This time he paused for a moment to take a sip. “Oui,” he said.
“Say something else in French so I know.”
“Do you understand French?”
“No. But I think I’ll be able to tell.”
“Okay,” he said, moving closer and never taking his eyes off her. “J’aimerais pouvoir vous emmener dans ma chambre.”
She hadn’t the slightest clue what he’d said, but it didn’t matter. Hearing the words roll off his lips sent a tingling sensation down to her core.Get a grip, Miri. Oh, but she’d gotten a grip all right. She clenched her thighs as if holding the wooden stool beneath her together with the tension in her legs. She pictured those soft, luscious lips next to her ear, whispering French words likeoui,bonjour, andcroissantagainst her lobe before traveling down her neck with soft wet kisses. And his large, strong hands grabbing hold of her ass, pulling her pelvis toward him. And her hips rolling against his abdomen because, dang, this man is tall. And his fingers trailing up the back of her shirt, twisting the clasp of her…
Plain, boring, navy T-shirt bra. Her gaze had fallen to his hands before she snapped back to him as she regained focus.
“Did you lie when you said you didn’t see anything when you walked in on me in the bathroom?” she asked.
He brought his hand in a fist to his mouth as he choked on a sip of his drink and cleared his throat. “Yes.”
She gulped and forced herself not to stare at his entrancing lips any longer.
“And what did you see?”
“I saw exactly what you think I saw.” She gulped again. “Now…let me ask you a few questions.”
She bit her lower lip as he stared intently at her. “Okay.” Her heart pounded.Please don’t ask what’s happening in my panties.
“How long have you been an archaeologist?”
She let out a breath. “Four years.”
“And are you still not ready to talk about what happened tonight?”
Maybe asking about her panties wouldn’t have been so bad after all. But if they were going to be stuck together for the next few weeks, she needed to get comfortable around him.
“I suppose we might as well.”
“I take it you didn’t know you’d be assigned lead?”
“Nope.”
“How do you think that happened?”
“Dr. Mejía—she’s my mentor. I think she’s trying to help me build my résumé. Give me opportunities that she didn’t have.”
“And does that frighten you?”
“It terrifies me.”
“More than seeing me across the buffet table?” His eyes homed in on her, kicking up the temperature a few thousand degrees.Not wasting any time poking the elephant in the room, I see.
“That didn’t terrify me.”
“Oh yeah? Then what was that reaction?” His finger glided along the rim of his glass.
Was he analyzing her or flirting? She’d had so fewexperiences flirting in recent years that she honestly couldn’t tell the difference.
“Oh, you mean the slop on the shoes? That’s my usualoh hey, good to see you againmove.” She smiled, and he flashed one in return, shaking his head at her comment. “I’m sorry…I say weird things when I get nervous.”
“I quite enjoy your quirky quips. Besides, what’s there to be nervous about?”
