Page 32 of Pleasure Control

What in the heck was it about Jay that made her so bold, made her take so many risks?

He reached for her duffel bag and placed it on the counter. “Quick, get dressed,” he whispered as he tugged on his swim trunks and scooped her torn panties off the floor.

With shaky hands, Laura rifled through her bag and pulled out her bathing suit. A soft tap on the door caused her movements to still.

In a silent message to Jay, she pressed her finger to her lips. He nodded in understanding.

She cleared her throat. “Someone is in here,” she called out.

“Laura, is that you?”

She swallowed at the sound of Veronica’s voice.

“I’m just getting changed. The downstairs bathroom was occupied.”

“No problem, hon. Reggie asked me to find you, he wants to know if you’ll be on his team for the water relay races.”

So now he wanted her on his team. All because she was a damn great swimmer. The man played to win. Happiness and harmony, her ass!

“Okay, I’ll be down in a sec.” She hated how shaky she sounded.

“Have you seen Jay?”

“No,” she replied much too quickly.

For a moment Veronica went silent. “Okay. If you see him, tell him Reggie wants him, too.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you downstairs, then.”

Laura closed her eyes, let out a breath, and then hastily tugged on her one-piece black bathing suit and wrapped her matching sarong around her flared hips. She noted the way Jay’s eyes fixated on her supple curves. A feminine thrill ran through her. The way he looked at her with eyes imbued with desire made her feel as though she were the most beautiful woman alive, and for the first time in her life she was elated with her above-average IQ.

“Oh, and Jay?” Veronica said.

“Yeah?” he asked, automatically responding to his name.

Laura’s eyes sprang open, her mouth widened in a silent gasp.

He winced. “Shit,” Jay whispered, smacking his palm to his forehead.

Veronica’s chuckle reached their ears. “You might want to shut the window next time.”

Laura’s heart nearly failed. Heat colored her skin from head to toe.

“Fuck.” Jay cursed under his breath and scrubbed his hand over his jaw.

Before either could respond, Veronica rushed on, “Don’t worry, I was the only one sitting below your window, so I’m the only one who heard your…uh…your research.”

Laura finished dressing and threw her ball uniform into her duffel bag. “We better get out of here before anyone else takes an interest in our research.”

By the time they dressed and made it downstairs, the water relay games had already begun without them. For that, Laura was pl

eased. Her mind was too preoccupied to partake in any of the bonding activities. Besides, as it stood, she’d already done enough employee bonding for the day. Just not the kind the director approved of.

Laura glanced around, fretting that her coworkers, and especially her ever-astute assistant, Erin, would suspect the pink hue on her cheeks had nothing to do with the late afternoon sun.

Standing poolside, Jay turned to her. “Let’s get out of here, Laura. I’m anxious to head back to the lab and test your theory.” His handsome face was eager, the way it always was when they were on the heels of completion. God, she loved his enthusiasm and his single-minded determination. She loved that his ambitions matched her own.

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