Page 38 of Secret Desire

Was I sweating?

Concentrate, woman. Concentrate. My pen hung motionless over the paper. What was he saying?

I needed to refocus. My head snapped up to look at his face. Bad idea. Remember what happened earlier? With the drooling and all?

I looked at his shoulders. Focused on his voice.

Proud of myself for finding a solution, I fixed my gaze.

Strong shoulders. Broad shoulders. Sexy shoulders.

Shoulders I wanted to run my hands over…shoulders I wanted to wrap my arms around…shoulders I wanted on top of me as he thrust himself in and out of me…

What was going on? This wasn’t normal. I’d worked with hot guys before. It never affected me. Why now?

Of course, the attraction was inevitable. But I’d never been attracted to the point of distraction before. That relentless song continued to torment my mind.Stupid girl…

Argh. Stop!

I was an intelligent and ambitious woman. Sex did not rule my life. Lust did not control me.

Since when were anyone’s shoulders droolworthy? I couldn’t see the outline of his muscles, thanks to that freakin’ blazer.

But they were so broad. And strong. Pulled back in a dominant posture, making his muscular chest…

It was bad enough with the shoulders. I didn’t want to start with the chest.

“…ensure all these parameters are included in the Excel sheet for the CEO.”

SHIT! Shit! Shit! Shit!

I didn’t get any of that. What was I going to do? “Right away, Mr. Cox.” I would manage. Always did. I would ask for clarification later. On the phone. Not in person.

His smile caught me off guard again. A special smile that was, apparently, so out of character for him.

Steven Cox ran his department the way he lived his life. Discipline. Success. He gave 100,000% to the company and expected the same from his employees. He had no patience for personal matters or compassion. There was no space for tender moments in any part of his life.

Until I started working here.

Based on the rumors about him, no one else got to see the sweet, gentle man behind that mask of discipline and authority. The one who was slowly emerging before me. Behind closed doors. The one who shook my whole being into forgetting my own priorities.

Stop!

On my way back to my office, I reminded myself that men were excluded from my future. I had no choice. It was the only way. They couldn’t be trusted.

That was the most fun I’d had in years.

God, the way she looked at me. I didn’t think any woman had ever gawked at me that way. Burning with desire and full of hunger. For me. Maybe I hadn’t imagined it on Friday night.

There was no mistaking that look she gave me today. Most women looked at me with a different type of hunger. I could practically see the fucking dollar signs in their eyes.

But not Laura.

She had a thirst for me. For my body. I could live with that. Even if it was only physical for her.

Christ, she would be my ruin. I didn’t even know what nonsense I had spewed at her. Half of what I had said came out as gibberish.

Later, once my head was clear, I would send her an email outlining what I really needed for the report. It would be safer that way.

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