Page 15 of Temporary Wife Temptation

Growling with frustration, he pushed back from his desk and stood, making his chair skid drunkenly. Enough nonsense. She was moving into the penthouse by the end of the week. Coming to a decision, he placed several calls to make the arrangements, then strode out of his office with determined steps.

Natalie was back from her meeting and was sitting with her nose nearly pressed against her monitor, as though she wanted to fall into the computer. And she was singing softly under her breath. He leaned a shoulder against the door frame and listened for a few seconds. Then, he recognized the song.

“Are you singing ‘YMCA’?”

Her bottom shot an inch off her seat and her cheeks turned red.

“What now?” She studied him with wary eyes.

“I need you,” he said, deepening his voice. Her mouth rounded into a plush O and he allowed himself a satisfied smile. If flirting was what it took to get her attention, then he wasn’t opposed to engaging in some harmless fun. “Have lunch with me.”

“Lunch?” Her eyes darted around her office, as though she was searching for an escape route. He watched her, wondering what excuse she’d come up with to wiggle out of it. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Sure. Let me just log off.”

“You will?” Garrett’s eyebrows shot up. He didn’t think she’d give in so easily. “Great.”

Recovering from his surprise, he walked beside her through the cubicles. Natalie kept a respectable distance between them and lengthened her strides as though trying to escape the surreptitious glances of curious employees.

“See you in the lobby,” she said in a terse whisper and made a sharp right.

Her barely audible words and sudden change of direction caught him by surprise and he almost turned to follow her. Catching himself at the last moment, he made an awkward pivot to continue down the hall.

It’d been inconsiderate of him to just show up at her office. They needed to be seen together in public, but they didn’t need to give the employees an exclusive sneak peek. Natalie still had a day or two before the rumors flew at work.

By the time they reunited in the building lobby, her cheeks were back to their creamy white, and her features were as serene as a placid lake. Away from prying eyes in the elevator, something perverse in him wanted to disturb the calm surface of that lake. He would press her up against the back wall and slide her prim blouse off her shoulders. He would finally discover the exact shade of the tips of her lovely breasts... Are they pale pink like a soft blush against her translucent skin? Or creamy brown like sweet caramel?

Garrett shifted on his feet, his trousers growing uncomfortably tight. Hell. If he didn’t stop his adolescent fantasizing, he was going to have to walk to his car with the swagger of a cowboy after a long day on the saddle.

“This way.” He led her toward the parking elevator.

“We’re driving?” she asked, meeting his gaze for the first time since they’d left her office.

“Yes. I’m taking you to my place.”

“Oh.” Natalie swung around to gape at him, then nodded slowly. “Is it far?”

“No.” He wondered what she’d think about his choice of residence. “I live at the Ritz-Carlton on Olympic Boulevard.”

Other than a slight tilt of her eyebrows, she didn’t reveal her thoughts. “People know who you are over there, right?”

“Right.”

She nodded absently and was quiet on their walk to his car.

As soon as they pulled out of the parking structure, Natalie freed her hair from her customary bun and shook her head to make the curls bounce around her shoulders. Garrett forgot to watch the road as he stared at her undoing the top three buttons of her blouse. When she bent to rummage through her purse, he caught a glimpse of her lacy white bra and his blood rushed south again. He was ogling her, his jaw slack. Damn it. He snapped his mouth closed, and returned his attention to the road.

“Is this better?” She scrutinized herself in the car mirror after painting her lips a deep pink rose.

“Better how?” He wouldn’t have been able to pull off the cool-guy act even if his voice hadn’t cracked. There was no use denying it. He was going to spend the entire afternoon obsessing over her perfect pink lips and wondering what other parts of her matched that shade.

“I figured you were taking me to your place so we could be seen together before our engagement announcement. You mentioned it was important I look the part, but this is the best I could do on a moment’s notice.”

“Don’t worry about it. You look nice.” Nice? What am I? In sixth grade?

Garrett drove the car into the hotel’s circular driveway, and opened Natalie’s door himself. When he helped her out of her seat, she stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips against his cheek. She seemed to have thrown herself into the role. While he stood in shock, she wrapped her arm around his waist and glanced up at him. Snapping back to attention, he pulled her to his side and kissed her hard, letting his hand slide up to rest an inch beneath her breast. It was all for show, of course.

He lifted his head before his control slipped again. Natalie stood and blinked her wide eyes, and he felt a surge of pride. Grinning broadly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they strolled into the lobby. Seeming to emerge from a fog, she smiled prettily at him, back in character.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them, she dropped her smile and he dropped his arm from her shoulders. Natalie was so pumped from the performance she was practically shuffling her feet, reminding him of a scene from Rocky. An image of her in silky red boxing shorts and a tight black tank top flitted through his mind. Goddamn it. Is there anything this woman does that I don’t find sexy?

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