Her Not-So-Secret Diary(9)

She barely refrained from darting her tongue out to moisten her newly  glossed lips courtesy of the quick pit-stop in the Ladies. Which would  be a disaster since Jared's gaze seemed to be focused on them with what  looked like impatience. Probably waiting for her to explain why she'd  been taking so long with the files.

'I do love sunsets, don't you?' she said into the loaded silence and  hefted the documents higher against her chest as a kind of barrier.

'Yes. Especially when it's shared with a nice bottle of wine and good company.' He didn't so much as glance towards the window.

'Shall we get started, then?' No, she wailed silently as soon as she  voiced the words. That came out wrong. Particularly since he was still  looking at her lips and she was still drooling over that dusky jaw.

He walked towards her and didn't stop until he was one skinny latte away  from her personal space. She didn't move. Just breathed in the scent of  his shirt-a day's work mingled with man.

His gaze rose from her lips to meet hers and she realised the one thing  she hadn't noticed in her dream was his eyes. That unusual blend of  olive and navy. The creases that fanned out from the corners and the  long, long eyelashes. How his irises took on the colour of the sunset … or  was that gleam she saw there now something else? Speculation?  Attraction?

An intimate knowledge of the contents of her diary?

She shivered, caught between desire and dread, but then he reached out,  relieved her of the files, thank goodness, because the shiver had spread  to her limbs.

If he noticed, he hid it well, suggesting, 'How about that coffee first before it gets cold?'

Rubbing her fingers over the goose-bumps on her upper arms, she  murmured, 'Good idea.' The tone in his voice brought everything back to a  business level and Sophie forced thoughts of her diary away. 'I hope  you like latte-I asked Mimi and she said she thought you did.'

He nodded. 'Anything with caffeine will be welcome around now.'

She followed him into his office, pulled up a chair in front of the  paperwork, curled her fingers around her mug for something to grip. To  avoid any personal questions or to fill the silence in this strange  electrified atmosphere that had sprung up in the past few moments, she  asked, 'So … does Melissa have your keen business acumen?'

Jared sat too, drawing his mug close with both hands. 'If she does,  she's keeping it to herself. At the moment she's studying design. For  her it's all about colour and taking her inspiration from the  environment. She's very talented, if I do say so myself.' He smiled. 'A  big brother's prerogative.'

Was it? she thought darkly. Hers hadn't thought so. 'Your parents must be very proud of all their children.'

'Our parents are dead.' The dispassionate way he said it sent a chill down her spine.

'Oh … I … ' She trailed off, sensing that beneath the utter lack of emotion  on his face there was sorrow and anger he no doubt didn't want to share  with his temporary employee. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered and immediately  could have bitten off her tongue for that tired cliché.                       
       
           



       

He looked at her as if he'd heard that platitude one time too many, then  brought the mug to his lips and swallowed. 'It was a long time ago.'

She should leave it there but she couldn't. She wanted to know more  about this man who'd obviously been more than just a brother to his  sisters. And now she knew why. He'd taken on a responsibility few other  guys would have been willing to do. 'Was … it an accident?'

He shook his head, a faraway look in his eyes. 'Mum died two weeks after  Lissa was born. Liss turns eighteen in three weeks.' Then it was as if a  winter wind swept over his gaze. 'Dad was killed driving under the  influence twelve years ago.' His voice turned brisk and he rose. 'And if  we don't eat this rice now the aroma's going to be a distraction.' His  quick glance her way told her they had enough distraction to deal with  already. 'We can share while we get down to business.'

So he'd changed his mind about a sociable coffee break. Sophie knew it  was because the conversation had hit an exposed nerve. She opened the  nearest file.

They sipped on their lattes and dipped their forks into the fluffy rice  mixture while she brought him up to speed. Rather, he drank and ate  while she talked. Which was fine because it helped calm her.

He was a courteous listener, focused on the work spread before them and  what she was saying. Putting her at ease. He even asked her opinion on a  couple of major proposals he was considering.

Temping wasn't the most satisfying of jobs, but today, thanks to her  boss, she felt as if she'd made a contribution. He'd made her feel  welcome, and, more importantly, she felt valued as an employee, even if  it was temporary.

'We'll call it a day.' He closed the folder they'd been working on.

'Already?' She glanced up, noticing the sky had turned black and the  glitter of city lights twinkled below. Where had the time gone?

'It's after eight. That's enough. I'll take it from here.'

She glanced at her watch, incredulous, and gave a half-laugh as she rose. 'You know the old saying about time flying.'

'Thanks for your competent help over the past couple of days.'

Then he smiled. With genuine warmth. And, oh, my, was he drop-dead  gorgeous or what? And not only that. How many of the people she'd worked  for over the past couple of years had bothered to acknowledge her  efforts? She couldn't help but smile back as she met his eyes. 'It's  been a pleasure.'

She realised she was still smiling when his eyes turned dark, his pupils  expanding till they almost touched that rim of navy. Hotter, spreading  warmth over her skin, and she got that he was thinking of pleasure too.

Warning bells clanged in her ears, echoing in the tiny part of her brain  that wasn't focused on the pleasure she had no doubt he could provide.  She needed to leave. Now. Before something happened that  changed … everything. 'If there's nothing else, I'll say goodnight … '

He didn't reply and a shivery sensation swept through her. She stepped  away from the chair and through the doorway, then grabbed her bag from  the drawer in Pam's desk. With only the reflection off adjacent  high-rises, the glow from Jared's office and a security light at one end  of the bank of elevators, the entire floor was cloaked in  semi-darkness.

The back of her neck prickling-he hadn't said goodnight so what might  that mean?-she set a brisk pace past the deserted office cubicles. Her  pulse rate stepped up and she had to force herself not to break into a  run. She was short of breath by the time she pressed the button to  summon the lift.

'Wait up, Sophie.' His voice was nowhere near far enough away. 'Where are you parked? I'll walk you to your car.'

She scowled up at the floor numbers as the lift approached from the  ground floor with what seemed like agonising slowness. She knew she'd  never make sanctuary before he reached her and she said, 'A couple of  spaces away from where we parked this morning. I'll be fine,' over her  shoulder.

'I'm sure you will but it won't hurt to make sure.'

I wouldn't count on it. The lift doors opened on a cushion of air and  she stepped inside. So did Jared. The doors closed, silence and intimacy  surrounded them and their eyes met again.

Her feet moved towards the back of the lift, but her gaze remained  locked with his and she realised this wasn't just about last night's  dream or whether he'd read her dirty diary or not. The glimpse of  promised pleasure she saw in his eyes was real-and would have  consequences.                       
       
           



       

She didn't want a man unless he was the kind that faded with dawn. And  yet, standing here within Jared's aura and being bathed in his gaze was a  naked sensation of heat and desire and imminent surrender, stripping  away not only clothing, but denials and reasons.

Beneath her blouse, her skin felt slick, tight. Her blood turned syrupy  and throbbed through her veins to a place deep down in her belly and she  wanted him with every female cell in her body.

Stupido.

She closed her eyes to lessen the impact. It didn't work because now her  senses focused even more acutely on her body's reaction and her  surroundings. She could smell his scent in the confined space and, with  all external sound extinguished, she could almost hear him breathing.  Worse, she could almost hear him thinking.

'Sophie … '

Her eyes snapped open and were immediately drawn again to his as if  there were some kind of force at work. 'Did you press the button?' she  asked, and heard her words come out high-pitched and breathless. 'How  come the lift's not moving?' And how come she hadn't noticed that? She  leaned against the wall. Were they stuck in here?

His gaze glittered with something like amusement. One elbow and forearm  was casually propped against the lift wall. 'You're not claustrophobic,  are you?'