The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(34)

Matt’s eyes refused to meet hers. He stared at some space on the wall behind her. “You think I don’t know you’re seeing that *? You think I missed the glow on your face this morning or that giggling you did with Kayla? Tell me you didn’t spend last night with him. You can’t. If he has half a brain, he’ll take you with him when he leaves.”

Grace sighed. “He’s not taking me with him, Matt. We’ve just started to see each other, and he’s made it plain that he’ll be going back to Chicago in a week or so. It’s just a fling.”

Matt relaxed slightly. His eyes finally found hers. She was surprised at the depth of relief she found there. “I hope so. I would hate to lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, so why don’t you let me do my job?” She was interested in seeing the contract. At the last meeting she had sat in on, the manager of the building was asking for deep discounts, so deep it would make the job financially untenable. She wondered what sort of magic Matt had worked.

He clutched his briefcase. “I’ll get it to you tomorrow. That will be soon enough. Hold down the fort. And Grace, start planning a party for Friday. I want the whole office to celebrate. Someplace nice, okay?”

“Friday? I can’t plan anything big for Friday,” she sputtered. Parties took time. Parties took planning.

“You’ll do it, Grace, or I’ll have someone else do it.” He practically ran out of the office.

Grace stared at the door for a moment. It wasn’t like Matt to offer to do work himself that she could do. He was a lazy man, and he genuinely enjoyed doling out work to other people. His status as the boss was very near and dear to his heart. Grace’s curiosity was getting the better of her. She looked at Matt’s neat desk. It was neat mostly because Grace kept all the paperwork perfectly organized, and Matt asked for what he needed. That was the way they had worked for the last six years. What was different this time? She thought about the contract. It was for janitorial services.

Evan Parnell would be the liaison.

With only a second’s hesitation, Grace opened the top drawer of Matt’s desk. She pulled out the first pencil she could find and gently brushed it across the notepad he had left behind. Luckily, Matt never did anything half way. She could easily read what he had written from the impression on the pad. Grace felt her eyebrows come together.

2201 Mount Dale Ave.

The same address that Evan Parnell had written down earlier today. What the hell was at that address? Maybe it was time she took a little side trip.

“So when the boss is away, will the secretary play?”

Grace gasped and flushed as though she’d been caught doing something bad. She opened the drawer and placed the notepad inside Matt’s desk. Playing it cool, she straightened the rest of the desk as she looked up at the man. “Nope. Doing my regular ritual of making sure my boss can see his desk through the usual mess.”

Sean was standing in the doorframe. He looked deliciously casual in tight jeans, a black T-shirt, and cowboy boots. Even from across the room she could see the sensual look in his eyes. He shut the door. Sean walked straight up to her and towered over her, leaving not an inch of personal space between them.

“Hey, I thought you were cooking.” She knew she sounded breathless, but that was because he wasn’t leaving her room to breathe. He looked slightly predatory as he leaned over. There was no mistaking the sexual tension he was exuding. Sean Johansson was hungry…for her.

“It’s simmering. It’s perfectly fine. It’s a dish that requires all afternoon to prepare. I thought I would come here to see if I could get you to sneak away with me for your afternoon coffee break, but it looks like you already went out.”

The bags. He must have seen her bags. Oh, it was hard to think when his mouth was hovering so close to hers. She could feel the warmth of his body. She wouldn’t need a blanket when Sean was in her bed. His big body was a furnace. He was leaning over her, looking at her with his intensely blue eyes, and everything inside her was heating up to match him. How could he affect her like this? He made her forget everything. “I just went shopping with the boys.”

His eyes narrowed, and his voice became a low growl. “Boys? I was unaware your sons were in town.”

She shook her head. She backed up, seeking the tiniest bit of space. Unfortunately, she backed straight into the desk. Sean’s hands cupped her hips, tightening to let her know he required an answer. “They aren’t. I was with some friends from the office. They helped me pick out some new outfits.”

A little smile curled his lips. “Did you feel a need to look pretty, Grace? If that was the problem, baby, you shouldn’t be putting on clothes, you should be taking them off.” His hands were pulling up the sides of her skirt, caressing the skin he uncovered. They felt so strong on her skin, Grace found herself hopping up onto Matt’s desk, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I think that’s how you look best.”

She gave him a bright smile. “I’m glad, but Adam thinks I look best in greens and blues. He says I should wear jewel tones.”

Sean’s hands dropped from their long, provocative exploration of her thighs to rest on his hips. He looked down at her. “Adam?”

“Yes, Adam, from sales. You met him at O’Hagen’s a couple of days ago. If you don’t like him then you better get used to him, because he’s my friend. He’s my friend, and so is his boyfriend, Jake.” She placed special emphasis on the word boyfriend to let Sean know he had no reason to be jealous. Just the fact that he was a little bit jealous made her heart rate speed up. She let her hands find the sides of his face, stroking him. “So don’t get upset when I shop with them. Besides, if I took you, I bet you wouldn’t help me out in the dressing room the way Adam does. You would probably spend the whole time wondering when we could go home.”