ProvokeMe (15 page)

With effort, he smoothed his palm down her hip and eased
away, just far enough to see her dazed eyes.
His heart gave a hard bump but he
didn’t kiss her again.
It wasn’t fair to her.
Hell, it wasn’t fair to him, not
when he knew he couldn’t follow through on anything but orgasms.

You could, if you didn’t think so damn much.

“Was that a kiss hello or goodbye?”

“Hello.” His fingertips whisked over the smear of dust on
her temple.
“I missed you at the club.”

If she had any clue how much that admission cost him, she
didn’t let on.
Her gaze sharpened.
“Did you find someone else to…entertain you
in my absence?”

The smartest answer would be none at all.
But he couldn’t
let her believe the worst.
“No.”

“Not even Nina?”

“Most definitely not Nina.
My only company was a gin and
tonic.”

“I tasted the gin.” She whipped her tongue over her lips and
made him ache anew.
“And the lime.”

He rubbed her cheekbone.
Why couldn’t he stop touching her?
Other than the very real possibility he’d considered that she wouldn’t ever
allow him to touch her again.
Not after the spectacular mess he’d made of last
night.
“So dusty books enticed you more than my body, hmm?”

“I wasn’t sure you’d be there.
After last night, I wasn’t
sure of anything.”

“I overreacted.
You were just making jokes, teasing me like
you always do and I took it too seriously.”

She slitted her eyes.
“So you left me in bed because you
didn’t think I was funny?”

“More like you picked a very sore subject.”

“Which one?
Your age or the sleeping with the boss thing?”

He cleared his throat.
“Let’s just say I’ve been involved in
that sort of setup and I didn’t appreciate your take on it.
How’s that?”

“Typically evasive, but I’d expect no more from you.” She
took a definite step back, the loss of her warmth as abrupt as a slap.

“Look, Kelly, haven’t you ever done something you regretted
and want to forget?”

“No.” Her straightforward answer was vintage Kelly.
“I don’t
have regrets.
I do what I want and deal with the fallout later.
With one
exception.” Her lips twitched.
“I wish I’d password-protected my sex list.”

Much to his shock, he laughed.
“I don’t.
It was
very…illuminating.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Other women might’ve waited for him to apologize
but she continued before he had a chance to, even if he’d been so inclined.
“So
anyway, I decided to spend my night working rather than playing.” She swept her
arm out.
“Easier to reorganize without interruptions.”

“You punched in, right?
You’re getting paid for this.”

“I figured it was therapy as much as work.
Just consider it
another benefit to you of my employment here.”

“I’ll sign you in and out.
You’ll get paid.”

“Oh yeah?
And make people wonder why we were here alone together
in the middle of the night?”

He almost changed his mind.
She was right.
His computer
would record being connected to the server and Marcia checked the log and
timecards against employees’ schedules.
She’d probably realize they’d been here
together, just as Kelly had said.
Though he trusted his sister not to blab, the
last thing he wanted to deal with were her questions.
Then there was the list
on the PDA stashed in his antique cigar chest at home.
Plenty of supposition
was floating around about them already.
Regardless, Kelly deserved
compensation.

“Let them wonder,” he said, shocked to hear those words come
out of his own mouth.

Ever since Diana, he’d toed the line.
But now that line
seemed a lot more shaky.

Kelly’s priceless reaction—wide eyes, parted lips—made any
risk worth it.
“Really?”

“Really.” He wanted to keep that look on her face,
especially when it morphed into a glow of pleasure.
“It’s only a problem if we
let it be.” More precisely, he couldn’t give her up, so he’d have to make this
work.
Somehow.
“We’re mature adults.”

“Very mature, especially in your case.” She laughed when he
swatted her behind and hauled her against him for another kiss.

So much for self-restraint.

“I’m thirty-five,” he said into her mouth.
“Not forty.
Not
forty-five.”

“Oh I know.
I’ve made it my business to learn all about you,
Mr.
Galvin.” She fluttered her lashes teasingly.
“Well, as much as I could.
You’re not easy to find out stuff about.”

He slid his lips along her jaw.
She’d dabbed some of her
scent here too.
“Should I be flattered or concerned?”

“Both.” She patted his chest and stepped out of the circle
of his arms.
“I go after what I want.
Even if what I want isn’t particularly
good for me.”

Spencer dipped his hands into his pockets.
Despite her
casual clothes and her dusty pigtails, the gleam of purpose in her eyes was
unnerving.
“So you keep saying.
Kelly, you know we’re playing with fire here.”

“I like it hot.” She turned around to pick up an unopened
carton of books.
“Although I have to admit, on a night like tonight the store’s
air-conditioning is a godsend.”

He glanced toward the hallway that led back to his office.
That’s where he should be right now, making up for lost time.
Not taking a seat
beside her on the floor and opening the carton of books.
She looked as
surprised as he felt but she didn’t comment.

They spent a few minutes in easy silence, unpacking and
shelving books according to her new system.
“You don’t have A/C at your
apartment?” he asked.

“It’s hit or miss.”

“Should tell the super.”

“I have.
He’ll get around to it eventually.”

Silence reigned again until she grabbed his box cutter and
opened a second box.
When he reached for another stack of books, she raised an
eyebrow.
“Why are you hanging here with me?
If you came back this late, I’m
assuming you have work to do.”

“Yeah.” He blew out a breath and thought of the spreadsheets
and mindless correspondence waiting for him.
He’d done the stuff he enjoyed
first so that only left the drudgery.
Well, other than tinkering with the floor
plan of the Roanoke store, which he’d already tinkered with ten times.
“I do.”

“Want an assistant?
I only have these last few boxes to
shelve then I can clock out and be your little helper monkey.” Her saucy grin
reinvigorated the erection still bulging against his zipper.

“Aren’t you tired?
You worked today and tomorrow—”

“Is my day off,” she finished.
“So I can sleep all day if I
want, though I do have an urgent date with my vacuum cleaner.”

“You like things that suck, hmm?”

“Well, you don’t, but I still like you.” She winked and
popped to her feet.
“Why don’t you go on back and get started and I’ll come
find you when I’m finished?”

“Not sure that’s a good idea.”

She set her jaw.
“Oh I get it.
A lowly day manager’s not
important enough to see private company documents, is that it?
Well, never
mind.” She waved him on.
“Go do your thing and I’ll stay here and do what I do
best.”

Rising, he caught her around the waist and fastened his lips
around her earlobe.
Her large hoop earring clinked against his teeth.
“Definitely not what you do best.”

“Best while clothed,” she amended, her tone airy.

He turned his face into her hair.
What was the big deal?
He
knew how much the business meant to her.
Kelly didn’t have ulterior motives.
She was just trying to help.

Bottom line, she wasn’t him.

If she did a little filing, she’d be placated and he’d get
some work done while spending time with her.
A win-win.

“Come on back when you’re ready,” he murmured, tightening
his arms under her breasts until his rigid length nestled in the denim-clad
cleft of her ass.
“I’ll put you to work.”

“Maybe I have a headache.”

Ah, so she thought she knew what kind of work he had in
mind.
Maybe, but not yet.
If he didn’t put a dent in his piles of paperwork,
his upcoming move to Virginia wouldn’t only be put on hold, it would be
cancelled.
Indefinitely.

“Maybe I’ve got some aspirin.” He gave her ass an absent rub
and strode away.

Twenty minutes later he was ensconced at his desk and
plowing through a stack of employee files in the hope of picking some reasonable
candidates to go to Virginia with him.
So far he had exactly two.
Ellie, the
organizational goddess in the accounting office, and Tony, whom Marcia would
not be happy about.
But his comment about Kelly during the staff meeting aside,
he was a solid worker and clearly wanted to advance within the company.
Marcia—and her glands—would just have to commute.

Otherwise?
Nada.

“Need to schedule a couple job fairs,” he muttered, shoving
the folders into the cabinet next to his desk.

“For Virginia?”

He looked up to see Kelly in the doorway, her hair tumbled
around her drowsy eyes and her mouth freshly glossed.
His cock lurched to
painful awareness.

Anyone who doubted the sex drive of a man in his
mid-thirties didn’t have to wonder when Kelly Crossman was around, that was for
damn sure.

“Yeah, for Virginia.” He sat back and crossed his hands over
his stomach.
When he accidentally bumped his erection, he stifled a groan.
“I
have two people, but I need more.
Lots more.”

“Which two?” She angled her head.
“And you’re not one of
them, are you?”

Chapter Nine

Before Spencer had a chance to reply, Kelly rolled her eyes
and eased a hip onto the corner of his desk, giving him a prime view of miles
of creamy leg.
“Yeah, yeah, can’t tell the lowly peons.
Just tell me Leigh’s not
going.”

“You know I can’t discuss staffing plans until they’re
confirmed.”

“Is that your way of saying she is?
I’m assuming you’ll be
spending a lot of time out there and she’ll slide all over you like icing.”

He opened his mouth then closed it abruptly.
He’d almost
told her the truth.
I’m moving there for a year, minimum.
For once
reason prevailed.
No formal announcement had been made yet.
That wouldn’t come
for a week or two.

Despite what was happening between them, he couldn’t violate
the owners’ trust.
His leaving made room for Marcia to become the new regional
manager, and he wasn’t about to spill his sister’s news prematurely.

Besides, if he said he was leaving, she’d probably call a
halt to things.
Which made sense.
Ending things now would be cleaner.
More
logical.

Unfortunately, logic didn’t seem to hold much sway in the
face of pouty lips, sexy hazel eyes and a quick wit that turned him on almost
as much as her leggy body.

“Leigh and I have a professional working relationship,” he
said instead.

Kelly kicked off her sandal and slid her bare foot into his
lap.
This time he did groan.
He’d never met a woman with more talented toes.
“Like us?”

“No.” Spencer gripped her calf and stroked her velvety skin.
He wanted to push her back on his desk until her legs were spread open like a
wishbone.
“Definitely not like us.”

“You don’t think she’s hot?” She rubbed her arch against his
cock persuasively.
“C’mon, tell me you haven’t fantasized about her cute little
butt or those perky breasts she loves to bounce in front of you.”

The only butt and breasts he was fantasizing about belonged
to the woman currently toeing him into a state of hardness heretofore unknown.
“She’s my employee.
I don’t go there on work hours.”

“Ah, so after work’s okay.” She removed her other shoe and
brought her right foot up to join the left, though this one glided up and down
his chest.
“Or if she went to Kink.”

The foot in his lap stilled just long enough for him to get
control of himself.
He glanced up at her and the vulnerability on her face made
him kiss her ankle.
Even her feet smelled delicious.
She looked so soft and
pretty in her oddly childish clothes, he couldn’t have rebuffed her if he
tried.

“A fleet of gorgeous women could parade through here naked
and I’d still be thinking about you,” he said softly.
“And only you.”

Kelly’s fingers clamped around the edge of the desk as he
rolled closer to press another kiss on her inner thigh just below the frayed
edge of her cutoffs.
“Now that you know you’re the only woman who rocks my
world,” his lips quirked, “are you going to help me or not?”

“I’m helping.” She pushed him back with her heel.
“So what
can I do?
Other than kneel down in front of that chair, unzip your pants and
reward you handsomely for your good taste?”

“You’re going to kill me.” He swiveled back to face his
computer and mentally rifled through what absolutely had to get done before
night’s end.
He opened a folder and debated how they could work in tandem if he
got his laptop out of his car.
“How are you with spreadsheets?”

“Math major, remember?
Computer science minor.
Total geek at
your service, sir.”

“I like when you call me sir.
You should do it more often.”

“You wish.”

She slung an arm around his neck and leaned in to peer at
his screen.
As her fragrant hair tickled his cheek, his cock twitched in
protest.

Just her nearness made his breath shorten.
God, he had it
bad.

“What do you need?” she asked into the silence.

You.
Your sweet pussy, your mischievous laughter, your
delicious scent wrapped around me so I can keep you close every minute I’m
gone.

Work had suddenly become the last thing he cared about.
That
was happening more and more often lately.
Three guesses why.

“We’ll start with the advertising budget.
Marcia, Tony and I
have put together some proposals on the most effective usage of our money, but
I need someone with an eye for what moves consumers to evaluate where it makes
sense to spend big and where to cut back.
We need the maximum bang for our
buck.
No one else has your mind for numbers combined with a flair for the
artistic, so you’re perfect.”

“Thank you.” Kelly slanted a glance at him.
“Nice to know
you think I do have some use.”

He didn’t reply.
He knew she was still dwelling on his “not
fit to lead” comment the other day, when he’d been so vexed by her ridiculous
sex list anything could have come out of his mouth.
And not even that she had a
list, but that he’d been at the bottom of it.
Days later he still hadn’t moved
past that one.

The disc of her he kept in his briefcase had also played a
part in his mental fog that day.
He would have to make a copy of it before he
wore the thing out.

He’d also have to tell her about its existence.
Eventually.

“Plenty of uses,” he said, nudging her aside so he could
stand.
“Take my seat.
I’ll go grab my laptop from the car.”

“Oooh, the chair of command.” She plopped down and grinned.
“I feel all official already.”

Smiling, he headed out to his car.
The heat hadn’t lessened
in the last half hour.
If anything, it felt even hotter.
By the time he
returned, laptop under his arm, his linen shirt clung to him.
He wouldn’t have
been surprised if his face was beet-red.

He glanced at Kelly as he set his computer on the low table
next to the loveseat.
He hated the damn thing—who had living room furniture in
their office?—but Marcia had insisted she needed it.
He didn’t want to
speculate why.
“Doing okay?”

“Spectacular.” Kelly swiveled to face him.
“Hot?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” He powered on his machine and
took a long breath.
Right now, he wanted a tall glass of something cold to rub
against the back of his neck.
Kelly’s plump lips encircling his dick would be
nice too.

As she rose and walked over to him, he stared dumbly.
Had he
spoken aloud?

“Here, let me help.” She rested one knee on the cushion
beside him and undid the first few buttons of his shirt.
“Take a load off.
Relax.
You’re among friends.”

“Unlike some people, I don’t undress in the office,” he said
when she kept going.

She narrowed her eyes, her fingers faltering.
“What’s that
supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He forced all thoughts of her video out of his
head.
The video that wasn’t supposed to exist.
“Just that I imagine some people
do more in their offices than work.”

She cocked her head, curiosity piqued.
Maybe she thought he
was referring to Marcia.
He hoped.
“Well,
you
undress in the office
now.” Easing back, she admired her handiwork with a grin.
“I like the view.”

“I feel like an idiot.”

“Yeah, but you look yummy.” She gave him a quick kiss and
went back to his computer.
“So what else do you have to take care of tonight?”

Bending you over that desk would be an excellent start.

He cleared his throat and opened his files.
“A bunch of
things.
I’m behind.”

“You?
Never.”

“I haven’t exactly been focused on work lately.”

“No?” He’d never heard so much pleasure contained in a single
syllable, at least while the woman in question was fully clothed.
“Well, allow
me to help you get caught up.
Spreadsheets rev me up in ways you can’t
imagine.”

For about the twentieth time that evening, he smiled.
“Is
that so?”

“Oh yeah.
Together, we’ll plow through whatever’s left on
your To Do list.”

Together.
What a fucking terrifying word.
He was used
to doing things solo, not with a partner who hummed along to the hip-hop music
still pumping in the store.

Without allowing himself to dwell on the rightness of her
presence, he briefly outlined what he wanted to accomplish and then they were
off.
Occasionally she asked questions or offered suggestions.
Invariably her
thoughts opened up a new line to pursue.
Her advertising ideas were especially
good.
She had a cousin in graphic design who could get them excellent rates for
ad layouts, and she also knew someone who worked at a small paper in Virginia.
Best of all, that newspaper represented patrons of the arts, people who were
more likely to visit a bookstore and coffee shop a little out of the ordinary.

When she finished one thing, she went right to the next
without waiting for direction.
She didn’t complain she was tired or ask to take
breaks.
Just watching her study the computer screen while her fingers flew over
the keys pushed his buttons in all the right ways.

Hours passed in a companionable blur.
Somewhere along the
way he stopped being concerned whether what he was doing was skirting the line
of boss and employee and started seeing the incredible asset she could be to
the company if she were given room to grow.
That wasn’t even taking into
consideration his personal feelings, which seemed to be rearing their head more
and more.

Working made him happy and he definitely derived pleasure
from the company’s success.
But since Diana, he didn’t ever truly relax while
he was at the store.
As much as his job gratified him, he still looked over his
shoulder at every turn.
He’d never managed to shake the feeling that his past
would come back to bite his ass.

Until tonight.
Bouncing ideas back and forth with Kelly was
the closest thing to true enjoyment he’d ever had in his office.

So far.
Rectifying that would be her reward for making the
night so much…well, fun.

Good God.
Fun.
Now there was a word he didn’t use that
often.
Even sex wasn’t particularly fun to him.
It was a way to release
tension.
He needed an escape valve or he’d blow.
Literally and figuratively in
this case.
But Kelly made everything an adventure.
He caught himself smiling
more than once at her off-key humming and occasional wisecracks.
Just at
her
.

After a while, he turned off his computer and set it aside
in favor of admiring her bare foot flexing in time to the beat.
She’d gotten up
a few times to change CDs, but the style of music didn’t change.

So his new lover was a fan of hip-hop and spreadsheets and
didn’t mind indulging his desire to watch.
Or
his newly emerging need to
give others that same thrill.
Such a strange mix of contrasts in a woman had
never seemed so appealing before.

“It’s past three a.m., Ms.
Crossman.
Think you’ve done your
duty.”

“I’m almost done with this spreadsheet.
I added another
column.
Your projected advertising expenses weren’t tabulating correctly so I
did some tweaking.
Wanna see?”

“I’d love to, but not now.” He rubbed his grainy eyes.
Why
the hell hadn’t he ever guessed how much was going on in that busy brain?
“It’s
late and I’m tired.”

“Oh, okay.” She frowned as she rose out of his chair.
“I got
kind of involved.”

“Yeah, you did.” Casually he adjusted his erection.
She
looked so studiously sexy in her glasses, with her hair all tousled from her
wandering fingers.
“I’ll look over what you came up with tomorrow.”

She nodded and took a couple steps toward the door.
“Gotcha.
I’ll just—”