She sets her beer on the coffee table. "Two blocks wipes you out? How did you ever survive in New York the first time?"
"A talk with Raisa always leaves me exhausted. Besides, I had to give up on the taxi and run to get here."
"Run?" Elena's brows knit together over her adorable nose. "What was the rush?"
"To find you." I take a sip of my beer, then set the bottle on the table. I angle toward her and take her hand in both of mine. "I was afraid you jumped to the wrong conclusion and thought I was reconciling with Raisa. I'm not, by the way."
"Never thought that." She shuts her eyes for a moment, then looks at me again. "I feel horrible. Raisa is clearly still in love with you, and I promised to help her win you back, then I went and slept with you instead."
"She had no right to make you do that for her."
"I know, but she won't give up. This afternoon, I went to the break room to get some coffee, and I saw Raisa there. She didn't see me. She was crying again, Chance. Crying. Raisa."
What am I meant to do about that? I don't want to hurt Raisa, but I've clearly failed to hammer it into her brain that we will never be a couple again. "I don't love her anymore. I want to be with you, Elena, and that unfortunately means I have to hurt Raisa. No way around that."
"Yeah, I know." Elena lays her other hand over mine. "I guess we have to accept that Raisa will be upset. But I really think we need to tell her about us."
"I don't think that's a good idea, not yet. Let's wait and see if this thing between us is really going somewhere."
"No, please, we have to tell her. And if she fires me, oh well. I'm sure they need paralegals in Siberia."
"You don't need to run that far away. Come with me to Chicago."
Elena lays her palm on my cheek. "That's sweet, but we barely know each other."
"We can change that." I turn my face into her palm and kiss it. "Raisa can't fire you for following the firm's rules about coworkers dating. I'm an attorney, Elena. I'll help you sue her for wrongful termination if she does fire you. But first, I'll try again to talk sense into her. It might work."
"Maybe," Elena says, sounding as unconvinced as she looks. "We're taking a risk either way."
"We are. But you should've said you're taking a chance. I'd jump on that offer."
"Oh, but I knew you'd do that." She taps her finger on my lips. "Not giving you any ammunition to use in seducing me."
"Why not? That's why I came here."
She shakes her head. "No, it's not. You came here because Raisa upset you, and you need comforting."
"Do I get some, then?"
"Absolutely." She leans in, her breaths teasing my lips. "How do you like the dress?"
"I love it." I can't disguise the hunger in my voice, because I am starved for her. I feasted on that body two nights ago, but I need more. "Where's the bedroom?"
She hooks a thumb over her shoulder. "Down the hall."
"Too far." I consider the small sofa and calculate whether I can fit on it lying down. The answer is no. "It's either you on my lap here, or both of us on the floor."
Laughing softly, her face alight with joy and lust, she straddles my lap.
I slip my hands under her dress, skating them up her thighs to her arse. "You've got knickers on."
"Mm-hm." Her tongue peeks out between her lips while she focuses on undoing my tie. "Thought it might be fun to let you rip them off."
"It will be. Enormously." I hook my fingers inside her knickers and yank, but they don't rip. I try again, yanking harder, but still can't break the bloody things. "There's a slight problem with your plan. Your underwear seems to be woven from steel fibers."
She laughs again, tossing my tie halfway across the room. It lands on one of the recliners. "Oh come on, Chance. You don't give up that easily, do you?"
I love her this way, uninhibited, laughing, playing with me. She's adorable and beautiful and sweet and sexy. The fact she has a sharp mind behind all that feminine loveliness makes her even more enticing.