Page 20 of Burning for You

“I’ve gotta go,” he says, looking around.

Oh, not yet.

“You like peeping on girls?” That stops him from avoiding me.

A hostile stare soon follows. “Hey! I just went into the wrong door, lady. And lucky I was there. Otherwise you could’ve been trapped inside that dark stall for hours.”

I counter his antagonistic tone with a soft gaze. “Relax. I know you’re not a creep.” On level 43, I might’ve been floating on a black cloud when I was splayed on his lap. I wasn’t aware of my surroundings, but there was a strange existence that assured me the hands handling my body didn’t intend to take advantage of me.

“Look, it was my first time in the building.”

“Do you work for Brilliance Holdings?” I ask, holding my gaze.

“No. I’m a freelancer.”

“Which projects are you working on?”

“Um…” He thinks hard. “New Fountain.”

I give him my best expression of ‘I see, but I don’t believe you.’ At the same time his feet fidget, keen to bolt the hell away from me.

“I’m Carolyn.” I extend my hand.

He tentatively takes my hand to shake it. “Nice to meet you.”

Our contact does nothing for me. My quest for safety has failed. He’s not going to hug me anytime soon, or say everything will be okay. We’re simply strangers.

“You are?”

He takes an audible breath. “Bryan.”

I chew a lip. I’m not about to stop putting him on edge. “I apologize in advance, but your fly is undone.”

“Jesus!”

I’m sure he means to say it to himself, but I hear it loud and clear as the man scrambles to zip up his pants.

I wonder if the gateway to his crotch was gaping like that when I was lying on his lap. Jesus, indeed!

Fully aware that the thought of his penis can only lead to catastrophe, I look away. Instead I steal a glimpse of his combed-back fringe. Even that hasn’t prevented me from going off on a tangent and wondering about his bedroom skills. Looking at his muscular hands, I realize none of his body parts will give me reprieve from my fervor.

How did I end up in this jar of lusty emotions?

The man is brandy mixed with testosterone, and I’m a woman questioning whether her fiancé is worth her love and life.

“Thank you for making sure I was okay,” I say.

“It’s what everyone would’ve done.”

“You’d be surprised,” I say and walk away.

But after taking a few lazy steps, I whirl myself around. It’s perplexing that the man is still standing exactly where he was. Didn’t he want to run? “What were you doing on level 43?”

“Um, I was asked by someone to find Mr. Bright’s secretary.”

I nod and smile to myself as I make my way to Sass. I’m going to have tacos for lunch instead of my usual poached chicken salad. Perhaps I’m going to have a glass of brandy and soda, too.

* * *

---