‘It’s true.’ Elias desperately reached for the water glass again and pretended to direct his comment to Vince. ‘I wanted Darcie from the first moment I saw her.’ He watched the sweep of colour surge beneath her skin and she looked to the table. ‘But she worked for me.’
So he couldn’t touch. He’d told her that, hadn’t he? But hadn’t she believed him?
‘You’re not working for Elias now, Darcie?’ Cora asked.
‘No,’ Darcie said. ‘I’m taking a little time off and then I’ll find something different.’
‘I’d offer you a job anytime, Darcie,’ Vince said.
A flare of anger smoked the last of Elias’s brain cells. Fortunately Darcie spoke before he could.
‘I’m not in the market for a new job right now, but in the future if that changes, I might call.’
Elias ground his teeth. That wouldn’t be changing in the future. He’d keep her occupied. With something. Anything. Maybe something very basic—such as himself.
He’d seen little of the passionate, emotional side of Darcie prior to yesterday. And the more he saw of it, the more he wanted, thenearerhe wanted. He wanted her to talk to him. To tell him. To ask him again. But she was too good at masking her emotions. In the office he’d relied on that ability to keep her head cool. And her ability to keep up to his speed. She’d often explained things to others that second or third time that he didn’t have the time or patience for. He only needed tell her something once and she had it locked in.
Now he realised what he’d done. And what he’d not done.
He’d told herno, once. He’d not kissed her properly at their wedding. He’d left her alone on what was their wedding night.
So what had she learned from him doing—and not doing—all that? Did she really think him seeing her as sublime wasshocking?
He needed to get behind the wall she was trying to rebuild. He wanted more of challenging, confrontational, bold and brave Darcie. The one who spontaneously laughed and who not-so-secretly adored soft French cheeses. Who’d once invited him to—
‘Where are you going on your honeymoon?’ Cora looked at them from one to the other in the following pause that neither of them filled. ‘You are going on a honeymoon?’
Elias was too focused on Darcie to answer. Her pillowy lips had just parted in surprise. He’d tasted and she’d softened—far too briefly. Now he wanted her to soften against him again. Now he wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss her until she was hot and sighing and asking him to take her to bed.
‘Eventually,’ Darcie smoothed over the moment as Elias entirely failed to answer. ‘We’re just finalising some work first.’
‘All work and no play isn’t healthy for anyone, and certainly not a newly married couple.’ He didn’t know if it was Vince or Cora who answered her.
‘We’re aligned in our desires.’ Huskiness entered Darcie’s voice.
Elias couldn’t resist playing up to the frisson she’d lit—even it was unintentionally. ‘We very much like the same things.’
It was true.
‘A power couple.’ Vince chuckled. ‘There’s certainly an energy between you.’ He leaned back at winked at Darcie. ‘But I do wonder which of you is really the boss?’
No one was the boss of Darcie.
‘We take turns,’ she deflected lightly.
He was unbearably aroused by the ideas that innocuous statement set off in his head. All he wanted to do was to have her aloof focus fully, exclusively on him. He wanted bold Darcie of two weeks ago back. The one who hadn’t hid her desire. Who couldn’t. Because nowhecouldn’t.
‘You look like someone who’s found long-lost buried treasure and can’t actually believe it,’ Vince said to him quietly when Cora and Darcie were engaged in conversation.
Yeah, and he wasn’t about to let some raider come and steal it. She was his. She always had been. He’d just been blind to the fact. But he’d woken up now. ‘You won’t mind if we wrap this up?’
Vince laughed. ‘Not at all.’
He never skimped on time with clients and certainly not prospective acquisitions. But he didn’t care about business tonight. Tonight he needed to be with Darcie. Properly. He less than smoothly said goodbye on behalf of them both and Vince and Cora, bless them, headed off. Which left him alone with her at last.
Just before pushing the button to summon the lift, he turned to her and made his play. ‘Come upstairs with me?’
CHAPTER EIGHT