Her thighs ached at the thought of his touched her. Bending her over her desk in the office. Or over his and fucking her while they both stared out his huge, glass wall, panting and trying their hardest not to scream.
Suddenly, she was all too aware of the heat spreading through her cheeks. She swallowed hard.
"Okay." God, it sounded dumb. So dumb that she wanted to run somewhere and hide.
"I should mention that now that you're single, I don't feel inclined to remain so restrained."
"No?" Was it her or was the air getting thinner in the room? Harder to breathe?
"And I should also mention that I know you're attracted to me."
"Presumptuous."
"Not after the way you screamed my name last night." He grinned, and something dark and sinful glinted in his eyes. Something that made her heart beat that much faster.
"You don't know—"
"Oh, but I do. I notice everything about you. When you walk away from me, you shake your hips just the slightest bit more. Like you want me to watch you walk away—"
"I do not—"
"And when you have coffee with me in the morning, you bend over my shoulder to put the coffee in front of me. I can feel your breasts brush against me. Smell your perfume."
"Aren't you reading too much into it?" She asked, trying her best to make sure he didn't note the tremor in her voice.
"No. And you know that." He crunched into a piece of toast. "The good news is, it didn't go unnoticed. I swear, every time you put my coffee in front of me I wanted to pull you into my lap."
"Garret, I—" He head was spinning. Where was this coming from? What could she—
"This is me putting my cards out on the table," he shrugged. "Now it's your turn."
She blushed, imagining trying to explain the way she thought about him. And, the more she thought it through, she had.
Even before their plan had been a seed of a thought in her mind, it had been Garret she'd thought of when she was alone. And when he walked into the office, a powerful suit framing those broad shoulders of his...
But she could tell him that. She didn't have the nerve.
She'd simply have to show him.
She stood from the table, and then slowly unfastened each of the buttons on his discarded shirt. When it finally fell to the floor and she was naked in front of him, she smiled.
He stared at her like she was the beautiful thing he'd every seen.
"Come upstairs. I'll show you what's been on my mind."
* * *
Afterward, Garret lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling while trying to calculate the odds of his good fortune. They were limitless, and with Rachael next to him, he felt beyond unstoppable.
Not only would she help him score this account with Matchware, but she'd bring some much needed, long-lost fun to his life.
Being a fake husband in exchange hardly seemed like a fair bargain anymore.
"I guess I can't wear white to the wedding now that you've defiled me." She rolled over and grinned and it took all of the energy he had left not to pin her down and bury himself inside her all over again.
She was just so beautiful with the light catching strands of her golden hair as she moved. Stunning.
And his.
"Why not? We're faking everything else."
"Good point." She laid her head on his chest, and for a while they lay in silence, each thinking their own private thoughts.
"Are you going back to work today?" she asked.
For what felt like the first time in his life, he felt unsure of the answer. He wanted to lay here all day. Talking to Rachael, learning about her, and then falling into her again and again until they fell asleep together.
But he couldn't do that.
He had numbers to configure and experiments to develop. A board meeting with brooks. A staff meeting with Natalie. A company to run.
And still, with Rachael right here, none of that seemed to matter.
"Stay," she whispered it so softly that he wasn't sure he'd heard her at first.
"I can't. You have things to do for the wedding, anyway. Isn't that why you took the week off?"
"I took the week off to have sex with you."
"I think not."
"Well, I modified my reasons. I'm a grown-up. I can do what I want."
"I'll be home tonight." Every second he stared into those deep eyes of hers, he hated himself more for saying it.
He should get someone to fill in for him. Just for the week. Just...
But lying to himself wouldn't help. He had to go, and the longer he stayed, the deeper the guilt would go.
Without another word, he shuffled from the bed and pulled on his clothes.
"Check my reports, okay?" she asked.
"You got it."
"And if your assistant sends me any more surveys, I'm going to strangle both of you in your sleep."