"If I could guess, would I need to come in here and ask?" she pointed out, letting a little of Sasha"s sa.s.s shine through.
"No, I suppose not." His fingers began tapping again. "I said it was brilliant."
"That"s what you said. But I wasn"t sure that"s what you meant."
"Okay, then-" he pushed back his chair and stood "-it"s brilliant. Smart, s.e.xy, and clever. It"s exactly what they"re looking for. Do you need me to keep going?"
The edge in his voice took her aback. "You"re annoyed."
"No, I"m-" He broke off, sighed, and then ran a hand through his hair. "You put our date into a commercial. How did you think I"d feel?"
She shrugged. "I didn"t..." But what could she say? She had put their date-moment by moment-into that ad. "It was the best idea I had." Surely he"d see that was what was important here. "If y-you hate it so much, you can always-"
"I"m not going to pull the presentation. You know that. It"s too d.a.m.n good."
Slowly the tension that had been knotting her gut all week began to dissolve. She"d been right, then. Reid"s priorities were exactly what she"d expected. Company first, personal life second. She"d known he"d feel that way.
She"d known it, yet it still disappointed her. Fool.
"Okay, then," she said. "S-sorry to bother you." With a nod, she turned to leave. But at the door, she turned back. With a half laugh she admitted, "Today at the meeting, I would have sworn you w-weren"t even paying attention."
"What?"
"You just seemed...I don"t know, out of it, I guess."
"I was just, um..." he ducked his head sheepishly, his lips hinting at a smile "...calculating my taxes."
"Huh?"
For a second, she stood there dumbly, trying to make sense of his admission. Then the full implication of his words. .h.i.t her.
"Oh."
He looked up at her and-despite the length of the room that separated them-she felt the heat of his gaze.
"Oh," she said again, flushed with embarra.s.sment. "I had no idea. I"m so-"
"Don"t apologize."
Suddenly the idea of leaving held no appeal. Or maybe it was just that her legs were too weak to carry her out.
She"d been fantasizing about Reid for five years. The idea that he was now fantasizing about her as well made her heart pound. And it gave her courage to do things she"d only ever dreamed of. It brought out her inner Sasha.
Moving into the room, she said, "I also wanted to ask you about those other ideas you wanted me to work on."
Caution gleamed in his eyes, but he said, "Ask away."
"The first ad was all about letting the antic.i.p.ation build before a romantic encounter."
"Right."
She reached his desk and rounded the corner. "While lingerie is certainly useful for that, that"s not the only reason a woman would want to wear great lingerie."
"It isn"t?" His voice was low and rough.
"No." She stopped a few inches from him. Propping her hip on the edge of his desk, she stretched her legs out in front of her, mimicking a stance she"d seen him take many times. "Women often wear lingerie to boost their confidence."
"They do?"
"Sure." She"d half expected him to edge away from her, but he didn"t move. "Lingerie is like a secret. Something you know that no one else does. For example, knowing that your stockings are being held up by a black lace garter belt-especially when it matches your black silk bra and panties? Well, that can give you a shot of courage."
Pa.s.sion flickered in his eyes as his gaze drifted down her body. He swallowed visibly. "It can?"
His voice was like a caress, lowered and hoa.r.s.e, yet smooth against her skin.
"Absolutely. When you know you have on s.e.xy lingerie, it can give you the courage to do something you"ve always wanted to do, but been afraid to."
"And you want to put this in a commercial?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"What is it the woman in the commercial wants to do but hasn"t had the courage to?" he asked.
"It could be anything. Maybe she needs to give a big presentation at work. Maybe she needs the added confidence to impress her colleagues."
Jane straightened away from the desk and took a step towards him. Her heart was pounding in her chest with equal measures of fear and excitement. She let her fingers creep up the placket to toy with the top b.u.t.ton of his shirt, even though they itched to rip the b.u.t.tons from their holes and reveal the skin beneath. "Or maybe she really has the hots for her boss and is finally going to make her move."
She"d wanted this for so long, dreamed about it for years. She hardly dared to breathe while she waited for his response. What if he laughed at her? What if he sent her away?
Then again, what if he didn"t?
CHAPTER TEN.
REID covered Jane"s hand with his. When he spoke, his voice was low and husky. "Maybe kissing her boss isn"t such a good idea."
There was caution in his voice, but a spark of desire in his gaze. He wanted her. She could see it in his eyes. And he hadn"t said no. That gave her the courage to press forward.
Her fingers squirmed out from under his to explore the patch of tanned skin left exposed at his neck. Finally, she looked up and met his gaze. His eyes had dilated, appearing black rimmed with just a hint of pale green. His expression was taut, with no trace of his easy crooked smile. "But her boss probably doesn"t want to hurt her," he said.
His concern touched something deep inside of her, giving her a boost of confidence. He was such a good guy. Such a decent man. Sleeping with an employee? That was exactly the kind of thing decent, stand-up guys like Reid Forester never did.
But he wanted her enough he was actually considering it. That was the kind of power she-or rather, Sasha-had over him.
Man, oh, man. She"d been dreaming of this moment for the past five years. She"d be a fool to let the chance slip by. While she was a lot of things, stupid wasn"t one of them.
Since he was still waiting for her response, she smiled-the kind of lip-smacking, self-satisfied smile women like Sasha always wore-and said, "Don"t worry. That"s not going to happen."
He swallowed visibly, as if just now realizing what he"d gotten himself into. "It"s not?"
Her fingers crept down to his belt. "Nope. That"s the beauty of her plan." She traced the bra.s.s with her fingertip, but didn"t undo the buckle. "She"s not planning on a relationship."
"She isn"t?"
"Oh, no," she murmured, rubbing her palms across the fine cotton of his shirt, enjoying the way his muscles clenched deliciously beneath her touch. "This would definitely be a one-night stand kind of thing." She tugged his shirt free from his pants and made quick work of the few b.u.t.tons that prevented her from truly enjoying his bare chest.
"You see," she went on, "she thinks a relationship would be too complicated, also. That"s not what she wants."
"What does she want?"
Finally her fingers found his warm flesh. His stomach seemed to leap beneath her touch. For a moment, she was completely distracted by the sheer joy of touching him. By the shuttered, tense expression that flickered across his face as she touched him.
It seemed to take every ounce of strength he possessed to keep from touching her. But-thank goodness-he was letting her run this show. The thought made her giddy with excitement.
She shook her head, trying to remember his question.
Oh, right. What was it she wanted? Him, completely at her mercy. Trembling. Begging. For her. Forever.
That thought stopped her cold.
Forever, she couldn"t have. But tonight? She could have tonight.
"One unforgettable night."
Praying he couldn"t hear the naked yearning behind her words, she twined her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers.
Kissing Jane was reckless and stupid. Arguably the worst career move he"d ever made. But as he felt her lips part under his he didn"t give a d.a.m.n.
She tasted too good, too hot. And he felt as if he"d waited too long to feel her luscious body molded to his.
Her mouth was firm and hot under his. Her hands moving across his chest were delicate yet demanding. As desperate and needy as he was, yet somehow still in control. And her soft moan as he slipped his tongue into her mouth nearly drove him over the edge.
He felt her shoving his shirt off his shoulders, her hands clutching at his chest. The cool waft of the air-conditioning against his back contrasted sharply with the heat of her palms against his skin. She was like fire. Dangerous and exciting, yet destructive, as well.
Despite that, he couldn"t stop touching her. Couldn"t keep his hands away from the bow that held her shirt in place.
But before he could tug it loose, she wrenched her mouth from his. "No."
Instantly he stilled, though it took him a moment for his l.u.s.t-befuddled brain to process the word. "No?"
Her lips curved into that sorceress"s smile of hers and he nearly groaned in defeat.
"No," she repeated firmly. Smugly.
Before he could even ask a second time, she planted her hands on his chest and marched him backwards a step until his legs b.u.mped against his chair. He barely resisted when she shoved at his shoulders, urging him to sit.
Her expression was an odd combination of desperation and control. Her lips moist and swollen. Her hair mussed from his fingers. She was the most erotic, sensual creature he"d ever seen.
How had he ever imagined he"d be strong enough to keep his hands off her?
He couldn"t look at her and not ache to touch her.
Why not give himself what he so desperately wanted? As it was, wanting Jane had become a full-time occupation. Having her couldn"t make that any worse. Once again he reached for the ties to her shirt, but she playfully swatted his fingers away.
Instead of letting him touch her, she stood just out of his reach. Her own fingers toyed with the bow on her shirt. Teased the ribbon, running it through her fingers, slowly loosening the knot with each pa.s.s down the length of its tail.
"Is this what you want?"
He nodded, but instead of untying the bow, she quirked an eyebrow and stilled. "Yes." The word tumbled out of his mouth.
She seemed completely in control. Only the rapid rise and fall of her chest revealed her heightened pa.s.sion.
His heart pounded in his chest. As if he were a child at Christmas, unwrapping that first present, his antic.i.p.ation all but boiled within him. He wanted desperately to see her. To touch her.
Still, she did nothing. So he added, "Please."
She smiled and with one firm tug the bow slipped free of its knot and her shirt gaped open. With a s.e.xy little wiggle, she shook free of her shirt and dropped it to the floor.
Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were encased in black silk and lace. Her skin seemed impossibly pale in contrast. Almost luminous in the half-light. Her nipples were hard, pressing against the fabric.
Aching to touch her, he started to stand. But she planted a hand on his shoulder. "No." She shook her head playfully, her expression one of teasing reprimand.
He would have thought her completely in control if he hadn"t noticed the slight tremor in her fingers as she reached for the zipper on the side of her skirt. Every move she made was calculated to drive him mad. And it was working. His erection strained against his pants. He"d never wanted any woman more than he wanted Jane at this moment.
And then she shimmied out of the skirt with a seductive wiggle of her hips. She was dressed exactly how she"d described. Black bra and panties, black garter belt, sheer black stockings. Exactly how she"d described. But even his imagination hadn"t done her justice.
"I"d almost convinced myself you couldn"t possibly be as gorgeous as I was picturing you in my mind."
She stilled, waiting for him to continue.
"And I was wrong. You"re more gorgeous. And whoever said antic.i.p.ation is half the fun obviously never held you naked in his arms."
Her lips curved into a smile that was both alluring and mischievous at the same time. "Pretty sure of yourself, aren"t you?"
Her tone was bold. Outrageous, given that she was all but naked and he was still partially dressed. But she held all the power here.
"Not sure," he admitted. "But hopeful."
Only then did she let him stand. Pulling him with her, she backed up against his desk and scooted onto the edge. She hooked her fingers through his belt loops and tugged him towards her, wrapping her stocking-clad legs around his.
She"d worked hard to hide her arousal. To keep things light and playful. But suddenly, there was desperation in her touch.
He groaned at the feel of her legs tightened around his hips. He kissed her neck, relishing the pounding of her pulse against his lips and the shuddering of her breath in her throat. As she trembled against him he found the clasp of her bra and flicked it open, releasing the weight of her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s into his hands.