All the air seemed to evaporate from the room as his pupils drowned out his irises. He took her in from head to toe. “Damn me to hell. Why do I feel like I’m about to be the punch line on one of those hidden camera shows?”
Cordelia bit back her fear and sauntered forward. Where was that famed balance when she needed it? She stumbled, but righted herself before her heel slid out from under her. “Do I look like a joke to you?”
“No, ma’am.” He swallowed. Hard. “In fact, I’m a little worried this might be a dream and I’m going to wake up any second now.”
“Do you want me to slap you just to be sure you’re awake?”
He cracked a smile at that. “Belinda Sue teaching you a thing or two?”
“Ugh.” She made a face. “What do you know about Belinda Sue’s specialties?”
“It’s a small town. People talk.” He reached behind him and pulled the blinds closed. “You’re probably trying to distract me because y’all know I’m looking into Daisy in connection to the poison, but I would like to state for the record that I have no issue with your methods.” His arm wrapped around her waist, and he tugged her against him.
A flash of liquid heat pooled in her stomach. This was all going horribly wrong. Distract, disrobe, disarm. Drop off the sample they’d collected from the wine and get out before he noticed. That had been the plan.
She wasn’t supposed tofeelthings.
“I—” She cleared her throat. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Come on, now.” His big, calloused hand stretched across her rib cage, and she released an involuntary gasp. “That’s what you’re doing, right? Playing games with me?”
She rubbed her hand against his chest, her fingers curling against him on instinct, like a satisfied cat giving a good back stretch. The warmth of his skin sizzled through his shirt, the heat of him igniting her palm. “What if I said I showed up like this because I find you irresistible?”
He laughed, low and deep, as he nuzzled her neck, his lips brushing the tender skin beneath her earlobe. “I’d call you a damn liar.”
This was too close. Too much stimulation. Cordelia specifically avoided these situations, knowing how easy it would be to lose her head. Hadn’t she watched her momma fall into this trap time and time again? The thought ran like ice through her veins.She pushed out of his embrace and backed up, giving herself the space she needed to find her equilibrium again.
As she hopped up on his desk, her legs bumped against the drawer holding the lab bags. The chill of the metal surface made her skin pebble. “Maybe I’m just having a bit of fun.”
“You’re in the right business for fun.” He moved closer. A skilled predator stalking unpracticed prey. “Lucky for both of us, I don’t mind playing a few games myself.”
He reached for her again, but she held up a hand to stop him. “If we’re going to do this, eyes open, shouldn’t we start on even ground?”
Archer rubbed his jaw over the shadow of late-day stubble. “Little late for that, considering we haven’t been on even ground since we were ten and you stole my shorts at the swimming hole and threw them up in a tree.”
She pulled the leather banana hammock out of her coat pocket. When he frowned and shook his head, she giggled. The sound—and feeling—were foreign to her. “I thought you said you liked games?”
His expression turned pensive, but she blinked, and his playful demeanor returned. She didn’t know where his mind had gone, but that had not been the reaction she’d been expecting when she pulled out the leather underwear. Was he actually going to do it?
“My momma used to ask me why I couldn’t be more like that little West girl next door. If she could see you now.” He snatched the banana hammock from her. “Those ladies at the Chickadee are a bad influence.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Cordelia pouted as she slid off the desk, the gesture pulling the lingerie up tight, exposing more of her. “But if you really feel that way, I could always leave.”
She turned toward the door, unable to suppress her smile at his sharp intake of breath. She’d just reached for the handle when his arm came over her, pressing firmly against the door. The rough cotton of his starched shirt rubbed against her bare back. Heat radiated off him in waves. She was in so much trouble.
His fingers circled her wrist, spinning her around and pulling her back against his chest. “I don’t believe I said anything about wanting you to go.”
“I’m not doing this unless I can be assured you’re as vulnerable as I am right now.”
She stared up at him, blinking rapidly in a move she hoped would pass for a flutter. Seduction was not her forte. She just needed him to leave the room before he discovered she was way out of her depth. His fingers trailed the shape of her face. A touch so gentle, so tender, she felt like she’d left her body altogether and stepped into someone else’s life. Someone who inspired long looks and sweet words. The kind of woman she’d always guarded herself against becoming. Her tense muscles relaxed as she melted into his touch.
“All right.” His expression softened, though a smile was now playing around his mouth. “We’ll do this your way.”
He stepped into the bathroom adjacent to his office, and Cordelia immediately got to work. The courier would be arriving in two minutes. She had no time to spare.
She located the lab bag and tossed the wine sample in there, then buried it in his outbox under a batch of other papers. Next, she flipped open his leather-bound journal and began taking pictures of every page. She didn’t have time to be careful. The sound of a motor humming outside caught her attention, and she peeked out the blinds.
The courier had arrived. Cordelia shook her hands as she glanced around the office to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.
