Page 21 of Taboo

He studied her for a long moment then he said, “Oh. My. God!”

There was no one else in the room with them but still she shushed him.

“What are you getting so loud about?”

“He’s him, right? You said Alek and I was thinking with a ‘c’ but it’s not, right?”

Her face flushed, her body heating up in embarrassment. “I thought it was a ‘c’ too.”

David let loose a squeal so loud she had to cover her ears.

“Bloody hell, that’s louder than when you saw Billy Porter’s gown on the red carpet the first time.”

He calmed himself down, barely. “God, no wonder you jumped on him. All those muscles…unless he doesn’t look as good naked.”

“Better,” she muttered under her breath and David didn’t miss it.

“What was that?”

She sighed. “Better. Ten times better.”

He wiggled his bum. “This is just too delicious. Wait until Nic finds out.”

“You willnottell Nic. Do you understand me?”

He pouted even as he nodded. “Fine. Since you are being a joy killer today, I’m going to return a few calls.”

She blinked. “For what?” They didn’t have anything on their schedule.

“Just some…cleaning up.”

That was David’s term for when he kicked the ass of any rag that tried to attack her. She should ask about what, she should care, but at the moment, she couldn’t. Right now, all she could think about was the sexy mountain of a man who had just left.

After parting ways in the lobby, Julienne headed back to the administration area of the hotel. Robert had insisted on giving her a small office, even though she had said that she didn’t want it. She was walking along when someone slipped his hand around her wrist and yanked her into a darkened room. She knew before her back was crowded up against the door who it was.

“So, I guess our farewell wasn’t really a farewell,” Alek said, his voice filled with dark humor.

She drew in a breath, causing her breasts to brush against his massive chest. Her nipples were already hard, and she knew that he felt them. He groaned.

“So not Jules, exactly?”

There was a thread of accusation in his voice and she didn’t like it.

“My family calls me Jules,Aleka.”

He grimaced. “I haven’t gone by that name since I went into the military.”

She wanted to reach up and spear her fingers through his silky hair. “Can you step back?”

His gaze searched hers. That clean, salty scent still clung to him and now she was convinced it was just him. Her fingers itched to touch, caress. Truth was, Jules was worried she was only seconds away from begging him to shag her up against the door.

In the next instant, he stepped away. Immediately, she felt relieved and bereft. She was definitely going mental. The twin emotions leaving her irritated.

“I assume that we want to just pretend that it never happened and proceed to work together?” she asked.

She waited, wondering what his answer would be. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. He was dressed down today, but in Hawaii, it was the regular business attire. His Hawaiian shirt was white with blue flowers and looked like it had been made for him, mainly because he was so huge, she didn’t think he could buy off the rack and have it fit as well. It was left out, not tucked into the khaki pants. In any other setting, he would look sloppy. Here, he stood out, but that’s probably because she had seen him naked.

Her face heated. Seriously, she hated being a true blond. She could never hide her blush.

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