Page 149 of Theirs to Take

He rolled off her, pulling her snugly against his body. “I’m sorry that you thought that you had to do that, Mina. If I would have just asked you to go out with me while we were at the wedding, none of that mess would have happened.”

“You wanted to ask me out at the wedding?” she asked.

“I did, but I chickened out and then, you left. I thought that it was fate’s way of telling me that we shouldn’t be together. Then, I found out that you were hired at McTavish to be my assistantand I was glad that I didn’t work up the nerve to ask you out. I guess I was under the crazy notion that we couldn’t work together and date.”

“And now,” she said, “how do you feel about us working together and dating?”

“I’m willing to give it a try because working with you and not being with you nearly drove me crazy. I’m guessing you felt the same way since you schemed with your friend Ben to make me jealous,” he said.

She felt like she was going out of her mind, not being able to admit her feelings about him. “Yeah, I felt the same way,” she said. “And if it makes you feel any better, I wanted you to ask me out at the wedding. I was waiting for you to make your move,” she said.

“You were?” he asked.

“Yep,” she admitted, “I even called Carrie on my first day at work, asking if you were married or had a girlfriend. I told her that I was sure that you and I had a connection at the wedding, but you didn’t ask me out.”

“You asked Carrie about me?” he asked. He smiled and she could tell that he was trying not to laugh.

“Go ahead and laugh,” she said. “I know how high schoolish that sounds. Hell, I was asking my friend to ask her boyfriend if his brother likes me. How lame is that?” she asked.

“Not lame at all,” he insisted. “I actually asked my brother about your dating status on our first day at work. Of course, my practical brother told me to leave you alone, and not screw up our working relationship. He forgot that he met his wife on the job and that she was his assistant, just like you’re my assistant.”

“That’s right,” she said. “Sometimes, I forget how the two of them met, but Carrie is still his assistant, even if she is on maternity leave right now. I can’t believe Evan told you to leave me alone. I’m going to kick his butt the next time that I see him.”

Eli chuckled, “I’d pay money to see that happen.”

“You can come with me,” she said. “I’ll let you hold him down while I beat him.”

“Deal,” Eli agreed. “You’re going to be fun to date, honey.”

“You have no idea,” she said, snuggling into his arms. “How long do we have before we land?” she asked.

“Another couple of hours,” he said.

“Good, then we have enough time for round two and a nap,” she said.

“I like the way you think, honey,” he said. Mina pressed him back against the mattress and climbed on top of him, straddling his cock. She had a feeling that this week wasn’t going to be nearly enough time for her to get to know Eli. She’d never get her fill of him; she was sure of that.

Mina wasn’t sure how she had become so comfortable with Eli, but after two days of living with him, she felt like they had been together for years, not just days. He was easy to fall for, and God, she was falling hard. But he had only promised her a week, and she didn’t want to jump the gun and start talking to him about a future that involved the two of them. She was careful not to talk about next week or even next month. All Mina wanted to do was concentrate on the here and now, and hope that the rest would work itself out.

Eli walked into the small office that they were both sharing while in Colorado and shut the door. He crossed the room to her makeshift desk and pulled her from her seat. “Go out to dinner with me tonight,” he ordered.

“Are you asking me to dinner?” she asked.

“Yeah, but I guess that sounded more like an order. Will you have dinner with me tonight, Mina?” he asked.

“I’d love to,” she agreed.

“Great, I have to meet with a few of the owners tonight, and I was hoping that you’d be by my side.” Mina wasn’t sure if she was upset that he wasn’t asking her out on a real date, or if she was glad to know that he wanted her by his side.

“What should I wear?” she asked.

“Mina,” he whispered, “I can see that you’re disappointed. Tell me what I’ve done so that I can fix it.” She didn’t want to have to explain to him that she thought he was asking her out on a real date, but she saw no way around it.

“I thought you were asking me out on a date,” she said, “not a business meeting.”

“I see,” he breathed. “I’m an idiot.”

“I was the one who misunderstood,” she insisted.

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