Who had she been admitting that to?
“Cal—” Deena sucked in a breath.
I turned to face her. The big windows at her back revealed the last colors of a spectacular sunset, the sky darkening by the minute. Deena sat behind her desk, her cheeks flushed, her palms pressed flat to the surface like she was a second away from bolting.
Her desire to run was palpable. I could taste it on my tongue. I wanted her to try, just so I could hunt her down and catch her.
Chest moving with deep inhalations, Deena watched me with wide brown eyes. Her lips were parted, but she didn’t say a word.
I advanced. My steps were slow and steady as I crossed the space, pulling out one of the chairs across from her desk so I could lounge in it. Deena watched me, palms still braced on her desk, breath sawing in and out of her lungs.
“You saw the email,” she guessed.
“I did.”
She flushed red, and a curl of pleasuretwisted in my gut. I loved it when she came undone. Her gaze slid away from mine, her teeth clamping down on her bottom lip.
There was so much between us, but my feelings hadn’t changed. If anything, I’d fallen for her harder this past month. With every email she sent and every improvement she made, I got a glimpse of the way her mind worked. She was methodical and intelligent. She moved quickly and decisively. She was good at what she did.
Iunderstoodher. As much as she gave me shit for being a control freak, Deena was much the same. Her processes were thorough and full of checks and balances. She reviewed the employee database carefully and hounded people for mistakes and missed details. She kept herself buttoned up so tight and controlled everything in her domain. Like me.
But there was one critical snag.
I’d seen her let go. I’d seen the bliss on her face when she gave herself to me, the freedom she’d gained in ultimate release. She was the other side of my coin. Made for me. I’d waited patiently for her to realize it, but now it seemed like she would need a little push.
“Deena,” I said, dropping my voice. I paused until her eyes were back on me. “Come here.”
The command was delivered gently, but I still saw her resistance to it. Delicious, infuriating resistance. Seconds trickled by as we faced each other. Her breaths sped up, and she closed her eyes.
The significance of the moment weighed heavy in the air of her office. I’d told her exactly what would happen on the tarmac when I’d flown her back to the city after our weekend in Charlotte. I said we’d play it her way—until we didn’t. Until she came to me.
My outward appearance was calm, but my heart beat a riot in my chest. I’d kept my distance since she’d started working here. Kept things as professional as I could when inside, I burned forher. Every time she impressed me. Every time she sassed me. Every time she smiled.
Her defiance hummed in the air. She didn’t want to come to me. But I’d keep my promise—we’d do this her way until she decided she was ready for mine.
Then, just when I thought she’d snap at me to get out of her sight, she exhaled in a huff and pushed herself up off her chair. Every muscle in my body tightened. Tottering on her heels, she came around the desk. I wanted her to crawl into my lap and let me hold her close, but she leaned on her desk instead. Her fingers curled into the edge of it, as if she needed to anchor herself.
Close enough.
I stood, drinking in her quick intake of breath. Moving slowly so as to not spook her, I stepped near enough that I could smell her perfume and feel the heat of her body along my front.
“Was it true?” I asked quietly, studying every emotion flitting across her expression.
She gulped. We both knew I was asking about the email. “Sort of,” she hedged, and I couldn’t help my smile. Even now, when I nearly had her in my grasp, she fought against the inevitable.
With the backs of my fingers, I brushed a tendril of hair from her cheek. I traced the line of her jaw and felt the pulse thrumming on the side of her throat. I traced the line of buttons marching down her front, letting my knuckles brush the waistband of her skirt. I trailed the backs of my fingers over the curve of her lower stomach and let my hand drop away before I reached her pelvis. She sucked a breath in through her teeth, fingers white-knuckled where they gripped the desk.
“Having you working for me has been torture,” I admitted. I couldn’t resist the urge to touch her, so I brushed my fingertips along the side of her thigh. “Did you know that?”
She shook herhead.
“I’m hard all the time. I can’t focus on anything except the sound of your voice. I can smell you when you’ve been in a room before me.”
Her lids fluttered shut. She liked knowing what she did to me. My heart was still galloping in my chest, but I kept my voice calm. Maybe what she needed from me was the truth. Maybe it was me who had to bare myself to her to give her the courage to take that final step.
If I wanted her to be mine, I had to let go of a little control.
“I dream about you, Deena. Every morning, I wake up needing you. And then I come here and all day long, I see your brilliance.”
