Page 26 of Don't Game Me
He grasped the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. His mouth opened over hers, his tongue demanding entrance, and she gave it to him. She melted, unable to resist the effect he had on her body. He kissed her until she was breathless, until her tongue was as wild as his, until she clutched his arms for balance.
Then he let go.
His arms dropped away from her. She threw a hand out to catch herself against the side of the car. Her eyes fluttered open and met his cool expression.
He opened the door and helped her sit in the low seat. Dazed, she stared up at his frown.
He leaned in above her. “This is the worst weekend for whatever this is to spiral out of control.”
8
Out of control?He’d swan dived off the cliff of sanity to kiss Becca again.
Noah warned him this wasn’t allowed. Technically, Noah only warned him not to sleep with her. They hadn’t discussed semantics. Hell, having this conversation in his head was stupid. Noah meant a big fatnoto everything.
Kiss number two had been better than the first. He dwelled on her proposal he be her date and the possibility of saying yes. He couldn’t. They’d end up in bed.
Jake hadn’t continued to discuss their spiral into crazy. He couldn’t. He might say something stupid. Such asyesto him and her tomorrow night.
She remained quiet when they returned to the printer. Quiet Becca didn’t bode well. He waited for her to explode. He wished she would. Then everything could get back to normal with them arguing.
He loaded the box of corrected printed items into the back seat, still stewing over the printer’s attempt to charge them a four-hundred-dollar emergency reprint free. Riding the crest of his tidal wave of frustration, Jake would’ve snapped if the printer hadn’t relented and taken off the charge.
He cranked the car and flipped the air conditioning to high, shifting on the burning black leather seat. An incoming email indicated Germany wouldn’t be patient until Monday. Not good. He’d been working on this deal for special marketing in not only Germany but also all of Europe for months. The goggles had to sell big to make back all they’d borrowed to invest in production.
“You mind if we pop by the office and have lunch there? I’ve got to take care of something that can’t wait.”
“The office? Right now?” Becca’s eyes went wide. She nibbled on her bottom lip.
Perhaps she’d been told about the no-work-this-weekend agreement he had with Noah. Maybe she resented him shutting down the kiss earlier. She had to understand the two of them couldn’t go where the kiss led.
“We can order from Restaurant Laos. They deliver.”Please take my peace offering.
“No one does Thai like them. It’s never a trip to New York without some Laos.” She flashed a small grin, but it didn’t erase her unease. Her statement lacked enthusiasm. She probably preferred they go to the restaurant in person.
The dash clock indicated not enough time to do office work and have a sit-down meal. He dialed his temp assistant. “Kylie, I’m coming in for lunch in forty-five minutes. Order from Laos for delivery ASAP.”
“What? Lunch? I thought you were out of the office today. Who did you say order from?” He heard shuffling in the background. Kylie had a pile of work to get through for him today. Was she screwing around because he wasn’t in the office? He despised employees wasting time on his dime.
He held back an agitated snort over her unfamiliarity with his restaurant choice. “Restaurant Laos. Located around the block. Order the…” He almost said “normal,” but instead said, “The order we place for small business meetings. Oh, make sure to order the Kabocha chicken curry, and tell them to leave the mushrooms off the Pompano.”
“Do you have a credit card for me to pay for this?”
He ground his molars.Patience. She’s just a fill-in until Emma gets off wedding duty. “They have it on file.”
“All righty, Mr. Allen. That’s Restaurant Taos. Enough for a business meeting.”
“No. It’sLaoswith an L, like the country. Place an order for asmallbusiness meeting. You can get the info on the restaurant from Noah’s assistant. Order now. We’re in a hurry today.” He hung up and pulled into traffic.
“Emma’s fill-in not so great?” Becca asked.
He swerved around several slow cars. “Kylie came on board last month. She’s not quite as efficient as Emma yet. Emma is one of a kind.”
“Have you and Emma, you know?” she said in a suggestive tone.
“What?” His head exploded with a fiery,are you shitting me? He gritted out his work mantra, “I don’t get involved with assistants.”
“I heard you did. Once.”
