Still, she’d stayed as long as she dared. She was ready to go back to work and couldn’t think of a single excuse not to go.
“Like I said,” she reminded herself. “Time to be a grown-up. Better to go on my own than be asked to leave.”
She started up the stairs. On the second floor, she turned right and headed down to his office. The door was ajar. She knocked as she pushed it open and stepped inside.
Stone looked up from his computer and smiled. “This is a nice surprise. Are you finished with Pepper?”
“Yes, it was our last session. She left me with firm instructions about continuing on with an exercise program, and I’m determined to do it.”
“Good for you.” He motioned to the chair in front of his desk.
As she took the seat, she studied him. The contrast of thick scars and perfect male beauty never ceased to move her. He was the most amazing man. Truly kind, although she wasn’t allowed to say that anymore.
“Are you just visiting?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I have an announcement. I’ve imposed on your life enough. You have been more than generous with your home and your time, but I need to get back to where I belong. I start back to work on Monday.”
Stone stared at her so intently she wanted to check her cheek for a smudge. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
The corners of his mouth turned up, but it was a pale imitation of a smile. “I don’t want you to go,” he said simply.
Cathy blinked. Had she heard that correctly? He didn’t want her to go? “But I’m just in the way,” she blurted out.
“Not at all. I enjoy your company.” He picked up a pen and turned it over in his hands. “Sometimes this house gets a little too quiet. I don’t get out as much as some think I should.” He motioned to his face. “For obvious reasons.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that,” she said quickly.
“That’s not the subject under discussion,” he reminded her. “We were talking about you leaving. Would you reconsider?”
“I—” Her heart pounded in her chest. What was he saying? Was he telling her that he was really going to miss her? Had she come to matter to him the same way he mattered to her? Were they more than friends?
She leaned forward in her seat and clasped her hands together. “Stone, I don’t know what to say.”
“Good, because I haven’t made my offer yet. I know you still have your job at the answering service. You’re very good at it, but then, why wouldn’t you be? You’re personable and very bright. The truth is, Cathy, you’re not challenged there. I realize I’m overstepping my bounds, but this is important. You could be so much more.”
He continued talking, but she couldn’t hear him. He thought she was bright and efficient. Great. Lovely. A combination of a good computer and favorite dog. Next he would go on about how tidy she was.
Cathy tried to keep her emotions from showing on her face. Why had she let herself hope? It was silly. She knew better. Stone was not like her. They had very little in common. He didn’t see her as a woman, at least not as one he would be interested in.
“I’m offering you a job,” she heard him say.
That got her attention. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“I said I’m offering you a job. As my personal assistant. I’ve needed one for a long time. I want someone to act as a liaison for me with certain people at my office. There will be meetings, some occasional travel. At first you’re probably going to feel that you’re way out of your league, but I think you can do it. Actually I think you’ll be terrific.”
“A job?”
He frowned. “I would really like you to consider this, Cathy, but only if you feel the opportunity is right for you. I’m not trying to insult you or tell you what to do.”
“I understand that,” she said. Her head was spinning. A job? Working with him? “You’d want me to go talk with people at your company?”
“Yes. Currently we have meetings with me attending via speakerphone. That would still happen, but I would want you there as my personal representative.”
“I don’t have a college degree, let alone any experience in business.”
“I’m aware of that. You’ll have to work hard to get up to speed. It’s a daunting task, but if you’re up to it, I’d like to give it a try. We could agree to a six-month trial, after which time we both get to evaluate the situation.”
She pressed her lips together just to make sure her mouth wasn’t hanging open. Okay, this wasn’t the declaration of love that she’d imagined, but it was a great second prize. Working with Stone? It would be exciting and different. She would learn a lot. She didn’t fool herself about the hard work. She knew the hours he kept. Just because Stone used his-house as his main office didn’t mean he wasn’t driven.
Now that they were discussing business, everything about him had changed. His posture was stiffer, his gaze more direct. Even his word choices had taken on a business flavor and a hard edge. Could she survive that?
Cathy wasn’t sure, but she also knew she would never forgive herself if she walked away from this once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“I think the idea has possibilities,” she said, trying on business-speak for the first time.
Stone grinned. “I’m glad. Before you decide, there are some logistics. I would prefer you to live in the house. You would be more accessible to me. I’m sure it wouldn’t be difficult for you to rent out your house. However, if you hate the idea of staying here, I would appreciate it if you would live someplace closer than your home in North Hollywood.”
He wanted her to stay in his house? “Urn, staying here wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good. The company has an excellent benefit package. You can make an appointment with the director of human resources to discuss that with her directly. Which leaves the issue of salary.” He named a figure that made her head spin.
She opened her mouth to tell him that it was too much, then swallowed the words. What did she know about the starting salary of the personal assistant to the president of a very successful company? Maybe Stone was padding it a little because he knew she didn’t have much, but she doubted it. This was business, and for him that was very separate from his personal life. So what if she was about to earn over three times what she’d been making at the answering service? She thought she just might be able to suffer through that.
“I accept,” she said.
“Was that a yes?”
She grinned. “Absolutely. You’re right—I’m sure I am going to be in over my head, but I want to learn. I’m not afraid of hard work. I’m honest and dependable and I’ll give a hundred percent every day.” Now she sounded like a loyal dog, but she no longer cared. Not only did she get to stay with Stone, but she also was going to be working for him.
A flash of self-doubt filled her, but she pushed it away. She would make this happen, she promised herself. She would earn his respect.
“I’ll notify human resources,” he said, and rose to his feet.
He came around his desk toward her. Cathy stood up. When he held out his hand to shake on the deal, she reacted impulsively. She reached out to hug him.
Even as she moved forward, she told herself to stop. But it was too late, and the momentum carried her into him. She tried to pull back, to save the potentially awkward situation. Then large, strong hands settled on her back.
“Your way is much better,” Stone murmured, and bent his head to hers.
The hug had been an unplanned act. She’d meant it as a friendly gesture. She had no idea what he meant by the kiss, but as his mouth gently touched hers, she found she didn’t care.
He was warm and firm, and she felt as if she’d come home. Cathy didn’t have enough experience to compare his kiss to others, but it was plenty wonderful on its own. He didn’t move much, or try to deepen the kiss. He stayed still. She didn’t know if he was savoring the experience or giving her a chance to get used to their closeness, and soon she found
she didn’t care. It was enough to be in his arms, his mouth against hers.
She moved her hands to his shoulders and squeezed the hard muscles. In response, he tilted his head slightly and pressed a little closer. She inhaled the scent of his body—the scent of him. Clean and masculine, and maybe a little dangerous.
They weren’t touching in many places, and she longed to lean against him. That’s what she always read about. Couples pressing together, breasts straining. She had never understood how breasts could possible strain, but now she did. Hers ached. She would have sworn they were swollen, too, longing to be flattened against his broad chest. Shivers rippled through her, starting at her toes and working their way up to her scalp. Her fingers tingled; so did that secret place between her thighs. She thought—
His mouth parted, and he touched the tip of his tongue to her lower lip. Instantly her mind shut down, as did her ability to breathe. None of that mattered. She focused all her energy, all her senses, on that single damp spot.
He touched her there again, this time pressing a little more as if urging her to comply with his wishes. Before she could figure out what to do, her mouth parted, almost without her realizing it, and his tongue slipped inside.
He was warm and sweet and tasted better than any chocolate she’d ever had. He didn’t attack or act as if he was there to map out the points of interest in her mouth. Instead, he moved slowly, almost reverently, first exploring the tender skin on the inside of her lip before gently stroking her tongue.
She supposed the fire was inevitable. Between the shivers and the sparks and goodness knows what other sensations, she already felt as if she were in danger of going up in flames. So when the heat licked against her skin, she simply surrendered to the hot need. She leaned against him, at last giving her breasts what they’d been screaming for. The relief was instant, and over just as quickly. For as her breasts nestled against the hard planes of his chest and the aching eased, her hard, sensitized nipples began to tighten even more. She’d never felt anything like this in her life. She wasn’t sure what was happening or what it meant. She only knew she didn’t want Stone to ever stop kissing her.
As if he read her mind, his arms tightened around her. She had leaned into him, but he pulled her even closer. Their bodies pressed together, just like she’d read about. He was hard to her soft, just like those authors had promised. It was so incredibly perfect. Especially the hardness she felt pressing into the spot between her stomach and her left hipbone. He was aroused and ready. Kissing her had done that to him!
She must have made a sound of pleasure and gratification, or somehow indicated something had changed, because Stone pulled back. He broke the kiss gently, cupping her face as their lips parted. Still, she was loath to let him go.
“Wow!” she said without thinking.
Fortunately he grinned. “Yeah. Wow.” Then the smile faded. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t usually welcome employees to the company like that.”
His words had the effect of an ice bath. She forced her smile to remain in place even as she took a step back. “I guess a lot of the guys would really object, huh?” She waved as if it had meant nothing to her, either. “Don’t worry about it, Stone. We’re friends, right? It was a very nice kiss.”
“I agree. And I promise it won’t happen again.”
Great. He was probably the kind of man who gave blenders and vacuum cleaners for birthday presents, too. She sighed. Well, it had been a wonderful experience. She would have a lot to think about when she was alone in her room that night. In the meantime, she must never let him know that her knees were still weak and her breasts would probably be aching for days.
So this was desire, she thought. At least she knew what it felt like. For a while, she’d thought she might go her whole life and never experience it.
“Thank you for understanding,” he said.
“Sure. No problem.”
She left his office with a promise to see him at dinner. Once out in the hall, her good humor faded and confusion took its place. What exactly had happened back there? If he didn’t mean it, why had he kissed her like that?
“So much for being a grown-up,” she whispered as she started shaking. She felt strange inside. Tense, but not tense.
Now she was supposed to work for the man. Fine. She would figure out a way to put this behind her and she would work for him. She wanted the chance. She would be a fool to mess that up by getting too caught up in what had obviously meant different things to her than to him.
He’d thanked her for understanding. Great. The problem was she didn’t understand. Not even for a minute.
Chapter Nine
Stone walked the few steps to his chair, then collapsed. Every cell in his body ached with a need he couldn’t control. He’d wanted before—he’d even wanted Cathy. But he didn’t remember ever feeling this overwhelming desire. He was having trouble focusing on anything but how she’d felt in his arms and the way his world had exploded into passion when he’d kissed her.
Talk about stupid, he told himself. First he asked the woman to work for him. A smart move. After all, she was bright, energetic and willing to get the job done. The way she’d tackled her recovery and physical therapy had shown him that. Better yet, he sensed he could trust her. There weren’t many people he could say that about. But then he had to go and blow it by kissing her.
It had been the hug. He knew that, but told himself it was a pretty poor excuse. Women had hugged him before. Admittedly none had since the accident. Not that there had been any opportunity. So maybe that was the reason he’d overreacted. He’d been caught off guard. The unexpected contact with an enticing female had left him vulnerable to his physical needs. Apparently that part of him wasn’t as dead as he’d imagined.
That’s all it was then—animal lust. Nothing more. A physical sensation, be it desire or pain, could be controlled. He’d done it all his life.
Stone sucked in a breath and exhaled it slowly. To be completely honest, he had a lot of experience controlling pain and virtually none controlling desire. Wanting had never been an issue in his life. In college he’d had a string of steady girlfriends more than willing to be intimate with him. He’d experienced desire, but nothing like this soul-wrenching wanting. Marriage to Evelyn had been difficult because he hadn’t felt any sexual connection with her. So this experience with Cathy was new territory. Still, he would conquer it.
He pressed one foot against the floor and pushed until he’d turned his chair around and he could stare out the window. So far the lecture on managing the need wasn’t helping. Every inch of him was still on fire. His groin throbbed to the point of pain. Part of the problem was his body sensed the possibilities. Cathy had responded to the kiss as if she, too, had felt the same passion flaring between them. Without closing his eyes, he could put himself back there—holding her, kissing her, bodies pressing, tongues stroking.
He groaned low in his throat. His hardness swelled to the point of explosion.
He could never do it again. Cathy had to be completely off-limits to him except as an employee and a friend. She was too softhearted. She only saw the scars on the outside, and they would never bother her. Even though he’d tried to warn her off, she thought he was a normal, decent guy. She didn’t have the life experience to know that inside he was little more than a monster. An empty shell of a man who had lied to and betrayed the best person in his world.
If she knew the truth—He shook his head. He was a coward, as well, he realized. He didn’t want her to know the truth about him. She would think less of him, and he knew he couldn’t bear that. She was important to him and if she were gone, he would have nothing of value left. Work had long since ceased to be much of a challenge.
So he wouldn’t tell her how he’d married Evelyn for all the wrong reasons. How he hadn’t had the common decency to love or even desire his wife. How in the end, he’d allowed her to catch him in an act of betrayal and that she had died because of it.
&
nbsp; Instead, he would remind himself of his plan and continue to act on it. Cathy was physically better. Now he’d offered her a job. He was well on his way to fixing her and her life. Soon she wouldn’t need him anymore, and he could set her free.
But the idea of Cathy being gone was even more painful than the wanting, so he pushed that thought away. He was doing the right thing for the right reason. The desire had no place in this.
He shifted until he was facing his desk again, punched a button on his computer keyboard and went back to work. But it was nearly an hour until the throbbing subsided to a manageable level, and that night, despite a healthy dose of Scotch, he was restless. When he slept, he dreamed of making love with Cathy, waking to a sweat-slicked body and a hardness aching for release.
*
Cathy pulled back the drapes and stared out at the morning. As usual the sky was clear and the ocean a deep shade of blue. “I don’t have to leave,” she said softly to herself, and grinned. It was all too wonderful to believe.
As she showered and dressed, she made a mental list of everything she had to do. She agreed with Stone that she should rent out her house in North Hollywood. Today she would find a broker who handled that sort of thing and sign the necessary papers. She also wanted to pack up her personal belongings and store them in the little room off the garage. She should probably get a post-office box somewhere close, too, so she could have her mail forwarded. So many things, she thought, happy to be busy at last.
She returned to the bathroom to apply her makeup. It was Saturday. She would start working for Stone on Monday morning. A flutter of excitement rippled through her. The thought of the new job was a little scary, but she was determined to work as hard as she could to be successful. This was a terrific opportunity, and she wasn’t going to blow it.
She reached for her compact of blusher, then stared at-herself and laughed. She didn’t need the color in her cheeks; she was already glowing. Cathy chuckled. Her happiness wasn’t all about her new job, either. Some of it was about the kiss.
The Millionaire Bachelor Page 11
