Page 44 of When Love Takes The Ice

“I’m sure you can achieve any damned thing you set your mind to, Mads.”

I almost shiver at the way he says that. And it’s damned well not because I’m cold.

I haven’t confessed another thought that springs to mind, even to Tess, that I’m almost certain my arch-rival realtor Phil Davie’s will be there.

“You’re right, you know, it’s like any other day in the office.”

He chuckles. “That’s the spirit.” He presses his thigh against mine again, and I have no other option than to place my hand on his leg.

“Ash,” I whisper, turning towards his chest. I get a whiff of his cologne again, which is not helping matters.

“Yeah,honey?”

“You’re something else,” I whisper, giving his thigh a squeeze.

I see him glance down at my hand before he bends to my ear again. “No.Youare something else, Mads.”

This time, I do shudder. I can’t help it.

“You make me nervous,” I admit. I have no idea what I think I’m doing, man-handling him in a downtown cafe and getting all hot and bothered.

“Well, if it’s easier, we can FaceTime again,” he chuckles.

I laugh, shaking my head. “Cheeky.”

“Can’t help it around you.” He looks down at my hand again and places his hand over mine, giving it a squeeze. “Even that drives me crazy.”

I glance up at him, realizing how close together we’re actually sitting. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

I want to ask him if he’s turned on. I’m too scared to look down at his crotch, in case he is. Maybe if I trailed my fingers a little further up…

He squeezes my hand again. “Better not get any closer up my thigh,” he whispers. “You might find a surprise on your hands.”

I’m alight with intrigue, feeling the buzz right down into my panties. I’m wet for him.

“A surprise?” I muse. “Such as?”

“Keep rubbing my thigh, and you’ll find out.”

I know we shouldn’t be doing this here. But really, what did I expect was going to happen when I saw him?

He sips his coffee, oh so casually, while he glances across the cafe like nothing is going on here. I know I’m the one making the moves, and he seems to like it.

That is, until I feel his hand slide across to my thigh. My skirt has rucked up a little while being seated. His thumb rubs across the bare skin on my leg.

I look down at it and then glance at him under my lashes. “Ash,” I breathe again.

He momentarily closes his eyes. “When you say my name like that,” he whispers.

I bite my lip, and he reaches up and pulls it free. “It sends jolts through me, Mads. No one has done that in a long time.”

I realize he could just be saying this, as he seems all too suave when he wants to be. But then I remember he took a three-hour train journey to see me, and he didn’t have to do that. “I feel the same,” I whisper back. “But I’m a little more reserved in person. I’m more nervous.”

“You don’t have to be nervous,” he says. “You go do your auction, and I’ll take you out for a bite to eat after that. We can hang out. There’s no pressure.”

The only pressure is pressing on my sweet spot from the intensity of his voice and the heat between us. But I’m not as brave as I think I am. Okay, we’re in a crowded cafe, and his fingers are skirting on the inside of my thigh, trailing up and down lightly.

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