Conflict of Interest (2 page)

Disbelief mingled with her laughter. “Are you always so forward?”

Frequently, to the dismay of his board of directors. A shadow passed through the shop as clouds covered the sun outside. “Only until it gets me slapped. You?”

“Always and for as long as I can get away with it.” She shifted in her seat, leaning in, arms resting on the table and accentuating full breasts.

He forced his attention to stay on her face. She wasn’t even close to the prissy socialite he’d imagined. It had been a long time since he’d pegged someone so completely wrong, and he was enjoying the hell out of it.

Her phone interrupted, a tinny pop song cutting through the veil of innuendo. She gave him an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “No worries. If it’s your boyfriend asking you to talk dirty to him, go ahead.”

“Not likely. No boyfriend.” She answered the phone. “What? …I stopped for coffee someplace where they weren’t going to snap at me for being nice.” She glanced at him, hesitation in her eyes, and then shook her head. “Fine, okay. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

She dropped her phone in her purse and turned to him. “I’d love to stay longer, talk about whether or not one’s manhood can actually throb, but I have to go.”

“Shame. I might have proposed a hands-on experiment.” He shoved the rest of his donut in his mouth and washed it down with a swallow of coffee.

She laughed through her embarrassment. “Does talking like that ever get you in trouble?”

“Let’s just say I’m willing to take my chances in some cases.” Or more specifically, in her case. He stood and offered her a hand. “I should probably get back to real life too. I’ll walk you out.”

His hand lingered on her arm as he guided her through the crowds toward the exit, her warm skin against his sending pulsing tingles through him. When they stepped onto the sidewalk, the din of Saturday morning traffic rushed in to replace the chatter of inside. “Where did you park?” He was pretty sure he’d never seen her drive—it was hard to miss those things on mornings when the place was deserted except for the two of them—but it was polite to ask.

“Home.”

That was a more vague answer than he was looking for, but it wasn’t like he wanted to meet her family. Or her cats. Whatever. His hand moved to the small of her back, nudging her across the parking lot. She didn’t resist.

“Do you want a lift?” he asked.

Her footsteps slowed, and she pulled away. “In the love van?”

He spun to face her, not sure what to make of the comment. She’d nicknamed his car? Fascinating. “Excuse me?”

She nodded at the Escalade in the back of the parking lot. “That one’s yours right? The Game God license plate? The tinted windows meant to keep out even the most penetrating light?”

She knew what the G4M3G0D on his plates meant. She was full of entertaining surprises. He bit back the urge to joke about the word
penetrating
. “That’s it, but love van, really?”

She fell into step beside him again. “No one’s ever accused you of that before?”

“Not to my face. Interesting assumption.” He moved closer, letting his bare arm brush hers.

“No worse than deciding I was reading some bodice ripper inside.”

He stopped at his SUV, spinning to face her and leaning back against it, one foot propped up on the rubber strip running along the bottom of the door. He looped his thumbs in his pockets. “Fair enough. We’re even on the inappropriate assumption front then?”

She kept her distance but didn’t seem in a hurry to leave. “I didn’t know we were keeping score.”

A gust of wind tore through the parking lot, whipping her ponytail into her face. She hugged herself and shivered as the clouds devoured the last traces of direct sunlight.

He forced his hands to stay by his side, biting his tongue before he could offer to warm her up. Or ask if she’d like to be the one biting his tongue. “Someone’s always keeping score.”

“Clever.” She shook her head, laughing. A sharp chill wove itself into the wind, and she rubbed the visible goose bumps on her arms. Even through her bra, he could see her nipples were hard nubs, adding new geography to her fitted T-shirt.

He shouldn’t be staring. Or imagining pulling her close, running his hands over those peaks, warming her up. He clicked the locks off on his car, yanked the door open, and grabbed his jacket off the back seat.

“Hmm…” Her voice was closer than she expected. “Clean, beige leather, no shag carpet.” He turned and she stepped back, ducking her head. “I had to see for myself.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” He draped the fleece over her shoulders, pulling the neck closed, hands lingering on her collarbone. The soft fruit of her shampoo mingled with a flowered perfume, and he pushed back the urge to pull her closer, breathe her in, taste her.

She stepped closer. “Not disappointed at all.”

That was going to make fighting the impulses more difficult. Even though she was only a few inches shorter than his six two, she almost swam in the coat, the bottom hanging halfway down her thighs. An image flashed through his mind of her wearing nothing but that jacket, standing in his bedroom doorway—

A sharp bolt lit up the sky, accompanied by the concussive boom of thunder. She jumped, eliminating a few more inches between them, and laughed nervously, hand flying to her chest. “Holy crap.”

His heart was hammering too, but not from the sudden noise. She stood near enough that her warmth drifted toward his bare arms. Her gaze met his, and his breath caught. Such a captivating face.

A drop of rain landed on her cheek, trailing down the smooth skin. He rested a hand on the back of her neck, thumb brushing away the water. His pulse raced even faster when she tilted her head into the gesture.

Another drop landed on her nose, her forehead, her chin. What would she do if he kissed them away?

The sky opened up, buckets pouring down, plastering his shirt to him in seconds.

She pulled his jacket tighter. “I think I’ll take that ride after all.”

He didn’t argue, yanking open the passenger door and making sure she was inside before sprinting to the driver’s side.

Kenzie twisted in the leather seat to face him, sinking into the oversized jacket draping her shoulders and wiping the rain from her face. The faint scent of his cologne swam through her thoughts. She studied him, soaking wet, shirt accentuating every line of definition on his chest.

He laughed and raked his fingers through his brown spikes, pushing the dripping strands off his forehead. “So you’d rather take your chances in the love van than the rain? At least now I know your limits. You’re not worried I might be bad news?”

“I know you’re bad news.” The way he didn’t filter his thoughts, but was still gentle and polite. The hint of mischief always lurking in his smile and promising something unknown. It was making her giddy, and nervous, and tingly all over.

She worked her fingers into the elastic holding her hair back and yanked it free, letting the loose strands fall around her shoulders. The ponytail had kept it from getting soaked, and it was nice to have the almost-dry warmth against her skin. She’d rather it was his hand again, but the moment seemed to be gone.

How had she ended up in this man’s car in the pouring rain, toeing the line of indecent conversation and fantasizing about stripping off his wet clothes? “The barista knows me. She saw us leave together.”

“So they’ll come after you when they find my body dead and mangled in a gutter?” His teasing smirk never faded.

She batted her eyelashes. “Yes. And the police will track me down, bringing my long string of kidnapping devastatingly sexy men to an end.”

“Sexy?” He leaned closer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Crap, she hadn’t meant to say that. No, wait, this was perfect. She wasn’t being frigid anymore. She could do flirting. Especially when he made it so easy. Her voice was husky when she replied. “Definitely sexy.”

“And you’re going to devastate me?” His fingers lingered on her ear, tracing light lines, eyes searching hers. She inhaled sharply when he trailed down to her earlobe and then brushed the hollow behind it where her neck met her jaw.

Her heart hammered against her ribcage, and her mind argued with itself—half insisting this was grossly inappropriate and the other half saying she was thinking too much. He was a random stranger, not a client or an associate. Just a guy whose rough palm against her neck was driving her thoughts wild. “I wouldn’t mind trying.”

Wind howled against the vehicle, rain slamming into it from all sides and drowning out the rest of the world. She could get lost in those eyes.

“Don’t you need to get home?” He didn’t pull away, and his skin was hot against hers.

The same argument she’d had with herself when Riley called echoed in her thoughts, but this time she was leaning toward continuing to swap one-liners with the sexy stranger instead of trudging back to her condo.

She shifted her weight in the seat and leaned into his hand, her voice almost lost in the storm outside. “Right. I should do that.”

The corner of his mouth twitched, fingertips gliding along the back of her neck. “You’re not convincing me.”

She exhaled at the light touch, currents of anticipation flowing through her. “I haven’t convinced myself.”

“Maybe I can help tip the scales in my favor.” He dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers.

She whimpered and scooted closer, returning the kiss. His mouth was hot against hers, his muffled chuckle ending in a groan when she nipped at his bottom lip. His fingers tangled in her hair, tongue probing her mouth. Her hand rested on his chest, and she traced the bulk that was solid muscle.

He tugged her head back with a hungry growl, tongue gliding down her jaw and neck, resting in the hollow at the base of her throat. His words vibrated against her skin. “If I’d thought things out…” He kissed along her collarbone, teeth grazing the soft skin where her shoulder met her neck. “I might have actually made this a love van.”

She arched her back when his fingers danced up her spine. She pressed her chest into his, the rough texture of damp fabric biting into her skin. The sensation was enticing, but left her wanting the clothes out of the way completely. “I can’t believe it’s never come up before.”

His laugh was a low rumble, laden with lust. He pushed the bottom of her shirt up, caressing her waist. “Trust me, that’s not an issue now. It’s up.”

The innuendo was horrible but alluring. A bold voice in her thoughts drove her and overrode her hesitation. Her fingers dropped to his leg, caressing the inside of his thigh, damp denim harsh against the pads of her fingertips. “You mentioned something earlier about a hands-on experiment?”

He growled against her shoulder, and his hand moved to the front of her shirt, sliding up her stomach. “Now you’re just teasing me.”

She squirmed under his touch, need growing hot between her legs. “Now? What were we doing before?”

His thumb dipped under her bra, brushing the bottom of her breast. She gasped and moved her hand higher up his thigh. Part of her was intensely aware of how public their parking spot was. The other half wanted to slide his seat back and straddle his legs. Both halves agreed she didn’t want to stop.

He kissed her again, and she pressed back, hungry. She massaged the inside of his leg, moaning with need.

A familiar ringtone echoed through the car, and she cursed her sister for picking now to call back.

“Do you need to get that?” His strong grip held her in place.

“She’ll wait.” Kenzie glided her hand higher, brushing his arousal through his jeans.

He hissed and pulled her closer, almost throwing her off balance and forcing her to lean into him to keep from falling off the seat.

A digital chirp filled the car, mingling with the fading tones of Kenzie’s phone.

“And that would be my keeper calling.” His hands slid down her arms, and he pushed her upright, his face flushed and breathing heavy. “In case you didn’t know, weekend work emergencies suck.”

He knew that without taking the call? Her brow knit together, and she couldn’t hide her disappointment. “You can’t maybe ignore them for a couple minutes?”

“I can’t think of anything that would make my weekend brighter.” He tangled his fingers in her hair, kissing her hard one more time before sinking back into his seat and exhaling loudly. “I can put it off long enough to drop you off, but not long enough to give you a ride.”

She understood making sacrifices for a job, but the last snippet of innuendo didn’t dilute the disappointment washing over her. She sat back in her own seat. “Completely understand.”

He grasped her fingers between his, kissing her knuckles. “But if it helps any, you’re now officially my favorite fantasy.”

The gesture sent flutters through her chest, and the words brought the fading heat rushing back to her face and every other inch of her body. “Ditto.”

* * * *

Riley was sitting on the couch, arms folded, pale face drawn into a scowl, when Kenzie pushed into the apartment.

“Where have you been?” Riley demanded. “You weren’t answering your phone. I thought maybe something bad happened.” She sat straighter, aggravation fading to curiosity. “Who does the jacket belong to?”

Kenzie couldn’t keep the grin from her face. Even her sister’s glower wasn’t enough to spoil the residual tingles. “I don’t know. I didn’t get his name.”

Riley’s shoulders relaxed, and she leaned back into beige cushions. “Really? Spill.”

Kenzie’s smile grew, and she raked her fingers through her hair, working out some of the tangles. She shouldn’t say it, but she couldn’t help herself. “There’s not much to tell. Guy from the coffee shop gave me a lift home. Things may or may not have gotten intense enough to steam up his windows before he dropped me off.”

Riley’s jaw dropped. “Mackenzie Carter, are you yanking my chain?”

Kenzie flushed. Finally, she had shocked her sister. And she was considering doing it again. She did need to give Mr. G4M3G0D back his jacket, and she knew where he spent a lot of his Saturday mornings. “Completely serious.”