Page 54 of Out of the Shadows

“Yeah.” Blowing out a breath, he sat up and held a hand out to her. She placed her smaller hand in his, and he helped her onto the couch. As much as he wanted to be with her, be inside her, he needed to slow things down. Needed to remember he was in his damn office.

He wrapped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her to his side. “We have time though. There’s no rush, right?”

“Well...” Giving him a sly grin, she gestured to his erection. “Maybe not arushrush, but I’d say there’s some urgency. Wouldn’t you?” Before he could respond, she yanked him close for a scorching kiss and then pushed him away. Rising, she grabbed her panties off the floor, shimmied them on, and then smoothed out her skirt and adjusted her blouse. Grabbing her phone from his desk, she glanced at it and her nose scrunched. “MacKay wants a call. Give me five, and we can call him from my office.”

Nodding, he sighed, not wanting his time with her to end. “Go hiking with me tomorrow?” When a look of disbelief crossed her face, he rushed on, hoping to appeal to Bean’s logical side. “We can head over to Jackson Cove State Park around lunchtime, and it’ll have a two-fold purpose. First, you can try out your new hiking boots.”

She snorted, and her blue eyes danced with amusement. “Please tell me your second reason is better.”

God, he loved her sass. “It’ll give us both a break from work. I’ll pack a lunch for us, and we can get out and stretch our legs. Plus, I want to see you away from all this.” He waved his hand at his office. “I don’t want to wait until after work tomorrow to spend more time with you.”

The humor in her eyes softened, and she nodded. “Next time lead with that.”

As she reached for the doorknob, she glanced back at him—well, at his cock—and licked her lips. Holy shit, if his cock didn’t have a mind of its own. The damn thing strained toward her.

“To be continued, boss man,” she said with a grin before walking out of his office, leaving the door open behind her.

Grabbing the throw pillow that was still on the ground by his feet, he placed it over his lap. The last thing he wanted was someone to walk by and see him in his current condition. Holy fuck. His breath was still ragged, and he could only stare at his empty doorway.

Bean had damn near blown his mind. How had it taken him so long to notice her? Yes, he’d always found her attractive, but now? Now that he’d tasted her, had her explode on his fingers, on his tongue... He wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough of her.

He sure as hell wasn’t going to rub one out before they had to be on a call with MacKay, so he needed to calm the fuck down. Hell, he needed to slow things down between him and Bean. They’d seemingly gone from zero to ninety out of nowhere. As much as he desired her, the last thing he wanted was for their first time to be a quick and frantic fuck in his office. Yeah, he’d hoped they’d do that at some point, but not for their first time.

He had no idea where Bean stood on things, if she even wanted to pursue anything beyond a physical relationshipwith him. He hoped to hell she did, but he had a feeling her walls were even higher than his.

He was a patient man. Determined. He may not be the best bet, and God knew, she deserved more than him, but he was dead set on making her his. For as long as she’d have him, he’d give her everything he had.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Ready?” Gavin asked, releasing a deep breath. It was as if he were trying to clear his head, which considering the hectic morning Bean knew he’d had, wouldn’t be a surprise.

Following his lead, she took in the crisp air, and the forest’s earthy scents filled her nose. Was she ready?

Before they’d left the office, she’d changed out of her pencil skirt and sweater set and into leggings, a half-zip fleece top, and a down vest. She wiggled her toes, glanced down at her new hiking boots, and then up at Gavin. Seeing the tension he carried in his posture and the dark circles shadowing his eyes, she aimed for light. “The boots are comfy.”

He grinned as he took her hand and led them toward the trailhead. “Nice nonanswer.”

She snickered, surprised by how things weren’t awkward between them after they’d crossed a huge line the night before. Granted, she’d done everything she could to play things casually, like her mind hadn’t been completely blown by being with Gavin that way. Once she’d gotten home, she’dstayed up half the night overanalyzing every minute detail and trying to figure out what it all meant. Obviously, he was attracted to her. But did he want more? Did it mean more? Or was it casual? Were they fuck buddies?

In the wee hours of the morning, she’d finally admitted to herself that she hoped things between them could maybe possibly hopefully—no, nothopefully, just maybe and possibly—be more than something casual. Not that she expected any kind of forever. Not at all. She just thought that given their history as friends and all, it could mean... more.

Clearing her throat, she aimed to focus on the now. The last thing she needed was to spiral down the overanalyzing rabbit hole while the man was literally holding her hand. “You know I’m not much of a hiker, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” He chuckled. “Pretty sure everyone who knows you knows that.”

“Does that mean you’ll take it easy on me?”

“Oh come on, B. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

She rolled her eyes. “I do have to be back by two, so with travel time, we have just under two hours.”

“I know, honey.” He pointed to a trail to the left. “That’s an easy trail too. More of a gradual elevation change. It has some nice streams and a waterfall farther in. A few difficult trails branch off it, but the main trail is a five-mile loop.”

“We should do that one, then.” She frowned when he tugged her past it.

“Next time.” He led her toward a narrow trail to the right. “This one is also fairly moderate, but it has great views of the water.”

The trail narrowed, and she released his hand, gesturing ahead of her. “Lead the way.” Her eyebrow arched when the trail grew steeper within seconds. “Hate to break it to you, boss man, but I think your definition of ‘fairly moderate’ is different from mine.”

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