Page 43 of Kiss Me Forever

Andrea came willingly, putting her arms around his neck as her tongue tangled with his. God, she tasted good—a hint of paradise, a little bit of heaven, a soft place to fall. He'd never wanted to fall before. He'd always wanted to be in control. But right now he was on shaky ground, and he didn't give a damn.

Kissing her wasn't enough, but just like the last time they were nowhere near a bed or a couch or even a little more privacy.

He lifted his head. Andrea stared back at him, her lips swollen from passion, her eyes bright and dazed and a little needy.

"What is wrong with me?" she murmured, as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "You make me forget where I am, what I'm doing."

"You do the same to me."

"We have to find a way to finish this interview and be done with each other."

He stared back at her. He wanted to be done with the news article but not with her. "Can you have someone else at the magazine write the article?"

She immediately shook her head. "No, I can't. I need this story. I told you I wasted the magazine's time and money the last six weeks. I have to do a good job on this assignment. I know you can understand that."

He understood she was putting her job first. He shouldn't care or even judge, because he usually did the same thing when it came to business, but it didn't bother him. "Fine," he said shortly. "Let's go back to my office."

She put a hand on his arm, "Alex, wait."

"What?"

She stared back at him. "I like you."

His muscles tightened at her words.

"And as crazy as this may sound, I actually missed you," she added.

That didn't sound crazy at all. He'd missed her, too.

"I've never been in this position before," she continued. "I've never had this kind of crazy attraction to someone I'm supposed to be writing about, so I'm probably not handling this very well. And maybe I should give the story to someone else, but I really don't want to, so can we find a way to work together?"

How could he say no to the plea in her eyes? And it wasn't just the plea, it was her honesty that undid him. He hadn't known too many people who told the truth with such charm and vulnerability. She was putting herself out there, and he wasn't going to be the one to hurt her. "Okay," he said. "We'll get back to business."

Relief flooded her expression. "Good."

They walked back to his office in silence. But when they reached Ellen's desk, she stopped them.

"There you are," Ellen said. "I was just about to come looking for you, Alex. Did you forget that you have to be at the dentist in twenty minutes?"

He frowned. "That's not today. It can't be six months yet."

"It's been over a year and a half," Ellen said pointedly. "You cancelled the last two appointments. And don't even try to tell me to cancel now. You're going. I know you hate the dental chair, but you have to take care of your teeth."

Maybe it was just as well he had an appointment. A little time and space from Andrea would probably help put them back on the right track. He sent Andrea an apologetic look. "Sorry, but I have to go."

"Can we meet later?"

"I have a dinner meeting with some potential investors."

"Tomorrow then?"

"I'll give you a call when I know my schedule." Alex took his car keys from his assistant and headed out.

"Any chance you could help me set up an appointment with him?" Andrea asked Ellen.

"I would love to, but Alex said he wanted to handle your interviews personally."

"How long have you worked for Alex?" she asked.

---