Page 61 of Lemon Crush

Cynics shouldn’t blushwhen someone asked them a simple question, I thought, feeling my cheeks burn. They also didn’t try to change the subject and run away, but here I was, saying, “I should get back.”

I didn’t get up. The only thing I was able to move at the moment was my mouth. “Bernie might need me again, and I think I’m going to take Phoebe’s night shifts, by the way. At least this next one. If I can handle it and don’t set anything on fire, I might be able to cover them until she gets back and still get your billing work done during the day.”

And now I was rambling.

Wade put his hand on my leg to stop me from going anywhere. As if I could, with my hands clutching the bottom edge of my stool in a white-knuckled grip. They stayed there as his fingers gathered my skirt up just enough that they could slip beneath it, his touch deliciously rough on the bare skin of my knee.

“You don’t want to leave yet,” he said knowingly, holding me captive with his eyes as well as his touch. “You came in here like asunny day, with your sexy blue skirt and confident smile. There’s no need to get nervous now, just because I asked you a question.”

Was I nervous? Why was I nervous? And was it suddenly hotter in this office? “You only like my skirt because it’s proof that I actually own normal clothing.”

He gathered more of the fabric in his big hands, revealing the skin of my thighs to his gaze.

“I likeyouin this skirt.” He licked his lower lip and scraped it with his teeth. “The way it sways and clings when you move, teasing at what’s underneath. I bet all those responders are lingering over their food, just to watch you walk by.”

“Not to burst this bubble, but it’s your sister they’re watching. And you’ve seen what’s underneath it. Well, a lot of it.” He’d touched even more of it the other night. “Maybe it slipped your mind.”

He got to his feet and nudged my knees apart to step into my space, my skirt still loosely bunched in his fists. “Nothing about you slips my mind. Even when you’re trying to distract me with that quick tongue of yours. Let me remind you what we were talking about. You said you didn’t know what you wanted.Other than me,” he repeated.

I might have a quick tongue, but his mood changes were making me dizzy. He’d been a stranger for days, a friend and instructor over lunch, and now he was looming over me like the living embodiment of sex. He’d done the same thing the other night. Acted like he couldn’t resist me in the pool and then slept beside me without a hint of arousal. Was it any wonder I was a little confused?

I swallowed, forcing my words past a tight throat while staring at his hands. “I did say that, but it wasn’t a good idea to admit it out loud. Especially now, since the computer stuff is a favor for Phoebe, but if I work at the icehouse and get tips, it wouldmake this an actual job that you’d be in charge of. You’d be your landlady’s boss.”

He freed one of his hands to lift my chin. “We’ve known each other too long for that, August. But if you want to role-play a few forbidden fantasies, we’ve got a lot to work with. Boss. Landlady. Sister’s best friend. Babysitter.”

I muffled a gasp of interest and arousal. Not only was he thinking along the same lines I’d been, but he’d added a few illicit options to the pot. He actuallyhadbeen my babysitter more than once over the years.

That wasnotgoing in my book. But I’d still be thinking about it later tonight. When I was alone.

“Do you keep a secret stash of dirty romance books hidden under your science fiction collection or something? Because in one sentence, you’ve covered most of the best plot lines.”

His smile was hot enough to make me squirm a little. “I’ve spent years saving up enough ideas of my own. Good, bad and downright filthy. We can take them out to play whenever you like, but play is all it would be. There’s too much history between us for any temporary living or working arrangement to get in the way of what we want.”

Now I wondered if he’d snuck onto my laptop and read my work in progress, or if I was dreaming, because I’d never heard Wade talk like that before. But the fictionalCadecertainly had.

He would never do something like that.

I knew it. Which made this that much harder to believe.

“And what do you want, Wade? You made me admit it. It’s your turn now. Or is that what you had to consider?”

“I’ve known what I wanted for a while.” His eyes were a rich brown with flashes of gold and green. As mesmerizing as his voice. “I held back because you might not be ready for what that is.”

“I’m ready,” I assured him, hoping I didn’t sound as needy as I felt.

He moved closer, and my thighs widened to make room for his hips. The move sent his other hand skimming higher along my thigh. “You still sure you don’t need romance?”

“We’ve covered me already. Orgasms and comfy shoes.” I released my grip on the stool and snagged my fingers through his belt loops. “Now what doyouneed?”

I emphasized my words with an impatient tug.

“So fucking cute,” he murmured, his finger tracing the edge of my panties and making me shiver. Thank the gods of Victoria’s Secret I’d decided to wear my good underwear.

“I’d rather be satisfied than cute.” I was apparently brazen now, but I meant what I said. “Give me a hint, Wade, because I don’t want to get ourwires crossed. What are we doing here? Harmless flirting? One night of middle-aged madness we never speak about again?”

What do you want?

He pressed his forehead against mine, his grin tender with an edge of wicked. “No filter at all anymore, is that right?”

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