray laughed. “I’d like to see his face if you told him that. Honey, I don’t have to pay you to sit on my lap. You like being here.”
She blushed. Adorable. “I didn’t mean it like that. And I do not like being on your lap.”
“You do. You also liked when I kissed you. Even though you’ve been avoiding me ever since. Why is that?”
She bit her lip and looked away.
“Uh-uh, look at me.” He turned her face back, holding her chin firmly. “I think I deserve to know why you run the other way every time you see me coming. And don’t try to bullshit me with any of that employee-employer bullshit. There’s no rule about getting involved. I should know, I made the rules. And I don’t want to hear the same crap you told me the other night. I’m not perfect. Not even close. So don’t try to use that to push me away.”
She studied him, a dark and lonely look filling her gaze. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I had some bad things happen to me, and I don’t think I can trust you or any man ever again. I need this job. I like it here. I don’t want to argue, but if you keep pushing me on this, I’ll have no choice but to leave.”
She stood, and this time he let her.
“Believe me when I say you’re better off staying away from me, anyway.”
Chapter Seven
Lacey closed her eyes, leaning back as the sun beat down on her. Before coming to work here, she never used to sit outside simply enjoying the sunshine. The park across from where the building where Black-Gray had its offices was pretty and peaceful. Just a few joggers and people pushing strollers walking by. When Cady had first invited her to eat lunch with her, Lacey had been a little reluctant but she hadn’t wanted to insult her. She’d come to actually enjoy Cady’s company. The other woman didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with unnecessary small talk, which suited Lacey just fine. Although it did mean her mind could wander. And lately, her brain was fixated on one thing. Gray.
Don’t think about him. Don’t think about kissing him. About how much you long to touch him, to run your hands along his long, sculpted body. He didn’t have the bulk of Hunter or Tiny, but he certainly wasn’t lacking. In any way.
Beneath those designer clothes he wore, she just knew there was a six-pack, sculpted shoulders, and a tight ass. Damn, she loved a man’s ass.
Don’t think about how much you regret turning him away. He hadn’t tried to talk to her since she’d told him to leave her alone last week. It had been the right thing to do. If she let him get close to her then eventually she’d just disappoint him.
No, it was better to stop things now.
Cady snapped her fingers in front of Lacey’s face. “All right, where did you just go and can you take me with you?”
“What?”
Lacey had discovered that Cady was almost as blunt as Hunter, although she did have a bit more of a social filter. She was also funny as hell, loyal, and a hard worker.
“You had this dreamy look on your face and a small grin. Like you were thinking about something really good. I’m thinking that’s your sex face.”
“My sex face?” She gaped at the other woman. “What the hell is a sex face?”
“You know, the face you make when you’re thinking about sex or actually having sex. But unless you’ve got some way of orgasming without touching yourself then I’m guessing you were just thinking about sex.”
“Jesus, Cady.” She could feel her cheeks burning. “I don’t have a sex face.”
“Everyone has a sex face, trust me.”
“Oh, yeah, what does yours look like?”
“It’s real sexy. Too sexy for a prim thing like you to handle.”
Lacey threw her half-eaten apple at Cady with a laugh. “I’m not prim.”
“Hmm, are you saying you’re an angel in the boardroom and a tiger in the bedroom?”
“I cannot believe we’re having this conversation.” Lacey placed her hands over her face. Honestly, there seemed to be very little Cady wouldn’t talk about.
“You started it.”
“I did not.”
“Sure you did, with your sex face. You still haven’t told me what that was about, by the way.”