Page 58

The greens overtake the blues in his eyes. “There has been a lot on me in the past few days when it comes to you, most of it wet and sticky, and I don’t feel guilty about any of it.”

Damn.

I grab the edge of the table behind me so I don’t dissolve into the floor.

“What are you thinking right now?” he asks, adjusting his tie.

I wonder if he’s doing it to keep his hands busy so he doesn’t reach for me. I hold the table tighter so I don’t reach for him.

“What am I thinking?” I ask. “I’m thinking that this is the craziest coincidence on the face of the planet.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“I do.” I release the table and move around the room to dispel some of the energy zipping through my veins. “How else do you explain that the first time I choose to sleep with a random guy, he turns out to be my boss?”

He shrugs. “I think some people use the word fate or kismet , but feel free to substitute whatever makes you happy. I’ve discovered that you typically prefer harder and deeper .”

I heave a breath. “Don’t.”

My heart pounds as I take in this delicious man whom I’ve not been able to stop thinking about for days.

It would be so easy to fall into his arms and let him ravage me again.

The thought is almost too tempting to deny.

My saving grace is our location—that our run-in happened at work, one job that I love and has given me so much meaning in this season of my life.

It forces me to take a second. To breathe. To honestly consider what I’m doing.

With the moment of pause comes clarity through the haze of pheromones.

There was a reason I got up Saturday morning and left him asleep in his bed. And I can’t forget that now—especially now when my job could be affected by my decision, too.

“Tate, I love this job. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He cocks a brow as if he’s challenging my declaration. But I don’t react. I just move on.

“I had the best night with you,” I say. “And I’m sorry if leaving you in the morning without saying goodbye was disrespectful. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“It did hurt my feelings.”

I grin at the playful look on his face.

“Do you want to hash this out over dinner?” he asks. “That would really help me heal from the trauma of waking up alone.”

“No.”

“Why?”

I sigh. “I told you why. One-night stands don’t come with an encore, no matter how amazing the performance.”

“You thought it was amazing?” he asks, grinning from ear to ear.

This man. I shake my head.

“I had the best night of my life with Kelly.” He winks. “And I’d do just about anything to see her again.”

“Well, Kelly can’t see you again, even if she agrees that it was the best night of her life, too.”

“Why the hell not?” he asks.

I laugh softly. Has he ever been told no? “Because Kelly has a lot of baggage. Kelly is trying to avoid repeating harmful patterns in her life. Kelly is trying to grow—and keep her job.”

“Well, Tate with No Last Name would like to help her do all of those things.”

“Tate with No Last Name just sees her as a challenge.”

“That’s not true.”

He cuts the distance between us in half, close enough to be able to pull me to him.

Our proximity is infuriating. I’m pulled to him like a magnet, drawn to him like a rose to the sun. I crave the warmth his touch provides and feel myself leaning toward him to bask in his energy.

It would be so easy to give in. Yet I don’t.

“You sell yourself short,” he says, cupping the side of my face.

“How?”

“You think I’m interested in you because you’re a challenge? If I wanted a challenge, I’d play golf.”

I bite my lip to keep from giggling, but it’s futile.

“Golf is one of the few things I’m not great at,” he says, dropping his hand to his side. “I’d rather focus on putting my balls into other holes, if you know what I mean.”

My laughter slips through the conference room. The sound makes him grin.

I wish that being with him, even in this setting, didn’t feel so incredible. I’d give my right arm to be able to pull the fuse inside me that links his smile to my heartbeat so every time his lips tilt to the ceiling, my heart doesn’t flutter.

I take a step back. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Did you take this job before or after you knew I worked here?”

“Does it matter?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Then after,” he says with a simple shrug. “But, in my defense, my degree is in marketing, so it does make sense to take this on.”

That’s fair. And it is his company. “I want to keep working here, Tate.”

“You better. I just took a job in hockey to be near you. I hate hockey.”

I chuckle, both at his words and the look on his face. “But I need to know that what happened last weekend won’t get me fired.”

He steps back, observing me quietly, and I’m not sure how to take it.

My body tenses as I consider that he might realize that it’ll never work with me here.

Case in point: we can’t even have this conversation without sexual innuendos, and I’m 1000 percent sure that’s against company policy.

And he can fire me without cause. I’m still technically in my probation period.

“By all accounts, you are the one holding this department together,” he says. “You were very impressive today.”

I give him a real, broad smile. It grows wider when he doesn’t lessen his praise by cheapening it with a nod to last weekend.

“If one of us needs to leave, it should be me,” he says. “And I will leave if my presence here bothers you. I’ll figure out a remedy because I refuse to make you feel uncomfortable, Aurora.”

My mouth goes dry. “Thank you.”

He glances at the floor for a moment, then lifts his gaze to mine. His eyes are clear, shining a bright blue, as he looks at me.

“I don’t understand why you’re trying to resist me,” he says cheekily. “But let’s put that aside for now.”

“Nothing can happen between us again.”

“I hear you.”

“I mean it,” I say, unflinching. “I’m the hero in my story. I have to save myself.”

“You have to save yourself from what?”

I shrug. “Myself. I’m a romantic at heart and have a habit of falling for the first man who crosses my path when I’m vulnerable. And traditionally speaking, the first man to cross my path isn’t the one for me.”

“That makes total sense.”

“Good.”

“It seems as though a few motherfuckers cut in line.”

My heart flutters despite my ferocious attempt at resisting him.

“But I do hear you,” he says, searching my eyes as if he’s trying to read me. “And I give you my word that not only is your job safe but you are also safe with me.”

“I’m not with you, Tate.”

He flashes me a sideways grin. “As your friend and boss, of course.”

We both know that’s not what he meant. We also know that I can argue with him until I’m blue in the face, and it won’t change anything.

He’s under my skin. Deep .

Goose bumps break out across my skin as a bout of anxiety hits me full-on. Tate was supposed to be my spicy little secret, a moment in time to bridge two eras of my life together. He wasn’t supposed to be a fixture in my life.

And he wasn’t supposed to make me feel anything but satisfied.

What did you really think would happen when you picked him to share the night with, Aurora, you fool?

Oof.

“Fine,” I say, picking up my things from the table. “We’re both adults. We’re capable of a working relationship.”

“Absolutely.”

“And on that note, I need to get back to my office,” I say, heading for the door. “I’ll email you this afternoon with a revised schedule for this week.”

I plant a hand on the door to push it open when Tate calls out.

“Aurora.”

My heart leaps in my chest as I stop pushing. “Yeah?”

“You could’ve left me half of the pie.”

I snort, shaking my head, and walk out.