Page 50 of Due Diligence

“Well, I have no plans to murder you.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I appreciate that.”

I slid my hands into my pockets and it was then I realized I was shaking the tiniest bit. I inhaled sharply, trying to quell my nerves like Dr. Jensen taught me to. Fortunately, Cassie wasn’t looking at me anymore, so I doubted she noticed. Instead, she was back to sorting through the stack of binders.

I was about to say something else when she stood up straight and held one of the binders up. “This is it.”

“Thanks, Cassie.” I reached out and took it from her. To my relief, she didn’t say anything else about it. She simply picked up her bag again and heaved it onto her shoulder.

“Wait,” I said, holding up a hand to stop her as she walked in my direction towards the door.

Cassie looked up, expectation on her face. She was so stunning, even when she was just standing there looking at me. I didn’t know how I managed to stand it all day, because at that moment I was fighting a full-body urge to kiss her.

I swallowed and asked, “Why would I want to keep you from telling anyone what we did on Friday?”

“Oh,” she murmured. Her attention shifted to the side. “Well, I think it’s clear you don’t ever want to talk about it again.”

“Says who?”

“You…by ignoring it all day.”

Instantly, my face pulled into a frown. “While we were working?”

“I can take a hint. It’s clear you want to pretend it never happened, so I’m fine to—”

“Are you mad at me?” I questioned, interjecting. I tended to avoid doing that, but I knew if I let her keep going, she was going to say something that neither of us meant.

Cassie kept her expression stony. “Why would I be mad at you?”

I knew a trap when I saw one. I shook my head. “Don’t be mad at me. I don’t want that.”

“What the hell do you want then?” she asked as she lowered her bag from her arm and dropped it onto the floor of my office with a thud.

You.

“If you want to talk about it, let’s talk about it,” I offered. “What do you want to say?”

“Screw you,” she snapped in response. “Don’t act like you’re giving me the privilege of airtime. If I wanted to say something about it, I would have done that—with or without your permission.”

“Okay, well you never said anything so—”

“Oh please. You’ve been playing me cold all day,” she insisted, eyes narrowed. “Why would I put myself out there to—”

As she was talking, I stepped forward and fixed my hands on her shoulders, pulling her towards me. I drew her into my embrace and rotated us so she was between me and the door to my office. I pressed her against that door and tilted my head so our foreheads touched. Cassie inhaled sharply and peered up at me, her eyes traveling over my face as she steadied her breathing. Her hips arched to meet mine and I wondered if she could feel I was getting hard.

“I thought you were mad at me. Is this what you do with guys you’re mad at?” My hands traveled lower to squeeze her hips over the thick fabric of her short dress. “Remind me to piss you off more often.”

“There’s no possible way for you to piss me off more than you already do.” Her response was quick and I loved it. I wanted to take that smart mouth of hers.

“Is that a challenge?” I leaned in to kiss her, and when she moved to meet me, I hastily pulled back. She absolutelyhatedthat.

“Fuck you.”

“Please do,” I quipped before I leaned in once again and kissed her, for real this time. “All I can think about is you fucking me.”

Cassie bit down gently on my lower lip before she said, “That’s never going to happen.”

“I’m not even going to ask if that’s a challenge because I know it is,” I responded. I brought my hand up to her waist, feeling the warmth of her body. “It’s not a question ofif. It’s a question of when, where, and how.”

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