“But taking you would destroy me,” I admitted.
Her eyes warmed, her smile wide.
Shit. Now I’d have a hell of a time keeping her away from me until the Djinn threat was exposed. I’d been doing a great job until I’d lost my head—and my dick—to her charm and beauty.
“Marcus, that was a wonderful thing to say.” She laughed. “Too bad you looked like you ate a lemon while saying it.”
I had to bite back a smile. “Look, Tessa?—”
She held up a hand. “No, no. Before you go pissing me off again by saying something insulting, let me have this moment.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help laughing. “Are you finished for the day?”
“Until my eight o’clock meeting tomorrow.” She groaned and arched her back, subtly reminding me of her perfect breasts. How they felt when I sucked those delectable nipples…
“Marcus, don’t think that hot, sexy stare is going to distract me.” She gathered her coat and purse and unlocked the door. “We have plenty of time to talk on the way home.”
With a silent groan, I followed her out of the office and closed the door behind us. I stiffened when I saw Jonas Chase across the room watching us with a strange look.
A wave of danger settled over the space, and I hastily drew a stronger shield around my affai, leaving myself open to draw out my opponent.
“What—” Tessa followed my gaze to her boss. “Jonas?”
Jonas glanced at her and waved. “Goodnight.” He ignored me, I noticed.
I turned by back to him, to prove I was no threat, and tested the locked door of Tessa’s office. “All locked up. You’re good,” I told her.
When I turned around, I saw that her boss had gone back into his office. Nothing had happened, but I sensed a darkness when I looked at him. I took a step from Tessa, intent on having it out with Chase here and now.
She grabbed me by the arm and clung like a burr. “Oh no you don’t. Jonas isn’t a threat.”
“Why? Because you like it when he touches you?” Jonas Chase was dangerous, period. I had no idea why I hadn’t seen that before.
“No, because you’re blinded by jealousy,” she said plainly, taking the bluster out of my rage. “Like I was when I heard you had a meeting with Sheila Covington this morning. Funny, you didn’t mention that part of your schedule last night at dinner.”
Apparently, the threat to my well-being didn’t come from her boss, but from Tessa herself. The deceptively calm redhead eyed me like a hungry raptor.
I cleared my throat. “Covington, right.” I cupped her elbow and escorted her to the elevator.
How had I forgotten something so important as what had happened this morning? This was one conversation we definitely needed to have in private.
Chapter 28
Tessa
I slammed the main door to the house shut and followed Marcus through the foyer to the kitchen—the source of the wonderful, if distracting smells that made my stomach growl.
But food would have to wait. “Marcus, if you don’t tell me what I want to know in the next five seconds, you can forget about ever sitting comfortably again, because my foot will be so far up your ass?—”
“Tessa, Marcus, glad you finally pried yourselves away from the office,” Cadmus interrupted with a large, toothy grin.
“Just in time for machia.” Aerolus watched us from the stove, his gray eyes unblinking.
Distracted by my grumbling stomach and irritated because I knew Aerolus intended the diversion, I muttered, “What’s machia?”
“A traditional dish in Tanselm. It’s perfect on a day like today.” Cadmus fetched us all bowls of the thick, aromatic stew.
Shelving a glare for Marcus, I took a reluctant bite, then another. “Wow, Aerolus, I can’t believe you made this. Did you, you know?” I wiggled my fingers.
