Page 13 of Death Wish

“I got it.”

“Good. Don’t act surprised when I kiss you.”

She stared, heart racing. “Why would you do that?”

He snorted. “Come on, Simone. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re drop-dead gorgeous. A man who didn’t want to kiss you would have to be dead. I’m very much alive.”

Her face heated.

He winked at her and held out his hand. “A boyfriend always holds his girlfriend’s hand.”

“He does, huh?”

“It’s a rule in the boyfriend handbook.”

Simone laughed. Couldn’t help it. Jesse Phelps had a keen sense of humor, and she loved it. “Is there a girlfriend handbook? If so, I need a copy because apparently I wasn’t a good girlfriend.”

Jesse stopped and turned to her. “What does that mean?”

She waved that aside. “Long story. I’ll tell you about it later. We need to get going or we’ll be late for our first day.”

He gave a slight nod. “All right. I’ll let it go for now but we will go back to that topic tonight because I think you’re wrong.”

“Wasn’t me who said it, but I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

The medic escorted her to the front of the building where a chirpy woman greeted at the front desk. “Welcome to Dragon Alley. How may I assist you?” she asked with a bright smile.

“We’re new employees. Jesse Porterfield and Simone Kenyon.”

She glanced at her screen. “If you’ll take a seat, someone will be here shortly to escort you to your stations.”

Seriously? They had to have an escort to their desks? Simone took a seat beside Jesse on the cushioned sofa. “Will we have to have an escort to the bathroom, too?” she whispered.

His eyes twinkled. “To work here, you’ll deal.”

“Yeah, but I’ll fuss and fume every time if it’s true.”

He squeezed her hand and went back to casually looking at everything in the lobby.

Except it wasn’t so casual. Simone could almost see him cataloging everything in that massive brain of his, mapping out escape routes and every potential weapon in the large room.

One of the elevator doors slid open, and two people walked toward Jesse and Simone. She’d bet the burly guy was security, while the woman with the quirky clothes in bright colors worked in the programming division.

Jesse stood and held out his hand to Burly guy. “Jesse Porterfield.”

“Bastien Boudreaux. I’m your supervisor. This is Trina Kirk, programming development supervisor.”

Jesse held out his hand to help Simone to her feet. “This is Simone Kenyon.”

Trina held out her hand to Simone. “Nice to meet you, Simone. Come with me, and we’ll start your orientation.”

Yay. Not. Orientation would be boring as dirt. “I’m looking forward to working with you and the rest of the team. Working for Dragon Alley is a dream come true for me.”

“We love to hear that. DA is a great employer. Everyone here is so nice, and we look out for each other.”

Jesse squeezed Simone’s hand before he turned her face up to his and brushed his mouth over hers. “Have a good day, sweetheart,” he murmured and released her.

“You, too.” Wow. A little peck on the mouth shouldn’t cause fireworks to go off inside her. It did anyway.

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