Page 51 of His Own Heaven

Toby took her mouth again, grinned when she didn’t resist, and teased her with little pecks of his lips between every other word. “Only if that tour includes bending you over my desk and fucking you until you scream my name.”

Lucy mock-glared at him, even going so far as to fold her arms over her chest and tap her foot. Then she rolled her eyes and said, “Fine. But only if there’s time.”

“Baby, I’ll make fucking time. In fact, let’s do that first. Before the tour.”

“Second, after the paperwork,” Lucy countered, pulling her T-shirt over her head and tossing it on the chair.”

“Paperwork, nooky, tour,” Toby said. “In that order.”

“Exactly. If only because the last thing I need is to get caught by your staff and have everyone assume I only got the job because I’m screwing the boss. Also, I need a work shirt.”

Toby froze, Lucy’s words running through his head with all the subtlety of a herd of stampeding elephants. He’d hoped to take their burgeoning relationship public, to be as open and upfront about it as possible. But he hadn’t really thought it through, hadn’t thought about the ramifications to Lucy and her reputation. And while he knew most of his staff wouldn’t give two fucks either way if he was sleeping with Lucy, one or two of them may have an issue with it.Fuck.Why can’t anything ever be simple?

He sat heavily and yanked Lucy’s employee contract closer, flipped over the top page.

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked, her voice sounding miles away. “Toby, you’re scowling. What did I miss?”

Her question snapped him out of his daze and he focussed his attention on the paperwork in front of him. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Straightening to her full height, she folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “If this relationship is going to work, both privately and professionally, then we need some rules.” He opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand and cut him off. “I’m not Charlie. I can’t read your mind like he does, or whatever it is you two do when you talk to each other without actually talking to each other.”

Toby smiled. “You noticed that, huh?”

“Kinda hard not to. I assume it’s a twin thing?” When Toby nodded, Lucy continued, “Well that won’t work with me. I need you to talk to me, to tell me what’s going on inside your head.”

Leaning back in his chair, Toby scrubbed his hand over his jaw then matched Lucy’s gesture and folded his arms. “I’m not great at talking to people. Never have been. And I’m not used to having to explain myself, either. In fact,”—he huffed out a laugh—“this is probably the longest conversation I’ve ever had with anyone not directly related to me.”

“So, I guess the whole quiet caveman act over the weekend wasn’t actually an act, huh?” Lucy asked. “You really are that quiet all the time?”

He nodded. “Yes. Even my family refer to me as ‘the stoic one’. But… I feel different around you. I don’t know why but Iwantto talk to you.” He shrugged. “I just don’t know what to say.” Then he held out his arms and beckoned her to him, relaxed when she eased into his lap and put her arm around his shoulders. “Being with you over the weekend felt….” He licked his suddenly dry lips and searched her eyes, though for what he wasn’t sure. “It felt like finding an oasis at the end of a very long walk through the desert. And you made me want to dive in head first. It was a little overwhelming, to be honest.” He smiled, almost to himself. “Overwhelming, but not unwelcome.”

Her eyes grew glassy with tears and his gut tightened.

I’ve said the wrong thing again.

Then she cupped his cheek, and a tiny smile teased the corners of her mouth. “For a man who doesn’t talk much, that was the perfect thing to say.”

A rush of breath escaped him, his relief palpable. He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over the backs of her lean fingers. “Can you forgive me, Lucy? For the dumb shit I said? And for the dumb shit I’m bound to say in the future?”

She pursed her lips like she was holding back a grin. “Only if you promise to practice talking more.”

Toby’s lip curled in disgust. “Talking?”

“Yes.”

“More?”

“Yes.”

“To actual people?”

Lucy snickered. “Yes, to actual people.” She kissed his cheek. “But you can start with me.”

Tucking her head under his chin, he said, “You’re the only person I want to talk to.” Then he nudged her thigh with his thickening erection.

Leaning back, she cocked an eyebrow at him. “Hmm… I’m pretty sure ‘talking’ is the last thing on your mind right now.” She sighed and shook her head, a gentle laugh easing out of her. “Why do I get the feeling every conversation with you is going to end in sex?”

“Because you have very good instincts.”

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