Page 26 of Between the Lines

Something about the way he asked made the question sound deliciously dirty. Jo found herself unconsciously rubbing her thighs together under the shiny surface of the desk.

“Like a lady,” she retorted, casting a smile in John’s direction. On anyone else the expression might have looked coquettish—on her, Jo imagined it looked pained, but it had the intended effect. Theo narrowed his eyes at his partner.

Like Jo, he’d always had a temper, often fueled by jealousy. Where that had caused them to self-combust when they were younger, now Jo tasted a hint of how that possessiveness could be...well, hot.

Moving her gaze from John to Theo, she instead found it a bit hard to breathe.

What the hell was she supposed to do with this?

John’s phone rang, the no-nonsense ringtone slicing through the thick air. Without another word to the pair of them, he answered it, waving goodbye as he exited the office, closing the door firmly behind him.

They were alone, and the heaviness of Theo’s gaze made Jo want to break eye contact. The thread of stubbornness that had been wrapped around her since birth refused to let her back down.

He wasn’t challenged by the direct stare. If anything, he seemed amused, his lips curling into a faint smirk. Holding eye contact, he closed the distance between them, stopping when he reached the front of the desk.

Jo immediately felt the need to stand, to put them on even ground, but she knew that the movement would show how off balance he made her feel.

Why did this feel so much like war? And why did she want to wave the white flag and throw herself at that rock-solid chest?

“Since you showed up this morning, I’m assuming you’ve accepted the job.” His posture was arrogant, as though it would never occur to him that she would say no. Looking him over, though, Jo noticed him rubbing the pads of his thumb and forefinger together at his side. It was an old tic of his, a way of releasing excess energy when he was feeling more than he wanted to be.

What was he feeling now? Lust? Guilt? What would she do if she knew?

“I haven’t accepted it officially, no.”

Theo said nothing, just kept watching her with that dark gaze. Damn it, he knew—he knew how much she wanted this job. Refusing it would show him how much he was affecting her.

Still looking at her, he pulled out his tablet, moving his fingers over the screen. “I just emailed you the employment agreement. There’s no need to print it—it can be signed electronically. Of course, you’ll want to read it all the way through, but I think you’ll find that it’s an extremely generous offer.”

“Theo...” She closed her eyes. Why was she bothering to put up a front at all? He’d always been able to read her better than anyone, and she had no doubt that he knew exactly what she was struggling with right now. She might as well say it. “Look. I want this job. I’m still attracted to you.”

She choked on the last part—that she was terrified of falling for him again, only to have him leave. There was vulnerable, and there was vulnerable.

“I don’t understand why you can’t have both.”

Jo’s chin snapped up. There was no disguising the desire that was thick in his voice, a sound that was imprinted onto her very DNA.

“You can review the agreement in the car.” He tossed an inky-black silk scarf onto the desk in front of her, and for the first time since he’d entered the room, she noticed that he was wearing a light peacoat. “You can also look over the list of potential blog topics that I sent. I’m curious which one catches your attention first.”

“The car?” Picking up the fabric, she discovered that it was a kerchief, the type an old-time movie star might have once worn to protect her hair. “Where are we going?”

“You agreed to go on a date with me.” The cocky smile he shot her made her feel like she was fifteen years old again, all knobby knees and fluttery feelings for the boy next door. “It’s date time.”

“I agreed to go to dinner with you.” She pointedly checked out the clock on the wall. “It’s not even eleven in the morning.”

“We’ll have dinner, too. Maybe more, if you’re good.” Damn it. The confidence in his voice, in every line of his body, shouldn’t have still been so sexy, and yet it was like his words cast out a hook that caught her and reeled her in.

“You know damn well that I’ve never been good, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” Even as she spoke, she found herself rising, reaching for the cardigan sweater that was part of the ensemble when Meg had dressed her up like a doll this morning.

Theo frowned when she shrugged into it. “Don’t you have a heavier coat?”

“I only wear coats when it reaches minus twenty.” Jo held up the kerchief thing. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Tie your hair back.” He gestured with his hands. “Otherwise it’ll get in your face.”

Puzzled, Jo struggled to arrange the scarf on her head. Breathing out on a chuckle, Theo rounded the desk, taking it from her hands.

“Like this.” Turning her with the press of a hand on her lower back, he stroked his fingers through the sleek, chin-length strands of her hair. Her pulse stilled as he tucked them behind her ears, brushing over the tops of her ears.

A rough breath escaped her as he arranged the silk over her hair. When he tied it in a knot at the base of her skull, he whispered a light touch down the back of her neck, tracing a line to the top of her spine.

Just a simple touch, but she felt it over her entire body. Her breasts swelled, aching, and she arched into his hands.

“There. You’re ready.” Breaking the connection, Theo stepped back, put some much-needed space between them. Her heart was hammering so hard that she spoke extra loud in order to be heard over it.

“Ready for what?” And she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready at all.

He grinned, then dangled a set of car keys. “Ready for a ride in the convertible.”

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