Page 71 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

Holding it up to my nose, I inhaled, the scent of campfire, woods, and Jared filling my nose. And warmth, delicious warmth. Not having it in me to argue more, I did as he'd suggested, and put it on, struggling a bit to get a hoodie on over a hoodie.

But Jared was right. It was plenty big enough, and with a little adjusting, I made it work.

Once I had it on, Jared arranged a blanket over my legs, tucking me in, filling me with warmth that had nothing to do with the extra layers. Never in my life had I felt taken care of like this.

"Thank you," I whispered to him, suddenly self-conscious.

Glancing around, feeling like a big old marshmallow myself, I wondered what my co-workers might think of this thing growing between Jared and me that seemed so obvious, like a big flashing sign written on my forehead.

I'm crushing on my co-worker.

But none of them seemed to take notice, focusing instead on a story Amir from accounting was telling.

Some people had their eyes closed, and a few had wandered off or made their way back to their rooms.

The sound of Amir's voice and the crackling of the fire lulling me, I lay back, tucking all that excess hoodie behind my head as a pillow. Jared eventually did the same, and I felt a little bad that he was just in a t-shirt.

"Aren't you cold?" I turned my head to ask him.

Damn, he was right there, his eyes shining in the light of the fire, his face more handsome than it should be.

"I'm fine, Dee. But I appreciate your concern. It's sweet.You'resweet."

I snorted at the compliment. "That's a new one. No one's ever called me sweet before."

"Well, they'd be wrong then. Because sometimes the best, most kind hearts are hidden behind the biggest walls."

"I'm not really very kind," I argued. "Or sweet."

"Are you sure about that?"

He'd stumped me with that one. Most of my life I'd just been frustrated by everything, frustrated by my parents, frustrated by the cage of my name and upbringing, the sheer unfairness of the world and everything in it.

And the result hadn't molded me into a better person. All it'd done was make me more selfish. After all, what I was doing now, this whole undercover operation, was purely for myself.

"Pretty sure, yeah," I finally said, wondering if he was even awake.

He didn't respond, the only sound the dying embers of the fire and the occasional snap they emitted.

There was movement near the edge of the blanket, and then a strong hand grasped mine. Fuck me. But that gesture made me melt like butter on a hot summer day.

I swallowed, the heat emanating from his hand warming my cold soul.His thumb rubbed circles on the back of my hand, simultaneously relaxing me and stirring something deep inside me that I hadn't felt in forever for another being.

Maybe never.

Through the fog of feelings, one thing became crystal clear. I wanted Jared. God, did I want him.

Eighteen

Annalise

We lay there a long time, fingers intertwined, the stars in the sky unreal, the night growing cooler as the fire died down. Only a few stragglers remained when Jim came out to douse the embers completely.

"Sorry, folks," he said. "Safety first. But you're welcome to stay out here all night, if you'd like."

When the final few co-workers stood up, I decided to do the same. It wouldn't look right to sleep out here with Jared on a work retreat. Actually, the whole thing probably didn't look right. I hadn't worked this hard to make a name for myself just to throw it away on a guy. No matter how much I wanted him.

We all finished cleaning up, then walked back together and said our goodnights. Right as I turned the corner toward my room, a hand grabbed my wrist.

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