Sweet Surrender (Sugar Rush #3)(10)

Her heartbeat increased, even as warning signs flashed in her mind. She knew better. A party boy with a string of beautiful girlfriends and a total lack of responsibility was not her kind of man. At all.

"The door," she prompted, her voice oddly squeaky.

Tyler dug a key out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Open up, Darling," he murmured.

Kate closed her hand around the key. She struggled a little to take a breath. Because he was talking about more than just the door.





Chapter




FOUR


Tyler didn't move when Kate edged in front of him again. A gentleman would have stepped back to allow her space, but he'd never pretended to be a gentleman. Besides, he liked being close to her. Brought back all sorts of memories of closing his arms around her and not wanting to let go.

He let his gaze slip down to her ass. Ugly as her clothes were, he was starting to appreciate that they concealed the lush curves he'd felt pressing against him. It was like keeping a secret. One a douche like Norwood didn't know about.

Kate inserted the key into the lock. The smell of her hair drifted to his nose. Fresh, clean, just like he remembered from that morning. He lowered his head closer and inhaled, letting the scent of her sink into his blood. Nice.

Though he'd grown up with five brothers, he'd been with plenty of women in his twenty-six years. As a result, he'd absorbed a lot of knowledge about feminine lotions, creams, and perfumes. No question that Kate Darling's scent didn't come from the low-level shelf at the drugstore.

She smelled … not expensive, but plentiful, like things growing and blooming. And with her round ass and full, plump breasts that he could still feel crushed against his chest … the scent of lushness suited her perfectly.

His dick twitched. She pushed open the door, and he stepped away from her. His physical reaction didn't surprise him, though he wasn't about to try and start anything with her.



       
         
       
        

A little flirting would be required to get what he needed from her, but he wouldn't take it any further than that. Aside from the fact that Luke wouldn't like him messing with his super-assistant, Kate had a cute, if sort of pathetic, crush on starched-shirt Miles.

And, douche-ness aside, Miles was exactly the kind of guy she should be with-efficient, organized, smug, and probably a vegetarian. They could sit around after work drinking sustainably sourced tea and discussing algorithms.

He followed her to the desk, grabbing the open bag of potato chips he'd left by the computer. She eyed him with disapproval. He extended the bag.

"Want some?"

"No, thank you." Kate sat down at the paper-strewn desk and flipped open her briefcase. She removed a legal pad and a fountain pen, then turned to boot up the computer. "This is the library computer?"

"What's wrong with it?" He crunched into a handful of potato chips.

"What's wrong with it?" Kate repeated in faint disbelief. "It's an ancient PC running Windows XP. What kind of database software is installed?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She scanned through the computer files, bringing up standard applications like Word and Excel. "There isn't any kind of library automation system or even a cataloging database."

Again he was clueless.

"I don't get it," Kate continued. "How was Fred maintaining the system?"

"I think Fred was the system."

Kate studied the computer with a frown. "Does Luke know about this?"

"Doesn't Luke know about everything?"

"He can't possibly know about this or he'd have done something about it ages ago."

Like she was drawing a pistol at a Wild West shooting match, Kate unbuttoned her suit jacket and whisked her cell phone out of a leather holster.

A laugh rose in Tyler's throat-because a cell phone holster-but it faded when the button of her white shirt came undone between her breasts. His gaze snapped like a rubber band to the gap.

The folds of her shirt opened to expose a wall of white cotton, like a heavy-duty slip. Tyler couldn't prevent a rush of disappointment. From his experience, women who used high-end shampoos and lotions would not, under any circumstances, wear granny underwear. Apparently Kate Darling was different.

He glanced at her open briefcase, which was neatly organized with pens, pencils, notepads, all sizes of paper clips, tape, scissors, binders, and rubber bands. She was like a little organizational superhero.

He reached over and picked up a packet of Sugar Rush Chocolate Bon-Bons that was nestled in a corner of the briefcase. Ah. She was a secret chocolate hoarder too. That was why she'd had chocolate on her pretty lips earlier-she'd been trying to ease her anxiety with sugar before attempting to ask Norwood out.