Mr. Mysterious would continue breaking down the barriers around Lauren’s body. Noah himself would start seducing her heart—gently.
She’d fall into the arms of both, he’d tell her they were one and the same, then all would be well. He hoped.
Her behavior after their lovemaking had been a shock. She didn’t believe in happily ever after anymore? Didn’t want love? Bullshit. Lauren was a happily-ever-after, white-picket-fence sort of woman.
This morning had been troubling, too. Lauren considered him a pal of sorts. Given that, why had she all but refused to tell him her perspective
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on Friday night? Then thrown Misty in his face? He’d stopped seeing the cheerleader a few weeks ago. Misty had lots between the waist and shoulders…not much north. Certainly not enough to interest him for more than a few hours.
And Lauren had acted almost…jealous. The thought made him grin.
Lauren tapped him on the shoulder, and Noah turned. She was right there, right in front of him. A sheer gloss sheened those full rosy lips, and the taste of her kiss was right on his tongue. He wanted it again.
Now. He clenched his fists to keep his hands to himself. Not only was this not the right place, but it wasn’t the right time. Lauren just wasn’t ready. After she fell further under the spell of Mr. Mysterious…and Noah had edged her into the dreaded “R” word,
relationship
, then she’d be ready to handle the emotional stuff. He’d be patient about springing the
“M” word on her. Or try to be.
“Can you hand me the laptop?” she asked, all business.
Noah frowned but complied, reaching behind him to grab it off the table. He watched as she opened the case and began setting up with quick movements. Without thought, he handed her cords and the box light as she needed them.
“Handouts?” he asked.
“End pouch.”
He withdrew them, setting them in front of her. “You ready?”
Lauren swallowed, then nodded. She looked a bit nervous, but more resolute. And damn sexy, despite her professional navy blue suit and upswept hair.
“You’ll do great,” he whispered. “Martin is going to give you a hard time. Watch him. Don’t lose your temper. Stay logical. You can win him over with cold, hard facts. You’re smarter than him.”
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At his words, her gaze zipped up from the laptop right to his face. A moment of vulnerability crossed her face, and he wanted to take her in his arms so badly. Tim was his buddy, but he’d been a prick where his ex-wife was concerned. Noah knew the ass-wipe had done a number on her self-esteem.
Thanking God everyone else in the room seemed engrossed in their own conversations, he whispered, “I know Tim didn’t treat you with the respect your intelligence deserves—”
She laughed. “Tim treated me like a cross between Airhead Barbie and the invisible woman. He could have cared less about my abilities beyond cooking and housekeeping.”
“Tim can be an utter moron.”
“Thank you.” Her expression softened, and her gaze seemed to reach for him, linger. “On that, we’re agreed.”
“I’ll help you today as much as I can. It’s a good idea and an excellent plan. You know I’m on your side.”
Her big brown eyes softened even more. “Thanks again. I know you’ve neglected your own projects to help me with this one. I appreciate you taking the time.”
He shot her a direct stare. A heated one. Could she see it? Did she understand?
Lauren’s gaze clung to him from beneath thick lashes before skittering away.
“Sugar,” he whispered.
Her dark brown stare was back, uncertain, almost questioning.
“I’ll always make time for you. Always.”
Noah knew time—and Tim’s amount of it away from Lauren and home—had been a centerpiece in the divorce. After their split, Tim had shown up at his place, shitfaced, and spilled his guts. Sensing his
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chance with Lauren after all these years, Noah hadn’t stopped Tim’s verbal regurgitation of their marital problems. Even Tim admitted he did everything he could to climb the corporate ladder and volunteered to travel whenever the subject came up. He had nothing against Lauren or marriage…but he didn’t want either. Neither of them had cheated or lied.
Tim had just acted as if Lauren and the girls didn’t exist.
The guard in Lauren’s gaze dropped, and suddenly he could see pain and…was he actually seeing longing?
“Hey, you two whispering the secrets of the universe, or are you going to start this meeting?” Gus Martin, one of Noah’s partners, groused. “I’ve got other things to do this morning.”
The jackass hadn’t even finished speaking before Lauren’s face closed up. She jerked away as if she was on fire and began straightening papers again. Noah resisted the urge to march across the room, grab Martin by the throat, and pound his head into a wall.
She stared right at her nemesis, giving him a cool, take-no-prisoners stare. Noah was so proud of her moxie and smarts, he nearly burst with it.
“I’m ready, Mr. Martin.”
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“I think we did it!” Lauren shrieked the minute they entered Noah’s office and he closed the door behind them.
“You did it,” he corrected. “And I think you’re right. The decision will come quick and be favorable because you did great and kept your cool.
You had all the right information. You gave Martin logical arguments.
You shut him down when he tried to run you over. Everyone was impressed.” He smiled.
Lauren basked in the glow. His eyes were a wintery blue, but that grin of approval made his whole expression so toasty, she could have roasted marshmallows by it. “I couldn’t have done it without you. You’re the one who made me ruthlessly prepare.”
He stepped closer and shrugged. “I just helped you make sure you’d thought of crap that would occur to Martin. I know how his mind works.”
“Yes, you do.” She clapped. “How soon do you think we’ll hear?”
“This afternoon,” he assured. “There are only four other voting members, since I already cast my vote. Dave Danson is behind the project. I shot hoops with him yesterday.”
“Wow, you really do plan ahead and think of everything.”
“Good planning always has rewards.” He shrugged. “Yours will come.
I think you swayed Martin. After him, the other two should be a piece of cake. Honestly, I think they’ll green-light you to start the focus groups quickly.”
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“That would be awesome. I still can’t believe how well it went. If the project gets green-lighted, that will really help me refine the whole scope.
With the feedback from the focus groups, I can capture what patrons in the identified demographics will want. If the data bears out my thoughts and these locations actually open, these will be more family-oriented than our current locations, but will—”
Noah grabbed her hands. “Sugar, you don’t have to sell me. You persuaded me a long time ago.”
“Thanks for believing I could.” She bit her lip.
“I never doubted it.”
Lauren smiled and looked up at him. His eyes sparkled with affection and sincerity. She sucked in a breath. Staring at that expression at such point-blank range was like being star-struck. It hit her square in the chest. God, he was so beautiful, it hurt.
Noah still held her hands in his. Warm. Slightly calloused. Large and longer-fingered. He was standing closer than ever. Dangerously close.
And he was looking straight down at her. The room was suddenly thick with silence.
She swallowed.
The moment her stranger had slid deep in her body while she’d fantasized about Noah rushed back to her. Mr. Mysterious’s touch made her blood hot, but when she’d conjured up a vision of Noah, he’d cranked up her blood to a roiling boil. The thought of him wanting her, binding her under him, and compelling her to accept his passion had sent her over the edge, head first into pleasure as sharp as a machete and so hot, lava felt like ice cubes by comparison.
Even remembering her fantasies made her blush.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, wearing a sexy smile that challenged her to tell the truth.
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Oh, no. Did he have any idea that she was thinking about sex? With him?
Her bet? Yes. Time to lie like hell.
“A million things.” She discreetly tugged her hands from his grasp and crossed the room to stuff the papers she’d brought from the meeting in her laptop case. “Gosh, doing well at this meeting was like a head rush, as amazing as an upside-down rollercoaster ride.”
“The idea of beating up on Martin’s intellect makes you blush? And here I thought maybe it was being close to me. I must be slipping.”
Lauren heard his mocking tone, but still, she snapped her gaze up to his face. To his teasing smile that made her heart stop. Noah wasn’t slipping. Since the day she’d become aware of him as a man a couple of years ago, she’d learned he was devastatingly effective against her resistance. If he ever turned the full force of his charm on her, she suspected he’d be lethal to her heart. Easily. After all, Noah had left a string of younger, sturdier hearts in his wake. She couldn’t be stupid enough to add hers to his collection.
“You could never slip, Noah. But remember, I know you too well to fall for all that charm, so…” She shrugged and tried to toss him a light smile, then quickly segued to another subject by glancing at her watch.
“Wow, look at the time. I didn’t realize it was already almost eleven. I think I’ll treat myself to an early lunch. Bye.”
“Wait. I’ll take you to lunch. You’ve more than earned it.” He crossed the room to stand beside her again. “You can even have a glass of wine. I won’t tell the boss,” he whispered with a grin.
Lauren forced a laugh. What she really wanted to do was tear his clothes off. Bad, bad, bad idea.
“Let’s go.”
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He placed a hand at the small of her back and guided her out the door. Lauren felt her nipples harden just from that inconsequential touch. She took a discreet half-step away from him.
“I need to collect my purse and stop at the restroom.”
“I’ll meet you in front of your desk in five.”
Nodding, Lauren darted to the bathroom. Inside, she was blessedly alone and stared at herself in the mirror. The upswept do was professional. Her suit impeccable, thanks to her sister’s great taste in clothing. The jewelry helped bring the look together for a casual sophistication that really was perfect for this office.
Unfortunately, her flushed cheeks, swollen lips and dilated eyes all screamed “fuck me”.
Lauren groaned. She’d splash a sink full of cold water on her face if it wouldn’t ruin her foundation and run her mascara.
Deep breaths, one after the other. She could do this. It was just lunch. Noah liked to tease, always had. His banter meant nothing. The fact she wanted his flirtation to…well, that was her problem.
Quickly, she used the facilities, washed her hands, returned to her desk and retrieved her purse. Noah stood quietly, waiting, watching. His gaze drilled her. Hot. Almost…like he wanted to strip her down and spend the afternoon between her legs. Surely he didn’t mean to look at
her
that way. Impossible.
“Where to?” she asked brightly, hoping the sudden spike in her body temperature wasn’t all over her face.
He suggested a nearby Mexican food restaurant, which she adored, and they were off. The car ride was tense. Lauren tried to fill it with conversation, but he kept sending
that
stare her way until she lost her train of thought and shut up.
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They arrived at the restaurant and were seated right away. Again, Noah guided her across the place with a hand at the small of her back.
His touch jolted her, vibrating through her, all the way down to her…better not to dwell on that part of her just now. Focusing on the wet ache would only kill her conversational skills.
Unfortunately, seated across from him, Lauren had almost nowhere to look except at Noah. She was never so grateful for a basket of tortilla chips so that she had something to do with her hands that didn’t involve ripping that pristine white shirt from his yummy chest.
“You look tense, sugar. Relax and tell me what’s wrong.”
“Um, worried about the outcome of the meeting,” she lied after swallowing her chip.
“It’ll all come out in your favor. You watch.”
Lauren suspected he was right, and she wasn’t one to count her chickens. But she had to say something appropriate to the man.
Somehow, she didn’t think bringing up her midnight fantasies to him—
about him—would be considered appropriate.
“Hey, while I’ve got you out and away from the office, can I ask you a question?”
She hesitated. “A question?”
“Yeah. Something personal.”
Oh, this subject sounded ripe with possibilities, none of them good…
“Sure.” What else could she say?
“I’m interested in this woman…”
“There’s a shock.”
Lauren winced as soon as she said it. Part pure sarcasm, part jealous annoyance, she hoped it hid her disappointment. This shouldn’t upset her. At all. Noah and his sluts de jour were nothing new. It wasn’t like she
loved
the man. Actually, she was more attached to him than was
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wise for her sanity, so maybe his pursuit of another woman was for the best.
Nice rationalization
, she thought, restraining the urge to roll her eyes.
He laughed at her. Actually laughed! Unbelievable.
“I’m sure to you it looks like I’ve dated my fair share.”
“Your share and half the male population in Texas’s share. But whatever.” She shrugged, pretending not to care.
The waiter came by and slapped glasses of water on their table, took their orders, and fled as only a busy man trying to keep up with the lunch rush could.
Once they were alone again, Noah continued, “This woman, she’s divorced. And she’s giving me the ‘get lost’ vibe. I’m not exactly sure why.