Page 4 of Heart of Stone

Holy hell! No man should be allowed to look that good in suit!

The sleeping devil on my shoulder woke up to take look. I suddenly had a vision of running my hands through those silky dark waves, across the broad span of his shoulders…

“Oh, my! Are you okay?” Mr. Roberts’ voice broke me from my reverie. The three men started walking in my direction. Mr. Roberts, alarmed over what happened, was running his hands over his thinning gray hair.

I caught the gaze of the man in the suit as he strode towards me with air of confident grace. His look was intense, intimidating almost, yet lines of concern spread across his flawlessly sculpted features. Speechless and embarrassed by my clumsiness, I took a step back.

Big mistake.

I slipped on the spilled drink and went down – hard. Now my headandmy ass hurt. I was mortified beyond all belief. I wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there forever.

This cannot possibly be happening.The hottest guy on the planet. Me sitting in a puddle of cappuccino. Un. Fucking. Believable.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and I looked up. The suited man was gazing down at me with the most incredible pair of blue eyes that I had ever seen. They were the color of cobalt blue, reserved and calculating as he regarded me. I didn’t think it was possible for eyes to be so vibrant. For a moment, I presumed he wore colored contacts. However, as I continued to stare, the depths of his eyes were endless and seemed to swallow me whole. The intensity of them sent a shiver up my spine and raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

He’s definitely not wearing contacts.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard Mr. Roberts speaking again. “Did you hear me? I asked if you were okay? This is Mr. Stone. He’s trying to help you up.”

“Mr. Stone?” I asked, half in a daze. I couldn’t tear my focus away from those astonishing deep blues.

“That’s correct. And you might be?”

Stone’s voice was smooth and confident as he lowered himself to a crouching position next to me. Running his hand down the side of my arm, he rested it near my elbow. I felt my pulse quicken at his sudden closeness and from the heat that surged off of him in a palpable wave. He was just sothere, radiating with power, eyes level with mine.

He repeated his question a second time, again asking me my name. All I could think of was the hand that was firmly present on my arm, warming my skin through the sleeve of my thin cotton shirt. His touch sparked an electric shock, igniting a presence in me that I hadn’t known existed. Butterflies twirled and danced in my stomach. I shook my head to collect my bearings and gave myself a quick reprimand.

Um, hello? He’s asking you a question!Get a grip - he’s just a guy in a suit for crying out loud!

“I’m K-K-Krys,” I finally stammered out. I sounded like an idiot, I was sure of it. I fidgeted with my hands and licked my lips, my mouth suddenly feeling as dry as the Sahara Desert. A dangerous look flashed in Stone’s eyes. It happened so fast that I couldn’t be sure if it was only my imagination.

“Krys? Is that short for something else?” He sounded displeased.

Is there something wrong with my name?

When I didn’t answer immediately, Jim responded for me. “It’s short for Krystina. Krystina Cole.”

It was hard to miss the expression of irritation on Stone’s face as he slowly turned his head to look at Jim.

“Why, thank you Mr. McNamara for speaking on Miss Cole’s behalf. However, I would have preferred to hear it from Miss Cole herself,” he said curtly.

“Well,Miss Coleappears to have lost her voice,” Jim retorted back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Jim!” Mr. Roberts hissed.

Stone simply ignored both Jim and Mr. Roberts and turned back to me. He stood gracefully and held out his hand.

“Please, allow me to help you up,” he offered.

I didn’t know if I could stand, and not because of the fall I took. I was completely mesmerized by this man. It was as if he had me under a spell, and I didn’t trust my shaky legs.

I took hold of his outstretched hand and carefully moved to stand up. His grip was strong and firm as he pulled me to my feet. He reached his free arm around me, securing it against my lower back, in an attempt to balance me. His hold was steadfast, pinning me against his side, eyes never once wavering from mine. My cheeks flushed crimson, and those striking blues darkened. I felt my heart rate accelerate even faster as I returned his gaze. He was so close to me. I couldn’t stop myself from breathing in his scent – a heady combination of sex and sin.

“I’m sure she could have gotten up on her own you know,” Jim said irritably, reminding me of the humiliating predicament I was in. I blinked, my clouded vision clearing.

Ugh! Go away Jim!

I wanted to grab one of the canned goods off the nearest shelf and throw it at Jim’s skull.

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