Page 61 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

His eyes never left my face. "Did you enjoy that?" he asked, his voice low and full of meaning.

I swallowed, the taste of chocolate and marshmallow still lingering on my tongue. "Yeah... it was really good," I answered, although I wasn't sure if we were talking about the s'mores or the way he'd touched me.

"Good," he said, his smile slow, almost predatory in this light. "I'm glad you liked it. There's s'more where that came from."

The laugh that came out of me drew the attention of my co-workers, but I didn't care. A man who could make me swoon and laugh in the space of seconds?

I was in deep now, and I didn't know if I had the strength to pull myself out. Or if I even wanted to anymore.

Leave it to Ranger Jim to break the spell.

"All right, folks." He sat across the fire from us in a camp chair and strummed a few chords on his guitar. "Who's ready to sing?"

"Oh, shit," Jared muttered beside me, making me giggle.

"Oh, give me a home... where the buffalo roam..." Jim sang out in a loud voice.

To my surprise, most of my co-workers joined in, just as loud and enthusiastic as Jim, including the man beside me, which actually wasn't that shocking. Of course, Jared would sing along. Who could forget karaoke night, after all?

And he continued to join in during the next song, "Stand by Me," singing especially loud right near my ear. And again during "Ring of Fire."

My God, how long would Ranger Jim keep this going?

Once he finished the old Johnny Cash song, which Jared knew every word to, he started in on "Let It Be."

As I sat there, still silent, Jared nudged me right before the chorus kicked in. "Come on, Dee. Don't be too cool for school. I know you have a beautiful voice."

I had to smile at that. The man was certainly learning that flattery would get him everywhere.

So I sang, and it was kind of fun. Even if a part of me hated the cheesiness of it all. The everlasting sing-along dragged on and on, Ranger Jim clearly in his element. My co-workers all loved it. Mona loved it. Jared loved it.

And I was slowly getting there. But truthfully, all I wanted to do was go to bed, and hopefully, my sore body would feel better tomorrow.

I hadn't realized how out of shape I truly was. Living in New York, I felt like I walked everywhere and stayed fit because of that. But I did sit a ton at work. And I did hire a car quite often to take me most places. So maybe I wasn't doing as well as I thought, and that was why my body hated me right now.

When Jim finally put down his blasted guitar, telling us we'd all meet up again bright and early—oh, yay—I went to stand up, Jared beating me to it and holding out his hands for me.

I debated whether or not to accept his help, but only for a split second, because I really could use it. So I grabbed onto his warm hands, his fingers gripping me with surprising strength. Rather stiffly, with his help, I pulled myself up and made it to my feet, smacking right into him and his big body.

In a flash, I stepped back and dropped his hands. The last thing I needed was for my co-workers to think anything was going on between us.

I muttered my thanks, then cleared my throat. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Dee," he said, a smirk across his smug face.

Hurrying away, I hightailed it upstairs to my room, seeking an escape, anything to get away from these damn feelings, this want, this need taking shape inside me.

I scrubbed my face clean in the bathroom then brushed my teeth, and when I came out, Mona sat on her bed, legs crossed and a big smile on her face, staring at me, almost like she'd been waiting for me.

"So..." she started. "What's going on with you and Jared Jawline, huh?"

"What? Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"That's not what it looked like today. Andcertainlynot tonight."

I rummaged through my bag to find my nightshirt. "I have no idea what you mean."

She laughed, bouncing up and down on her bed. "Uh-huh. Okay. The ladydoth protest too much,methinks."

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