She breathed deeply and considered her options carefully. She could air all of her concerns about Amanda, or indeed her annoyance at his lie of omission. She could blame hormones, again, or she could deny anything was wrong and play innocent until she’d decided when she wanted to discuss Amanda. Was it still the idea of him seeing his ex-wife she didn’t know about every day that was causing her mood or was it because she was going to miss him after Friday, because she loved him? She’d said those words and meant them, but could she really love him? She’d known him for less than a week and he’d said it back, but was his response out of a sense of duty, because he thought he should? Maybe she had been cranky because she was horny in spite of her annoyance with him. More than anything she felt confused.
“So?” He was becoming impatient.
“I don’t know. I just feel confused. It’s been a strange week.” She did think she’d fairly accurately summed up how she felt even without any actual details.
“Can we get up off the kitchen floor before we discuss this some more?” A kind and understanding smile gently curled his lips.
“I’m not the one who put us down here.”
Jim laughed as he shook his head in protest at her claim. “Oh, I think we both know you are definitely the one who put us down here, baby.” He got to his feet and carefully pulled her to hers. “Why don’t you take a shower or a bath, or whatever you want? I need to check my emails and then we’ll have dinner and talk about what’s confusing you.”
Chapter 20
After her shower, Tasha dressed in a white cotton sundress and returned to find Jim still in his office. She pushed herself up until she sat on the edge of his desk and watched him typing. After a few seconds and a number of typing errors he looked up at her.
“You are distracting me.”
“I’m not doing anything,” she protested with an innocent smile that made him smile too.
“You are looking gorgeous and watching me from the spot where I laid you down. Where I laid you down and got laid to be precise and the memory is very distracting.”
She smiled at him, a slightly broader smile then swung her legs to and fro teasingly as a sense of calmness washed over her.
Jim moved his chair back from his desk slightly and laughed, a real laugh that sounded around them as he threw his head back, exposing his neck fully causing thoughts of kissing, licking and nipping the skin there to course through her.
“No.” He was clearly reading her mind. “I am going to reply to this email and then we are going to have dinner.”
With a pout and stilled legs Tasha looked at Jim, making him laugh again.
“You are so funny, honey. But unless you have had your school uniform flown over, there will be no more visits to the principal’s office for you.”
Sliding off the end of the desk Tasha refocused on food, knowing Jim actually meant every word he’d said. “What’s for dinner?”
“Sandra will have left something in the fridge. You carry on and I’ll be two minutes.”
“Did you find something?” Jim joined her in the kitchen and watched her laying the table.
“Yeah, lasagne or cannelloni I think, and salad.”
He sat at the kitchen table where she settled on his lap resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “So, what are you confused about?” He bent his head down and inhaled as he buried his nose in her hair. “You smell nice.”
His words and the warmth in his voice made her smile.
“You’re distracting me again.”
“I haven’t done anything,” she protested.
“I beg to differ; you smell good, you are very beautiful, and in a dress too and the kitchen floor will never look the same after your little show.”
“Show?”
“Yes, show and very impressive it was, too. Now I really am getting distracted, so sit on a chair.”
She moved until she was opposite him and prepared to talk.
“So, you’re confused?”
She nodded her head thinking confused might just be the most apt description of how she felt.
