She didn’t mind; it gave her the courage to blatantly stare at him. “Thanks.” She went to move her hand but he grabbed it.
“One more thing,” he said as he reached in his glass and pulled an ice cube out. He ran it along her skin before using the tea-towel to wipe the melted water away.
Jamie trembled and shivered from the pleasure. She swore if he ran the cube against her flesh one more time she would have an orgasm without him even reaching into her panties, which were probably wetter than the ice cube water on her skin.
Alex gently wiped one more time and tossed the towel toward the bathroom, it landed perfectly just inside the door.
Jamie watched and slowly brought her gaze back to him.
It felt like time stopped, just for a moment. She was just a girl and he was, well, definitely not just a boy, but a man. There were no job titles, no insecurities, no restrictions, no pressure, nothing, just them.
Alex’s blue eyes moved back and forth as he gazed at hers. There were tiny little flecks of brown inside the blue, hard to see unless you were that close. He didn’t move.
Jamie’s thighs trembled. Touch me, please! She was going to explode if he didn’t, or she would if he did. Seconds tic
ked by. She refused to drop her gaze and neither did he, even when she ran her tongue along her lower lip and then her teeth bit into it. She swallowed and automatically pressed her lips together.
Alex’s head bent forward and his lashes slowly lowered. Still he watched her through the thickness and his lips touched hers.
Barely.
It could have been the wind.
She swore she felt the slight roughness of the shadow of growth above his lip but she might have imagined it. She could smell his cologne mixed with ladies’ perfume deep in her nostrils, she could almost taste it. She closed her eyes and waited for his lips to demand and consume hers.
Except they didn’t.
The click of the first aid kit closing made her blink as she opened her eyes.
“I should get back to my place,” Alex said as he cleared his throat. “I’m in desperate need of a shower.”
I’ll join you. The moment had passed. Never to be felt again.
Jamie jumped up and away from him. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” She raised her arm. “Thanks for the fix, boss.”
He nodded and stood. “No problem. Thanks for, uh, covering me this week. It won’t happen again.”
Which part? The leaving, or the leaving her hot and panting? “Sounds like a plan.”
Alex walked to the door and hesitated just before he opened it. “We good?” he asked her, the uncertainty in his voice clear.
He needed her as his personal assistant, not a one-night stand or a girlfriend. She understood that clearly now. “We’re good.” She forced a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning at the office.”
“Definitely.” He stepped outside, only to pop his head in a split second later. “Don’t forget we’re going shopping.” He glanced down. “Sorry, pj’s won’t be included.” He laughed and quickly shut the door before the pillow she threw hit him.
The idea of shopping for nightwear with Alex was a dream that left her restless and panting long after she went to bed.
Chapter 5
Jamie sighed contemplatively as she looked at the new clothes Alex had bought her. She had no idea how much he had spent. He wouldn’t let her look at the price tags as they shopped. In return, she refused to let him buy her clothes that were non-work related, even though he tried once during the shopping spree. She ended up with new suits, silk blouses, and some office-friendly dresses that all made her look like she was a CEO herself and not just a personal assistant. He told her he wanted her to look like she had power, and look good at the same time. He was going to have her attend more business meetings and maybe even entertain some of the clients’ wives, if she was interested, while their husbands were in meetings for negotiations. “My only condition is that I ask to approve the clothes you wear,” he said. “The last thing I need is for you to be looking so sexy that the men will be more focussed on you than the negotiations, or that the wives get jealous.”
As if there were any clothes that could make her look sexy. She appreciated the compliment, nonetheless. He’d been completely businesslike the next morning after the imaginary kiss and she appreciated it. He’d asked her about the cut and that was it. How she managed to wake up without a hangover… She figured it was the hormones coursing through her body that probably absorbed the alcohol since they didn’t get what they wanted.
She looked at the time and swore. She was supposed to meet Christine to go over the seating arrangements and she was running behind. She grabbed an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt and put them on, cinching her belt to the last hole to make her pants stay up. She put on some flip flops and threw her hair into a ponytail before making a protein shake for breakfast. It was a good thing she had thought to pick some up the day before because there was no way she had time that morning to grab a real breakfast. Alex had insisted she take the day off and Christine had then insisted they meet at the crack of dawn for a whole day of wedding organizing. She honestly wasn't sure what there was left to do. It seemed like wedding planning just went on forever. Thank goodness for coffee.
Jamie put her breakfast shake into a clear plastic to-go cup and grabbed some money for a quick coffee run on the way to her sister's house. She steeled herself for a long and terrible day as she got into her car.
Even though they were just going to be at Christine and Stephen's apartment all day, Christine greeted Jamie in a designer blouse and a pair of sharp, firmly pressed black pants. Her hair was in a perfect upswept bun and she wore a hint of lipstick as well.