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But the idea of letting her employees know her better still made her extremely nervous. The more someone knew about you, the more they could use against you. At least, that was the philosophy her father had preached to her for as long as she could remember.
She sighed. If she stayed at Skerritt and Crowe, becoming friendly with those around her was definitely going to take some getting used to.
Reluctant to open her eyes and end the dream of having two strong arms holding her securely to a wide masculine chest, Alyssa burrowed deeper into her dream lover’s embrace. It felt wonderful to be held while she slept and she wanted to enjoy it for as long as she could, even if it was just a dream.
“Good morning.”
Her eyes flew open and she started to pull away. Dear heavens, she wasn’t dreaming. She was lying on a very real Caleb Walker, who, at the moment, seemed intent on keeping her right where she was.
“I—I’m sorry,” she stammered, trying once again to extricate herself from his hold.
He tightened his arms around her and his deep chuckle beneath her ear vibrated all the way to her soul. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. You were comfortable and I thought I’d let you sleep.”
Her heart did a funny little flip. “It was nice of you to think of me,” she said, straightening her glasses. She managed to put a little space between them to look up into his twinkling hazel eyes. “But—”
“Sweetheart, I think about you more than you realize.” He gave her the sexy grin that never failed to curl her toes as he drew her closer, then rested his forehead on hers. “In fact, you’re about all I’ve been able to think of since night before last.”
Shivers skittered up and down her spine from the mere memory, but the only way she’d been able to face him had been to tell herself that she’d dreamed it. “Nothing happened,” she insisted.
He chuckled. “Then I must have a real vivid imagination, because after that kiss, I walked out of the motel room hotter than a two-dollar pistol at a skid-row pawnshop.”
Alyssa felt as if her heart had stopped completely and even if her vocal cords hadn’t suddenly become temporarily paralyzed, she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
Leaning back, he gazed at her for several long seconds. “You want to know something else?”
“I—I’m not sure,” she said, feeling extremely short of breath.
“I want to do it again.” He removed her glasses, then placed them on the dash. “Do you want me to kiss you, Alyssa?”
Mesmerized by his remarkable gaze and promising smile, she didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
He removed first one, then another of the pins holding her hair up. “You have beautiful hair. You should wear it down more often.”
“I’ve always hated my hair,” she said honestly.
“Why?” Running his fingers through it, he cupped the back of her head and started to draw her forward. “It feels like strands of silk.”
Unable to breathe, much less think, Alyssa’s eyes drifted shut as she allowed Caleb to nibble at her lips, then cover them with a kiss so tender it made her feel as if she were the most cherished woman on earth. What was there about this man that she couldn’t resist?
She’d never had trouble rejecting advances from other men. But when Caleb touched her, rational thought seemed beyond her capabilities. All she wanted was to feel his big, hard body pressed to hers, to taste the desire on his lips and hear his sexy Southern drawl as he said her name.
When he used the tip of his tongue to coax her to open for him, she decided it didn’t matter that she had no will of her own where he was concerned. The truth was, she liked the way he made her feel when he kissed her and the last thing she wanted him to do was stop.
As Caleb slipped his tongue inside, Alyssa met him halfway in a sensuous game of advance and retreat and he felt like his heart would pound a hole right through his rib cage. He’d tried to tell himself to leave well enough alone, that Alyssa Jane Merrick was off-limits.
For one thing, she was a career woman and, considering his history with them, he should be running as hard and fast as his legs would carry him in the opposite direction. And for another, he was having to rely on hers and the other managers’experience at Skerritt and Crowe to keep the firm running until he could get some business courses under his belt. He didn’t need an emotional involvement added to the mix. It would only complicate things and increase the possibility of one of them getting hurt.
But whether it was wise or not, he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of holding her soft body against his, of once again savoring her perfect lips. He’d spent a hell of a day yesterday and an even worse night reliving that kiss and he needed to know if she was as fan-tastic as he remembered.
When she lightly stroked his tongue with hers, the sweet, shy response aroused him so fast it made him light-headed and he immediately decided that if any-thing, his memory had been more than a little faulty. He’d never in all of his thirty years been this turned on by simply kissing a woman.
Slowly tugging her blouse from the waistband of her skirt, he slipped his hand under the beige silk. Her smooth skin felt like satin beneath his palm as he slid it over her ribs to the underside of her breast. Cupping the soft mound, he gently caressed her as he nibbled his way from her lips down the slender column of her throat.
Her tiny moan of pleasure sent a fresh wave of heat straight to his groin. But when he realized that she’d unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt and was doing a little exploring of her own, his body tightened with an intensity that quickly had him shifting to relieve the pressure in his suddenly too-tight jeans. Just knowing she was as turned on as he was sent his blood pressure skyrocketing.
At that moment, he wanted her more than he wanted to draw his next breath. He wanted to lay her down and discover all of her secrets. And he wanted to share all of his with her.
“Hey man, get a room.”
Glancing through the windshield, Caleb noticed a group of grinning teenage boys walking past the truck on their way to the information center.
Damn! His timing couldn’t have been worse. The front seat of his truck in a rest area with God and everybody strolling past wasn’t exactly the place for the pleasurable kind of exploring he had in mind.
He took in some much-needed oxygen as he rearranged Alyssa’s blouse. “Sweetheart, there’s nothing I’d like more than to continue kissing you and a hell of a lot more. But if we keep this up, somebody’s going to call the cops. And I’m not real keen on the idea of our being arrested for lewd conduct in a public place.”
She made no comment as she stared at him, but the heightened color on her cheeks indicated that she’d forgotten where they were, the same as he had.
“It’s daylight,” she said, looking around. “What time is it?”
Checking his watch, he shook his head to clear it. “It’s a little past eight.”
“Where’s the rental car?” She slid over to the passenger side of the seat. “I thought it was supposed to be here by four.”
Caleb shrugged. “They’re late.”
“No kidding.” She tucked her blouse back into the waistband of her skirt. “Have you called them?”
“The driver thought we were in the rest area north of Socorro,” he said, nodding. “When he didn’t find us there, he turned around and went back to Albuquerque instead of calling roadside assistance to get a verification on our location.”
He didn’t add that he wasn’t all that sorry the guy was incompetent. Whether it was smart or not, he’d enjoyed holding her while she’d slept.
“Are they sending another car?”
He shook his head. “I told them not to bother.”
“You did what?” If looks could kill, he’d be dead in about two seconds flat.
“The mechanic from Truth or Consequences should be here any time with a new radiator hose.” He stretched to relieve a few of the kinks in his muscles. “I didn’t see the need for a car when he’ll have the truck fixed in less than fifteen minutes.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” She frowned. “But I was hoping we’d be back at the office well before everyone arrived for work. I wanted to run home for a quick shower and to change clothes.” She glanced down at her wrinkled suit. “I’m a mess.”
“Don’t worry about it. We won’t get there until midmorning.” He gave her his most reassuring smile. “Everyone will be busy and you can get your car without anyone being the wiser.”
She looked more than a little doubtful. “I hope you’re right.”
He didn’t tell her, but he hoped like hell he was, too.
Five (#ulink_2ea7bf59-13c4-528c-be97-6783343ecf67)
When Caleb steered the truck into his reserved parking space, Alyssa immediately noticed that something was wrong with her car. Instead of sitting level, it was tilted to one side. So much for making a quick getaway before someone in the office saw her disheveled appearance.
“Looks like you have a flat tire,” Caleb commented when he got out of the truck and came around to open the passenger door for her.
“Great. Just what I wanted to do before I go home,” she said, wondering what else could go wrong. “I get to change a tire.”
He frowned. “You’re going to do it yourself?”
She nodded. “I’ve been changing my own tires since I learned to drive. My father insisted on it.”
“You don’t have an auto service plan?”
“No.”
He held out his hand. “Give me the keys.”
“Thanks, but I’ll take care of it,” she said, removing her suit jacket.
“Not while I’m around.” He took the keys from her, then motioned toward the building. “Why don’t you go inside and get out of this heat?”
She nibbled on her lower lip. The temperature was rising, but so was her apprehension that someone would see her.
“I’d rather not.”
She could just imagine the stares if she walked into her office looking the way she did. Her clothing couldn’t have been more wrinkled from spending the night in the truck and her hair was hanging down her back like a limp mop because Caleb had lost most of the pins when he’d taken it out of her usual chignon.
“Don’t be silly.” He opened the trunk of her sedan. “It’s already in the nineties and—”
“No need for you gettin’ all hot and dirty, Caleb,” Ernie Clay called as he hurried out of the building toward them. The security guard stopped in front of them, then, grinning like a Cheshire cat, he nodded at her car. “Clarence noticed Ms. Merrick’s tire was flat and had me call my brother-in-law. He owns a garage and tow-ing service and should be here in a few minutes to take care of it.”
“Thanks, Ernie.” Caleb placed his hand at the small of her back and started urging her toward the entrance. “We’ll be in our offices. Let us know when your brotherin-law has the tire changed.”
The last thing Alyssa wanted to do was walk into the office looking the way she did. But before she had a chance to protest, Caleb ushered her through the building entrance and over to the elevators.
When the elevator door slid shut, she looked down at her clothes. “I’m a complete mess.”
He frowned. “You look fine to me.”
She shook her head. “My hair is down, my pantyhose has a huge run and I look like a raccoon from the mascara smudges under my eyes.”
Removing her glasses for a closer look, he shook his head. “Just one little place under your left eye.”
Her jacket fell to the floor as she was thrown off guard by his unexpected touch, and she braced her hands on his chest to keep from falling when the elevator came to a halt on their floor. “I’ll take care of—”
The doors opened at that very moment and to Alyssa’s horror, Malcolm Fuller and the entire publicrelations department observed her clinging to Caleb as he used his thumb to wipe gently at the tender skin below her eye. From the looks on their faces, she could tell exactly what they were thinking.
“Well, hello there,” Malcolm said, not even bothering to hide his ear-to-ear grin. “We’re headed out to our first team-building picnic. Would you two like to join us?”
“No, thank you,” she said before Caleb could get them into something else that would no doubt cause her further humiliation. “But have a good time.”
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she picked up her jacket, then brushed past the group and headed straight for her office. She didn’t wait to see if Caleb followed, nor did she care that he still had her glasses. She’d spent two and a half nerve-racking days with him and she needed some space.
Although her father would strongly disapprove and probably come back to haunt her for being such a coward, all she wanted to do was hide out in her office until her car was fixed. After that, she had every intention of going home, climbing into bed and sleeping the entire weekend. Hopefully, when she woke up Monday morning, she would escape the nightmare she’d been trapped in for the past week.
But even as she mourned the loss of her wellor-dered work environment, she couldn’t deny that her body still hummed from Caleb’s touch. And just the memory of his steamy kisses was enough to leave her aching for things she had no business wanting.
As she walked down the hall toward the conference room to meet with a client, Alyssa finally began to relax. It had been a week since she and Caleb had returned from the Roswell trip and it appeared that he’d been right about the gossip dying down once they’d told the whole story. To her immense relief, she hadn’t heard a single word about them spending the night together or being caught in a compromising position in the elevator. Other than a few smug smiles and knowing looks from a couple of her male coworkers, it had been business as usual around the office.
“Has anyone seen them together since Friday?” Alyssa overheard someone ask as she approached the door to the break room.
The hushed voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
“No. I think they’re probably trying to be a little more discreet about their affair.” The woman laughed. “I mean really, getting caught in the elevator like that, then trying to convince us that he was looking at her eye. How dumb do they think we are? I heard that half of her clothes were on the elevator floor and she was tearing at his shirt when the doors opened.”
A chill raced through her and it felt as if ice water had replaced the blood in her veins. She wanted to scream that they were wrong in their assumptions, that it really was just as Caleb had told them. But she knew it was useless.
“You know there’s a door connecting their offices,” she heard a third voice chime in. “There’s no telling how many times during the day they get together for a little tête-à-tête.”
The laughter that followed the erroneous statement made Alyssa nauseous. Feeling as if her world had just caved in on her, she retraced her steps and headed back to her office. She’d heard enough to know that her professional reputation at Skerritt and Crowe had gone down in a blaze of glory—and that there was nothing left but cinders.
“Please call Geena Phillips and have her meet with Mr. Holt in the conference room,” she said, placing the client file on Geneva’s desk.
“Is something wrong?” the older woman asked, her obvious concern reflected in the tone of her voice. “You don’t look like you feel well.”
“I don’t.” That was the understatement of the year, Alyssa thought as she walked into her office and closed the door.
She’d been a naive fool to think that people weren’t talking about her and Caleb. How could she have been so stupid? The employees weren’t going to discuss their thoughts on the issue in front of the two people involved.
Walking straight to her desk, she sat down at her computer and began drafting her resignation. She’d hoped to have another job lined up before she quit, but the choice had been taken out of her hands. There was no way she could stay at Skerritt and Crowe now. By close of business this afternoon, she’d be unemployed.
“Geneva told me you’re sick,” Caleb said, walking into her office without so much as a tap on the connecting door. “Do you need to see a doctor?”
“No.” Alyssa should have known their secretary would run to him with her concerns. Geneva, the traitor, had embraced every one of Caleb’s ideas and took it upon herself to keep him informed of everything that went on in the office as soon as it happened.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He frowned. “You do look pale. I’ll drive you—”
“I’m fine.” She glared at him as she keyed in the command to print her resignation. “Now, will you please leave?”
“You don’t feel well and you’re cranky as hell. But you’re fine?” An understanding smile suddenly turned up the corners of his mouth. “That time of month, huh?”
Exasperated, she threw up her hands and sat back in her desk chair. “Why do men automatically think of PMS when a woman wants to be left alone? Did it ever occur to you that I might be tired and just want a little peace and quiet?”
Instead of going back into his office as she requested, he sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “You were on your way to outline a retirement plan that you’ve been working on for the past week, then all of a sudden you turn the file over to Geena. If you aren’t sick, what’s the problem?” Before she could answer, he shook his head. “And don’t feed me that line about peace and quiet. What’s going on?”
Suddenly feeling much too tired to argue, she removed her letter of resignation from the printer, signed it and handed it to him. “I think this is self-explanatory.”
He scanned the letter, then shook his head. “You can’t resign.”
She laughed humorlessly. “I just did.”
