Beauty and the Boss (Modern Fairytales #1)(25)

Oh, crap. He was pulling out nicknames now. She was so screwed. “Why do you keep calling me darling?”

“That’s what you are to me.” He lifted a shoulder and ran his thumb along her jaw. “And it seemed like a good fit. I was right. It feels good.”

“Yeah…it does.” And so did he, but she needed to keep her head on straight. She tugged free. He didn’t let go right away. “But no one’s in here, so there’s no reason for us to kiss, right?”

“Right. Of course.” His grip tightened for a second, and he pressed his mouth into a tight line, but then he let go. “Sorry.”

She missed his touch immediately, but it was for the best. After she’d fought so hard to get it, she wasn’t going to lose everything over a pretty face—although, to be fair, it wasn’t just his face that had her swooning. It was everything—his smile, the way he slowly warmed up to her, and how he treated her differently than everyone else he interacted with. How he made her feel special with a simple smile or kind gesture. “Okay, so when we go out there, we’ll go to my desk, and I’ll grab my jacket. You take it from me, and help me put it on. I guess a soft kiss for their benefit will be permitted.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his voice deeper than ever before.

She hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you, Benjamin. It’s that I do.”

He didn’t say anything to that, just stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

But she knew herself better than he did, and she didn’t want to risk getting her heart broken over a guy who could never be hers for real. Not in a million years. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t become friends…hence this date she was taking him on.

From what she’d seen, and what he’d said, he was a loner. He never went out with the guys, or had a buddy drop by to say hi. To the best of her knowledge, he didn’t have any friends at all. He needed a friend more than he needed yet another lover.

She had a feeling he didn’t hurt in that area of his life.

He flexed his jaw, enfolded her hand in his, opened the office door, and inclined his head to the waiting office—which was still half filled with people packing up for the day. “Ladies first.”

“Don’t forget. Jacket, help, chaste kiss.”

He nodded and repeated, “Yes, ma’am.”

After taking a deep breath, she headed straight for her desk and grabbed her jacket as planned. The second she picked it up, he took it. “Please. Let me help you with that, darling,” he said, deadpan.

People exchanged looks. They seemed less than impressed. If he kept up this emotionless acting, they could quit the charade right here and now. She shot him a frown as she slid her hands into the arms of her coat. “Thanks, Benji.”

He choked and turned red. “What the hell? Never call me that ag—”

Grabbing his coat lapels before he blew everything she was trying to accomplish, she kissed him. His arms immediately closed around her. As with the last time, he snatched control of the kiss, commanding it and her to his will.

He seized her hips and yanked her closer to his body. A soft moan escaped her, because an impressively hard bulge pressed against her stomach, and she couldn’t help it. She wanted him, despite all logic and reason telling her to keep her distance.

And if they had been alone, she might just have taken him.

Which was why they couldn’t kiss in private. She obviously had no self-control when it came to Benjamin Gale. The first step to overcoming an obstacle was admitting to it…or however that cliché went. And her problem was Benjamin Gale.

She needed to get over it.

Tilting his head, he slanted his mouth across hers and teased her, running his tongue across her tightly sealed lips. She shouldn’t let him—oh, screw it. She was opening her mouth and kissing him. Logic could kiss her butt. But when she gave him what he wanted, he pulled back, ending it without entering her mouth.

He didn’t let go of her, though.

Instead, he smoothed her hair off her face and gave her a tender smile that, if she didn’t know better, she’d swear was real. Pressing his cheek to her temple, he whispered, “You said to keep it chaste, right?”

“Huh?” She blinked, trying to get her thoughts back in order. Needing a break from his intense stare, she glanced around—and found every set of eyes on them. Craaaaap. How had she forgotten about their audience? At least he’d kept his knee firmly in check this time. She smoothed his jacket, even though it wasn’t messed up at all, and stepped back. He let go of her. “Uh, right. That was perfect.”

In more ways than one.

Stupid, sexy, irresistible man.

He buttoned her jacket for her and leaned down, pressing his mouth against her ear. “Just for the record, I can do that again later, when we don’t have anyone watching us. I could have you naked, writhing, and screaming in my bed the second you gave me the green light. And you wouldn’t regret a damn second of it.”

Oh, I bet I would. She pressed her thighs together, but it did nothing to assuage the ache his words created inside her. “Benjamin, that’s a horrible idea.”

“It might be.” He dropped one last kiss on her temple. “But I swear I’ll make it worth your time…more than once.” He skimmed his hand down her hip, barely touching her butt, since people were watching, and stepped back. After a quick glance at his crotch area, he tugged his jacket down to cover his erection. “And that’s a f*cking promise.”