LITMIR.BIZ

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a man.

      Ben seemed absolutely clueless about her inner conflict as he managed to line up the unit with the window frame once more.

      “If you can hold the window up while I get this positioned, that would be great,” he directed, distracting her yet again with how the T-shirt he wore clung to his skin in the hot room.

      “Sure,” she said casually and pushed the window up, holding it higher than necessary so that he had room to maneuver.

      Within a few minutes, he had the air conditioner fitted tightly into the window, and it was ready to go. As Joanna let the window down, he leaned over to plug it in, and then set it so that cool air immediately started pulsing out of the appliance.

      It felt great, Joanna had to admit, and pushed her hair back from where it clung to her cheek. When she looked down, she caught him staring up from the floor, his attention clearly caught by the way her nipples were at full attention from the cold air blasting on her.

      He turned away, fussing with something.

      “It’s a small room. Probably can set this on low,” he said, more to himself than to her, and Joanna murmured something just as unintelligible.

      She wasn’t even aware of what she said, more to herself than to him; she’d rarely felt chemistry like this, not this fast anyway.

      Thinking he was going to turn around to walk out, she moved in that direction as well, but he leaned down to get some packing plastic that had dropped on the floor.

      Legs tangled, arms flailed, and a second later, Joanna was sprawled on the firm mattress with Callahan spread over the top of her.

      The cool air from the AC on her bare feet made her shiver—or was that the heat from the heavy length of his body that was burning into hers?

      “Um,” she said, licking her lips and looking up at him. He didn’t move. She didn’t ask him to.

      He felt good. Heavy, masculine and hard. She had to force herself not to widen her thighs and arch against him. It was almost embarrassing.

      Except that he seemed to be having the same trouble—more so because he couldn’t hide his reaction, his heavy shaft pressing into the crux of her thighs.

      “Don’t do that,” he said, his breath sounding short.

      “Don’t do what?”

      “Lick your lips like that.”

      “Oh, sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. She couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t moved yet.

      “I should probably get up,” he said, his breath warm on her cheek.

      “Yeah.”

      “But I really don’t want to,” he admitted, and she might have imagined it, but it seemed that he pressed himself against her thigh ever so slightly.

      Heat streamed through her, making her wet and all too close to the edge. All he’d have to do is edge one of those thighs down in between—or any part he wanted—and she’d be gone.

      Resisting temptation never had been one of her strong suits.

      He dipped in suddenly, fusing his lips to hers, diving his fingers into her hair and wiping her mind clean of anything but him.

      The surprise of it shook her, and Joanna opened underneath him, her lips parting, her thighs opening, her arms sliding around his massive torso as she gave herself over.

      For the first time in her life, she knew what it was like to be truly carried away by the moment. By a kiss. By a man.

      “This is better than I even imagined,” he whispered into her ear, taking a break to catch a breath, and drawing the tip of his tongue along the lobe.

      Joanna had to bite her lip hard to stop from moaning in pleasure at the contact.

      “So you’ve been fantasizing about me, huh?” she said, trying to reach for something light, something to ward off the intensity that had exploded between them.

      “From the second I saw you,” he admitted, much to her surprise, as he drew back and looked straight down into her face. She could tell by his eyes that he wasn’t lying.

      His gaze dropped to her mouth. She wanted him to kiss her again almost more than she wanted to breathe, and that scared the daylights out of her. As much as she enjoyed sex, usually men wanted her more than she wanted them.

      “Maybe we should get up now,” she said, trying to control her voice and her breathing as something close to panic set in.

      She didn’t know why; she wanted him, and she wasn’t afraid of him. But at the same time as her body was screaming for him, her mind was sending out red alerts.

      “Are you sure?” he asked, not moving.

      His hand slid up the side of her rib cage, his thumb moving lightly over a nipple, making her suck in a breath and arch, even though she tried to stop her reaction.

      “You’re my boss,” she said, unsure what relevance that would have, but apparently she’d hit the right key.

      He stilled, pressed up tight against her, staring down.

      “I would never use that. Not in this way,” he said seriously, his hand dropping to the side of her. “Not at all. In fact, I’ve never slept with anyone I worked with, though I have to admit, none of the people I worked with were as hot as you.”

      “I—I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t … seem like the type to coerce someone into sleeping with you. It’s just that … it can make things complicated.”

      “Yeah, sometimes. Is there someone else? Are you worried about your ex?”

      “No to both,” she said, knowing that she was just opening the door she really should be closing.

      “Good,” he said, looking down at her intently. “I’m fine with being your in-between. Your rebound guy,” he said, leaning down to nuzzle her throat in a way that made her melt again. “We could have some fun,” he promised. “No strings attached. At work, it’s just work. No pressure.”

      So, so tempting.

      Joanna wasn’t sure she wanted to say no. What was the harm, after all?

      Then he lifted away from her, and the heat of his body was replaced with the blasting air of the AC hitting her directly.

      Callahan stood by the side of the bed, extended a hand. She ignored it, and rolled to standing, fixing her clothes. She didn’t catch herself in time to prevent a wince as she rolled over her still sore shoulder.

      “What’s wrong?”

      “Nothing.”

      “Your shoulder, you hurt it.”

      Thank goodness the T-shirt she wore hid the scar from the bullet wound. She covered it up with makeup when she wore anything revealing, but she knew he’d recognize it for what it was. Thank God he hadn’t managed to get her shirt off. She kicked herself for forgetting, but it was a good reminder of why this couldn’t happen.

      “I tweaked it carrying a heavy load of dishes, that’s all.”

      “You could let one of us get the really heavy trays.”

      “Sure. I will next time,” she said cooperatively, which made him narrow his eyes.

      “I think it’s not a good idea. You know, us, hooking up,” she added.

      Looking him in the eye, it took no small amount of discipline not to let her gaze slip lower.

      “Sure, whatever you want.”

      They stood there, facing each other until she turned and walked out of the room. He followed, not saying a word. In the front room, comforted by the brighter light from the lamp, she wrapped her arms around herself, still warm and aroused,

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