“Thanks, Aria. How’s your mother? Is she feeling better?” he asked, as he wrapped the blanket around Lacey, then undid the top of the bottle.
“She is. She’s out of the hospital now and feeling so much better. Thanks for your help with the specialist.”
“No problem, anytime. Thanks, we’ll be fine now.”
As Aria walked away, he lifted the bottle of water to Lacey’s lips. “Take a sip, honey.”
She drank thirstily for a moment then pulled back, turning her face away. He put the bottle of water down and tugged her against him, content to hold her as she came down from subspace.
“How are you feeling, Lacey?” He kept his voice low.
“Good,” she said dreamily.
“You like the ropes.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yeah. It felt like I was flying. I could let go of all my worries, just like Cady said. I didn’t believe her. Didn’t think I could forget about everything.”
“You have a lot of worries?”
“Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning under them.”
“What do you worry about?”
“Everything. Do you know when I first met you I thought you were fake? I didn’t think anyone could be that nice. Especially not when you look like you do.”
“Like I do?” It seemed that when her guard was down, she became much chattier. Good to know.
“Gorgeous. Sexy.”
“That’s why you avoided me when you first came to work for Black-Gray?”
“You look like you should be on the front page of some magazine. The country’s most eligible bachelor.”
“What? Not the world?”
She laughed quietly, and he smiled. He liked hearing her laugh. She didn’t do it nearly often enough. She seemed to carry far too many concerns. He wondered what he could do to ease her worries.
“And do you still think I’m fake?”
“No. But that’s almost worse. When I thought you were just being nice to charm women into your bed, it was easier to ignore my feelings for you.”
Feelings? This was promising.
“You feel this attraction between us.” He knew she did. The way she reacted to his kiss, his presence, told him all he needed to know. But he wanted her to admit it to herself.
“Yes.” She let out a sigh. “But like I said earlier, I can’t get involved with you.”
“Because I’m your boss.” He understood her fears but he wasn’t about to let that worry stand in the way of getting to know her better.
“That and because you’ll discover the truth about me.”
“The truth?”
“My flaws.”
“Everyone has flaws, baby.”
“Not you. You’re damn near perfect.”