“No. We’re one for one. Technically, I took out this one.”
That got her to glance up from the computer screen and he was surprised to see her eyes narrowed. “Hopefully we won’t go through any more,” she said. “The company will wonder what we’re doing with them if we have to reorder.”
Rex chuckled. “Reordering product comes with the territory. No one will think a thing about it. Listen, April, I wanted to tell you how impressed I was with the information on the sleeping styles you provided. We’re working well together.”
She threaded her fingers through her hair as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them and winced. “I’m glad you think so.”
“I do. I’m pleased with how the day went. Especially with falling off the bed. Those pockets are a problem. I told Wilhemina and suggested she send the sheets back to R and D. Thanks to you we pinpointed the problem.”
April frowned.
He opened the freezer, grabbed a few ice cubes into a plastic zipper bag then wrapped the whole in the dish towel. “Here you go.” He handed her the ice pack. “Put this on your bump.”
She shook her head and fine wisps of hair escaped the clip to fringe softly around her neck. “You need the ice. Put it on your hand.”
He flexed his fingers to ease the stiffness. “It’s just a bruise. The vibrator got me. Looks worse than it is.”
“How’s the lip?”
“Won’t stop me from enjoying dinner,” he said, recognizing the pattern. Circling the bar, he placed the ice pack on her head, not leaving her a choice. “In order of importance, head injuries make the top of the list.”
She stepped out from under the ice pack. “I’m fine.”
She wasn’t fine. That much was evident in her prickly response. “I think I should wake you up during the night to make sure you’re not concussed. I caught you hard with my chin.”
“You mean I caught you with my head, don’t you?”
Ah, there they were. What was really bothering April.
Dropping the ice pack on the bar, he stepped onto the rubber mat the hotel had provided during the day and slipped both hands over her shoulders. She gasped, clearly surprised and tried to back away.
Rex held on.
“Come here.” He steered her toward a dining room chair, operating under the assumption that if he made her sit, she couldn’t get away so easily.
“I’m not concussed.”
Dragging another chair around, he sat in front of her, one more obstacle in his line of defense. “I’ll take your word for it, but I’m not letting you up until you talk to me.”
“Talk to you about what?”
“About what’s bothering you.”
“Why do you think something’s bothering me?”
Now it was his turn to frown. And notice how hard she was trying not to bump knees with him. Every brush of her silk-hose–clad leg against his jetted his pulse rate a little closer to overdrive.
“Listen, April. We’ve got to work together. Closely, I might add. What’s bothering you about what happened today?”
“Well, now that you mention it…was it really necessary to demonstrate those sleeping positions? Something about rolling around on a bed for an audience doesn’t strike me as terribly professional.”
“Under most conditions, I’d agree, but we’re studying sheets.”
Her full mouth curved downward, no less tempting for its frown. She had kissing lips. Full, moist and inviting. Rex hadn’t thought much about kissing lately. He’d kissed his fair share, he supposed, but he hadn’t thought much about those kisses, or anticipated any with the sort of impatience he felt right now.
In fact, when he dredged his memory for the last time he’d actually thought about kissing, he remembered high school, so long ago he couldn’t recall who he’d wanted to kiss. But right now, he remembered clearly how much he enjoyed the ritual and added a new item to his mental list of things to accomplish.
Kiss April. Kiss her until she stopped frowning, until those sweet lips parted beneath his and she sighed.
“Even so, Rex,” she was saying. “I’d rather avoid being your assistant in any more physical demonstrations. If there’s a need, please get someone else.”
“I could have asked Matthew.”
That sweet mouth pursed. She knew he was teasing. “You could have. He’d have done whatever you’d asked.”
“True enough.” He clasped his hands over his knees and leaned closer. “His company is paid well to accommodate me.”
“So it’s settled then? You’ll ask someone else to demonstrate sleeping styles or whatever else you need demonstrated in the future?”
“No.”
“No?”
He leaned in a little more, invaded her space. “I asked you to help me because I wanted to get close with you.”
Her mouth popped open and she sank back in her chair. Clearly he’d stopped her in her tracks with his honesty and as he’d planned she had no escape.
“Why?” she finally asked, and his cut inner lip twinged as he fought back a smile.
“Because I wanted to touch you.”
She blinked.
He waited, enjoying the play of emotions across her beautiful face. April clearly hadn’t expected him to lay his cards on the table.
“Seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce some closeness between us. Since we were working and had an audience I figured you would feel comfortable. You get nervous whenever I get too close. Or when I touch you.”
“Which means I don’t want to get close or be touched.”
Her delivery implied that any idiot should have understood that, but Rex wasn’t buying into her reasoning. “Actually, I’m interpreting it to mean I make you nervous because you want to get close and be touched. Am I mistaken?”
To say she looked flabbergasted would have been an understatement. Downright stunned better described her expression, and when she scooted her chair back to get away, he knew he’d read her correctly.
Unfortunately she scooted back too fast and overbalanced. The chair would have gone over had he not grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back.
She stared at him wide-eyed.
He didn’t let go. “I’m not mistaken, am I, April?”
Rex pushed the issue solely because he wanted to see how she’d deal with him, needed to know if she’d admit to the truth or deny the obvious. A test.
“I can’t.”
Avoidance. Interesting. “Why not?”
“We work together.”
As if logistics affected chemistry this hot. “There’s no conflict. We’re independent entities, off-site and of consenting ages. I don’t see a problem. You’re not seeing anyone and neither am I.”
She blinked, clearly unwilling or unable to accept his candor about the subject, but he found that panicked glint in her eyes very telling.
“Do you find me attractive?” he asked.
She inhaled a shuttering breath that answered his question.
“Good, because I find you attractive, too. And refreshing.”
“Refreshing?”
He nodded. “Very.”
“Rex, you can’t find me refreshing.”
“You haven’t given me a solid reason why yet.”
She huffed, an exasperated puff of sound that sent wispy hairs flying off her forehead. He wanted to feel those silky hairs against his skin so he leaned forward, close enough to see the sooty black lashes fringing her eyes. Close enough to see the slight flare of her nostrils when she inhaled.
The faintly floral fragrance she’d worn earlier today had faded, leaving behind only a delicate, womanly scent that was all April. He could feel the warmth of her skin beneath his hands, her sheer blouse no barrier at all.
Another breath and the moment became charged. Time stalled between them, their nearness enveloping them with the intensity of their attraction, with the chemistry that made his blood heat, made that vein in her throat throb with her racing pulse.
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Rex leaned a hairbreadth nearer. He was going to kiss her. Her soft gasp told him she knew he was going to kiss her.
The question was would she let him?
The air around them stretched with expectation. The breath locked tight in his chest and his heartbeat made a wild leap as he awaited her reply.
Then there it was, a sudden softening of her mouth, an exhalation that made her sway forward just enough to let him know she’d welcome him.
He lowered his face to taste those sweet lips….
A loud crackling sound made them both jump. They sprang apart and stared at the kitchen. It took Rex a second to realize he was hearing the crack and pop of flames.
The steak.
“Damn.” He was on his feet before he’d inhaled another breath. Good thing, too, because smoke seeped through the cracks around the oven door where his London broil was on fire beneath the broiler.
That they’d missed the smoke only proved the intensity of their chemistry. Flipping the switch of the kitchen fan to high, he snatched a pot holder from the counter.
“April, get the door, would you?” he said. “I don’t want to activate the sprinkler system.” He didn’t need to deal with a rainstorm on his office equipment. Especially when he hadn’t gotten to kiss the girl.
April launched into motion as he pulled the grilling pan from the oven, coughing when he inhaled more smoke. But contact with the air immediately extinguished the flames, which turned out to be nothing more serious than a fat fire. Upon closer inspection, he found most of the meat in pretty decent shape.
“How do you feel about well-done steak?”
“I prefer it that way,” she called out from the doorway, where she stood opening and closing the door like a fan.
He went to work trying to salvage what was left of their meal, waiting to see what April would do next. Would she try to buy some time before dealing with the issue of their attraction again? Another test.
She showed up back at the bar.
He held a knife above a tomato and waited.
“Rex, I won’t deny I’m attracted to you,” she said. “But I do have some solid reasons why this can’t work.”
He liked the fact that she dealt with the situation head-on, but she sounded determined and articulate, no longer breathless and off balance. The interruption had allowed her to put distance between them and catch her breath. He made a mental note not to give her too much distance in the future.
“Why don’t you set the table and we’ll talk about it?”
“No need. I’ll eat while I work.”
Shaking his head, he set the knife down and handed her two plates. “I insist you sit. You’ve been standing all day and I want to hear about these solid reasons.”
For a moment he thought she’d argue, but she accepted the plates. “There’s no room on the table.”
“Try the coffee table if you can get to it.” He assembled the accoutrements she’d need for their meal. “Or the bed. We can have a bed picnic. The sheets are water-resistant, so we don’t have to worry about the mattress.”
She managed to get to the coffee table.
“I’m not comfortable with the work thing between us,” she said when she returned to the kitchen to pick up silverware and napkins. “It’s important I live up to expectations on this job.”
“I see.” He arranged the tomatoes in the salad bowl. “But you’re very competent, and I’m easy to work with. I have high expectations, but I don’t expect you to read minds. I’ll tell you what I need. So far you’ve not only met my needs but anticipated them. I don’t understand your concerns about job performance.”
“I told you I’m not out of my office that much,” she said hesitantly, and he couldn’t help but notice that she was hanging onto the silverware for dear life. “I can’t jeopardize getting this job right.”
Rex might not have understood her concerns or exactly why this particular job was so important, but it was. There was more going on here than he understood. Instinct told him she was dancing around the heart of the issue and if he could just get her to open up, he could figure out what the problem was, maybe even find a way to help her deal with it.
“Come on. Let’s talk while we eat.” He reverted back to distraction. Handing her the salad bowl, he motioned her toward the table then followed with the steak and a bottle of dressing. “I’m usually moderately proficient in the kitchen.”
“With an Italian mom, I’ll bet.”
“She’s one Italian in a family of Irishmen. It’s a strange mix to say the least. Here’s hoping this isn’t too bad.”
“The salad looks good,” she said generously. “And you made enough so we won’t go hungry.”
In his opinion, a salad didn’t constitute a balanced meal, but he kept his opinion to himself. He didn’t ask if she wanted wine, just returned to the kitchen to pour two glasses. With any luck, the alcohol might have a calming effect.
Just the thought almost made him laugh. He’d never had to resort to getting a date drunk before. Technically April wasn’t a date but he wanted her to be.
Sitting on the floor across the coffee table from her, Rex tried the steak, found it too well-done for his taste but not bad all things considered. She seemed to be enjoying her meal, though. “I’m glad I cooked. You were hungry.”
Shrugging, she rested her fork on the edge of her plate. “It’s very good despite the mishap.”
“I was hoping to impress you.”
She took this news by darting her tongue along her lips, a quick motion that riveted him to the way her lower lip shone, made him imagine what her mouth would taste like. “You have. I’m impressed by any man who can make his way around the kitchen.”
He had some work to do disabusing her of the notion that he was “any” man but her concession was a step in the right direction.
“So you’re worried about a relationship interfering with work,” he said. “What if I can convince you that exploring our attraction to each other and following its natural progression will actually improve your job performance?”
“How do figure you can do that?”
Rex leaned back against the foot of the bed, hung his hand over his knee. “Since I’m making you nervous, getting to know me better should help you feel more comfortable.”
“That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose. Of course, getting to know you could just make me even more nervous.” She toyed with the wineglass. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“What do you suggest we do about this raging attraction between us?”
“Ignore it. The only thing to do.”
He considered her, could detect nothing at all coy in her expression, so he had to assume she honestly thought they could ignore how they felt. Forget the fact that she was already so jumpy she’d gotten downright dangerous and he’d torched a perfectly decent cut of meat in his white heat to kiss her.
“Did you know that seventy percent of couples who gave in to their attraction right away reported having better orgasms than couples who fought their attraction?”
“Are you joking?”
“It’s a fact,” he said stoically. “I conducted the analysis for a medical facility that studied nifty stuff like average erection angles and typical duration of orgasm.”
She stared at him wide-eyed, the wineglass poised in midair, clearly not sure what to make of his statement. But he got exactly what he wanted—he’d distracted her.
“Good chemistry doesn’t come around that often in my experience, April. Seems a shame to waste a good thing.”
She abandoned her wineglass and crossed her legs, the gauge on her nervous meter clearly rising. “Just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean we have to act on it.”
She admitted to being attracted to him so casually that he had to force back a smile. “That’s true. I’m not looking for coercion here. I’m looking for seduction, for a chance to give our chemistry a fair shake and see where it leads.”
“We’re two ships passing in the night. Where can it lead? A fling?”
“Are you looking for long-term?”
“No.”
The panic in that no blew his theory right out of the water. “You don’t want long-term and you don’t want a fling. What do you want?”
She scooted back from the table, clearly losing her battle with the jitters. Scooping up her plate, she headed toward the kitchen. Rex recognized the stall tactic for what it was and knew he didn’t stand a chance as long as she could pace.
Distraction and distance were the dynamic duo for dealing with April. But he’d pushed as far as he could right now. Whatever was holding her back—and his gut told him they still hadn’t hit on the real reason yet—she would have to decide when and if she wanted to share. He was only making her more nervous by prying.
“I’ll take that as an ‘I’m not sure’ and leave it at that,” he said. “Sound good?”
To his surprise, he heard her laugh, but when she emerged from the kitchen she met his gaze with an expression that was clearly more desperation than amusement. “The truth is I’m not exactly at my best leaping into new situations. I try to avoid them whenever possible. It’s safer that way.”
“Safer?”
“For you.”
He followed her gaze to his hand. “It’s just a bruise.”
“It’s not just a bruise, Rex. It’s an injury. One I caused.”
“It was an accident. They happen.”
Giving a shaky laugh, she thrust her fingers through her hair, winced. “Yeah, unfortunately they do.”
The resignation he heard in her voice gave him a sharp pang of guilt for steering her someplace so obviously painful. He’d meant to convince her to explore their attraction and he’d upset her instead. “Listen, April, I’m—”
“It’s not you, Rex. Really. I’m actually rather flattered that you’re interested in me.”
Flattered? Hell, this was getting worse by the second. “April, you don’t have to—”
“I may be attracted to you but even if I wanted to get around the work thing, I can’t.”
With four younger sisters, Rex recognized a roll when he saw one. She was on one now and he decided he deserved whatever he got for pushing. “April, I—”
Between The Sheets Page 9
