Melinda’s Wolves(50)
It was warm out. And the forecast called for higher temperatures as the day wore on. She grabbed the dress, thinking she would feel more in control if she didn’t have a denim seam between her legs rubbing against her pussy all day.
That might have been a calculated error since she was now more concerned with her exposure and the panties she wore that were already wet from the drive to the job site.
The door opened behind her, and she twisted in her seat to find Keegan striding in. When he shut the heavy metal with a snick, she flinched. “Everything okay?”
She swallowed, her gaze running up and down his body. He was solid. Built. So fucking sexy, any woman would fawn over him. “Yes.”
Please tell me you didn’t catch any of that conversation…
He came straight to her, and before she could protest, lifted her out of the hard chair and set her on the desk. His hands landed on both sides of her hips. He met her gaze and held it, his face serious. “Do you know how much you mean to me?”
She nodded. It was true. She was well aware of his feelings. Hers were no different.
“I’m sorry about this job. It’s my current project, and it’s huge. I have to work here for months. Perhaps longer. Some days I go to other assignments, but most of my time is spent here. This place is a calamity of problems. It looks like there were indeed issues with the initial foundation, and until everything is ironed out with the concrete poured before the earthquake, construction can’t proceed.”
She nodded again. It was so difficult to focus with him in her face like that. She didn’t know how he did it.
Apparently not any better than her, since he righted himself and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m trying to apologize here.”
She could see that. “So, you think that email might have had some truth to it?”
“Maybe.” He pursed his lips and then continued, “I haven’t done enough research yet to be sure. But I’m very concerned based on the files I pulled so far this morning.”
“Um, Keegan, I don’t mean to be a bitch, but something isn’t right here.”
He looked back toward her. “Don’t I know it.”
“No, I mean something is really not right.”
He angled his head to one side, looking at her quizzically. “Like what? We just got here. You already have a suspicion?”
She lowered her gaze. “I don’t know for sure,” she muttered. And then she straightened and took a deep breath. “Look, I know you don’t know me well yet, and my quirky abilities are foreign to you, but when I get feelings, I just know things. They aren’t always specific. And this is one of those times.”
“So you’re saying something is wrong with this casino project, a project you’re conveniently opposed to? And you want me to do what? Call the guys in and stop everything?” He set his hands on his hips, his chest rising and falling with his aggravation.
He’d been in the middle of a pseudo-apology, and now she’d pushed him away again.
It couldn’t be helped. She wasn’t the kind of person to hold her tongue. “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds absurd.”
“What way would you like to put it?”
She tucked her hair behind her ears and met his gaze. “I don’t know. I’m just warning you.”
“Warning me about what, Melinda?” He lifted both hands in the air and glanced at the ceiling.
This was not how she wanted the conversation to go. She’d known him two days now, and so far they’d managed to fight more than not. “Keegan,” she jumped down from the desk and stepped closer, setting her hands on his chest. “I’m not a fool. I get there’s nothing you can do differently right now. But in my experience, when something creeps up my spine, it means business. When and if I know more, I’ll pass on the details. In the meantime, it would be negligent of me to keep my feelings to myself.”
He stared at her, blinking.
She couldn’t blame him. If she were him, she’d be just as skeptical. Lifting up on her tiptoes, she leaned closer to his lips until she hovered an inch away. She smoothed her hands up his chest and around his neck at the same time.
Please, God, let him close the distance. She carefully pleaded with whatever higher being was listening while keeping her thoughts blocked from him.
“I want you to stay in my office for now, okay? I know it’s a lot to ask. But I feel better having you here.” He rubbed his hands up her back. “Maybe I’m being greedy. Maybe I have a little bit of your eerie mojo floating around in me too. In any case, I want you close. Tell me what you feel. I promise to try to be open minded. I know you must be bored.”