Page 17 of Covert

And the many ways she could tempt him to do it again.

Now, she had to spend a whole evening in his company without the safety net of pen, paper, computer, spreadsheets, or endless invoices. No hiding behind business questions or typing dictated letters. Instead, she’d be forced to make small talk and heaven forbid, face possible interrogation about her personal life.

Not to mention the more daunting prospect if Dylan turned on the charm. If he flashed that rare killer smile or stared at her with those chocolate brown eyes, she’d be a goner.

Dashing a slick of gloss across her lips, she hoped she had more willpower than she’d shown that night he’d come to her room. She should have pushed him away and given him a verbal barrage. Instead, she’d submitted to that mind-blowing kiss with all the fierceness of a purring cat. All she’d needed to do was roll over and beg for her tummy to be rubbed, an action she’d been perilously close to doing before she pulled away.

As if on cue, a knock sounded at her door. Straightening her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she opened it, doing her utmost to appear nonchalant.

“Hey,” Dylan said, sounding oddly shy. “Ready to go?”

She nodded, wishing her heart would stop hammering a staccato beat. She’s never shied away from confrontation—her brothers could attest to that—and she needed to clear the air with Dylan.

“Before we go, we need to talk.”

His smile faded, replaced by his residual frown. “About what?”

“That kiss and the ramifications.”

He grimaced and swiped a hand over his face. “I’ve already apologised and I thought we’d moved past it—”

“We have, but working with you this past week has been tense, and I don’t like it. Especially after I thought we’d made headway in our relationship.”

His eyes widened in horror and she almost laughed. “Ourworkingrelationship. But for the record, I’m upfront about what I want out of life, as you probably guessed when I barrelled my way into being your butler initially, so I want you to know something.”

“What?”

“I enjoyed the kiss. I invited the kiss. So you’ve got nothing to worry about in the harassment stakes, or about me being your employee. Tonight, we’re not work colleagues.”

The frown furrowing his brow deepened. “Then what are we?”

“Friends?”

“Friends,” he parroted, as if trying it on for size.

“And it’s okay if friends flirt and have fun and relax, okay?”

He didn’t respond, and she could see the inner war he waged—honour and duty battling what she hoped was attraction.

He cleared his throat. “That’s nice in theory, but what happens when we’re back in the office?”

Of course he’d be logical about this.

“We won’t be the first workplace romance and we wouldn’t be the last. I’m consenting to shenanigans. Are you?”

His frown faded and the corners of his mouth twitched. “You say the damnedest things.”

“Just getting everything out in the open so there’s no room to misconstrue anything.”

“Like?”

“Like when I tell you to lead the way to the car so I can perv on your butt.”

“The view’s that good, huh?”

He finally smiled and she exhaled in relief.

They could do this. It had been too long since she’d had fun with a guy; not one that had been grilled by her brothers first, that is. The whole interrogation thing tended to be a dampener on any budding romance so she was determined to make the most of her freedom in Melbourne.

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