Page 50 of Dangerous Temptation
They didn’t seem to have any problems relating then. Sensing her attention, he turned his head. His gaze settled on her lips, and they tingled. Got puffy.
Her body pulsed and her nipples stiffened. How did he do that? A word or a look and she was his.
The clock in the corner gave a low chime, announcing the hour. She flinched, and Alex’s gaze turned to it. Something in his attention shifted, and he relaxed back against the cushions. ‘I haven’t heard that in years.’
‘The chimes?’ Trying to cover her discomfort, she looked to the polished wood and brass fixture. She loved that clock, but she’d gotten so used to the melodic tolls she barely noticed them any more. ‘Did it used to be up in the manor?’
‘It’s been here as long as I can remember.’
His gaze was hazy, as if he was somewhere far away.
‘One of those memories popping up?’ she asked.
His eyes went darker, and he sat up again to return to her computer. ‘This was my secret spot,’ he confessed. ‘It was a good hiding place, but eventually I’d have to go back.’
She frowned. ‘To the main house?’
‘Yeah.’ His fingers stilled on the keyboard. ‘Like now,’ he said, breaking out of it. He closed the laptop with a snap. ‘This needs help I can’t give it here.’
Her heart sank. She’d thought he’d be able to fix it with a push of a few buttons.
‘I have more diagnostic tools up at the manor.’ He held out his hand for her. ‘Come on. We’ll have some dinner while we’re at it.’
She tilted her head back to look at him. She’d heard that line before.
His face took on that flat expression again. ‘I have no seduction plans. You ran back here pretty damn fast this morning, and I hadn’t heard from you. I didn’t know where things stood between us.’
She didn’t know either.
Yet she put her hand in his.
His fingers tightened around hers. ‘That doesn’t mean it won’t happen again.’
No, she was beginning to understand how it was for both of them. A spark. A glance. Something so little could ignite into so much more.
She followed him to the door, but he stopped and pulled the grey hoodie off the hook. He held it out to her, and she obediently put it on. She tugged up the sleeves and pulled her hair out so it swung down her back. When she lifted her chin, she found him looking at her in that intense way and the air in the room became charged. ‘Why did you give this back to me?’ she asked.
‘Because I like seeing it on you.’ He ran his finger around the shell of her ear, sending shivers down her neck. He pulled back. ‘I like what it says.’
‘What does it say?’
He hesitated a moment, but then cleared his throat. ‘That you like me wrapped around you.’
Her stomach flipped. She didn’t think that was what he intended to say, but it made a powerful image. Danger signs flared in her head. Her mother had warned her not to follow her hormones.
Yet she took his hand as he led her up the hill. ‘How bad is my computer?’
She could only tackle one dilemma at a time.
‘I’m hoping I can rescue the data.’
‘But the machine?’
‘Probably shouldn’t even be siphoned for parts. I’ll put everything on a new one.’
Her steps slowed. ‘How much will that cost?’
He got a funny look on his face. ‘You do know who I am, right?’
