I’m suddenly acutely aware of how close we are. Inches apart, really. I take a deep breath, but that only makes it worse because now I have a lungful of his spicy, musky scent. Shit. My hand shakes as I continue to work on the stain. His gaze bores into me. I can feel it.
“What?” I say, not looking up, my voice nearly as shaky as my hand, and I want to curse whoever that asshole was. There is no way Linc isn’t going to notice the effect he’s having on me right now. The way my fingers are twitching with the urge to dig into his shirt and pull him even closer so I can rub my body all over his.
“I think you’ve got it,” he says. He’s right. I’m still furiously scrubbing a stain that’s no longer there. He drops a casual kiss on my hair, causing me to freeze. “Thanks, Jules. Saving the day yet again.”
I swallow, schooling my face before I look up at him with a too-bright smile. “That’s my job.”
His eyes flicker with something I don’t quite recognize, a sexy smile curving lips that I really want to lick, and I tell myself it’s nothing. The hand that’s back on my lower back, resting oh-so-lightly there as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. The fucking kiss he just dropped like that’s just what we did.
Nothing. It’s nothing. So, why does it feel like something?
Linc
Jules is so fucking cute. I mean, who else would have a giant stack of stain removing wipes in her purse? She’s always coming to my rescue one way or another. I lucked out when she fell into my lap.
Well, not literally into my lap. Though I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had more than one fantasy of something along those lines. A late night at the office, her leaning over me as we work, her just happening to trip and fall and land right on my dick. Okay, more than one fantasy. More like I have a whole spank bank of them.
A smile pulls at my lips as I rest my hand on her back, fighting the impulse to yank her to me.
“Are you laughing at me again?” Jules says. “There is nothing wrong with being prepared. Saved your ass today, didn’t I?”
“That you did, Jules. That you did.” I grin in earnest now, her sassy attitude making me forget all about the fact that I was irritated by the coffee.
She smiles back, shaking her head. “You’re so crazy.”
Yeah, crazy about you.
I want to tell her so badly. How much I fucking want her. How she drives me absolutely mad with need and want and desire.
But I don’t. For the same reason I’ve kept this little secret to myself for the past two years. She’s fucking amazing. And I’d be an asshole to mess up what a good thing we have going. As her boss, as her friend. All of it.
That doesn’t mean I don’t totally check out her ass as she bends over to pick up the now-empty coffee cup. Or that when the train takes a curve, I happen to lean into a little more than necessary just so I can get a whiff of that sweet strawberry scent that wafts off her mahogany hair.
I can’t even smell strawberries anymore without getting a boner. Seriously. That’s what this girl does to me.
“So, Wes has seriously found a girl?” she asks, her nose wrinkling up in disbelief.
I sigh. Back to my brother. “Yeah. Seems like it. Why? You jealous?”
And how ridiculous am I that I’m actually worried she might be?
She snorts. “Please. But I’m seriously terrified that we’re going to need to upgrade the security system to keep the ladies away from you.”
The train slows, and we move toward the door. I take her elbow in my hand again, the feel of her soft skin making my body light up in awareness.
“Sounds like you just might be jealous after all, Jules, baby,” I tease. Jules baby? What the fuck? Where did that come from? But I go with it.
She elbows me in the ribs as we move off the train and head toward the stairs. “Maybe I am. Wouldn’t you just love that?”
Her tone is light, full of jest, but the thought that she might be jealous of other women wanting my attention gives me pause. She’s never given me any indication that she thinks of me as anything other than a friend. I mean, hell, we discuss sports on a daily basis. Like she’s one of the guys.
I shamelessly take in her ass as she climbs the stairs in front of me. Okay, definitely not one of the guys.
I’m lost in my thoughts—and fantasies. Her naked on my desk, her naked on her desk, her naked on the boardroom table—and I think about it all the way to the office. The morning flies by in a rush of meetings, even the one with my brother going well. And it’s official. He’s dating a girl named Celine. When lunchtime finally rolls around, I’m ready for the break.
Jules knocks on my office, holding up a bag from my favorite gourmet deli. “Hungry?”
“Starving. You’re an angel,” I say, happy that it’s now one of the highlights of my day. We fell into the habit of eating lunch together early on, and now it’s a ritual.