She let out a high-pitched squeal as she reeled backward on the ladder. Her last thought was that it was all Davie’s fault as she started a graceless tumble.
Straight into Grayson Wyatt’s arms.
She heard his grunt as she fell into him, her back slamming into his chest. The impact was hard enough to jar her teeth, but it was a heck of a lot better than breaking her neck on the office floor.
His arms shouldn’t have felt familiar. Shit, why did they feel familiar?
Probably just reliving that initial moment of terror in Las Vegas, Sophie told herself, remembering the way she’d thrown herself at him then. Still, the sheer rightness of his embrace felt out of place, considering the wrongness of the moment. But she didn’t move.
Neither did he.
Sophie felt his heart hammering again against her back. Her own stupid heart was beating a bit too fast, although she wasn’t sure if it was from the near-death experience or her proximity to a very nice-smelling male.
One strong arm was wrapped around her waist, and the other banded protectively over her chest. Her toes weren’t even touching the ground, but from some deep, abandoned part of her soul, she realized she hadn’t felt this safe in as long as she could remember.
Her soul was apparently a fool. There was nothing safe about this man.
The fingers near her waist moved upward ever so slightly, and Sophie’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment before she realized that he was merely adjusting his grip.
“You okay?” His breath was hot against her ear, and she couldn’t seem to force any words out. She nodded and shifted slightly under his grasp, trying not to be too aware of the firm male body pressed against hers.
His fingers tightened again at her movements, and this time it was Gray who hissed out a breath. He set her down roughly and yanked his arms back as though she’d burned him.
She felt a flash of regret that the moment was over, but she steeled herself and turned around to face him, ready to deal with the lecture she instinctively knew was coming.
He didn’t yell. Of course he didn’t. But his eyes were screaming murder.
“What the hell were you doing?” His voice was as hard as she’d ever heard it, and she couldn’t resist taking the smallest step backward. The ladder blocked her escape.
“I, um…just doing as you asked. Getting rid of the animal heads.” She gestured toward the corner of his office where Jeff had set the remaining trophies.
His eyes never left her face.
“I see that. My question was why you were doing it by yourself. Do you have any idea how much those things weigh? Did you even think?”
Her embarrassment was starting to give way to indignation. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. I was merely following your instructions!”
Gray blanched. “My instructions? When I asked you to clear out my office safari I didn’t mean you had to do it yourself!”
“I didn’t,” she evaded. “Jeff helped me.”
His eyes narrowed at that. “Jeff who?”
He stared at her blankly.
“Jeff Andrews?” she prompted. “Your vice president of—”
“I know who Jeff Andrews is, Sophie. What I don’t understand is why one of my top-ranking executives is helping my secretary play with stuffed animals while I try to get my fucking teeth cleaned.”
“Hmm, that’s quite the potty mouth, Mr. Professional.” Sophie huffed. Although part of her was happy to hear the f-bomb. It made the man somewhat more human. “Look, I can see that you’re upset, and I can’t really blame you. I’d feel guilty too if I were in your shoes.”
“Guilty.” He folded his arms over his chest. “You think I feel guilty?”
She nodded and patted his arm condescendingly. “Of course you do. The only reason I was wrestling that big deer down by myself is because I was paranoid that I’d be fired if I didn’t! So really it’s your fault I almost broke my neck.”
“That’s absurd.”
“Is it? You gave me a one-week trial period of employment and then asked me to get rid of these stupid animals. It was either pull Davie down or get fired.”