LITMIR.BIZ

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The other was wrapped firmly around her waist, his hand strong against her back, pressing her so close to him she could feel the buttons of his shirt through the thin cotton of her T-shirt.

      His kiss was completely unexpected. When he had crossed the room to her, the lines of his face taut, his expression so full of intent, it had never occurred to her that he was going kiss her.

      Sure, in the past, she’d imagined what it might be like to kiss him. After all, they’d worked side by side for years. Just because she had a modicum of restraint didn’t mean she was dead. Despite the pure perfection of his exterior, she’d always imagined that in the bedroom Jonathon was very much how he was in the boardroom. Analytical. Logical. In control. Dispassionate.

       Holy guacamole, had she been wrong.

      His lips didn’t just kiss hers. They devoured her.

      She felt his tongue in her mouth, stroking hers, coaxing a response, all but demanding she participate, until she found herself rising up onto her toes and wrapping her arms around his neck, brushing her palm against the bristle of soft hair on the back of his head.

      The kiss was hot and endless. He tasted faintly of coffee and fresh minty toothpaste and deeply buried longing. He stirred feelings within her that she’d never even imagined. And she could just not get close enough to him.

      He backed her up a step. And then another. She felt the edge of her desk bump against the back of her legs. And still he pressed into her, bending her so her back arched.

      An image flashed through her mind of him sweeping the desk clear, pressing her down onto her desk and taking her right there. The idea came to her so completely, it was as though it had been right there in the back of her mind for years. Just waiting for his kiss to pull it out of her.

      There was no one else in the building. Why shouldn’t they give in to this thing between them? She couldn’t think of a single reason not to.

      She still hadn’t thought of one a moment later when he pulled his mouth from hers and stepped away. He cleared his throat, then tugged down the hem of his jacket to straighten it.

      He left her aching for him. Missing the warmth of his body, even though he was only a foot away. Wishing she had some idea of why he’d kissed her. Why he’d stopped…

      Peyton.

      Oh, crap. Peyton!

      Wendy looked past Jonathon to where Peyton still lay on her belly on the floor.

      Holy guacamole, indeed! She’d been a mother for less than four days and she’d already abandoned her daughter on the floor to make out with her boss. Maybe her family was right. Maybe she really was unfit to be Peyton’s mother.

      Her gaze sought Jonathon. He’d crossed to the other side of the room so that Peyton lay between them like a landmine.

      He ran a hand across his jaw, then shoved his hand deep in his pocket. She’d never seen him look quite so disconcerted. Though he still looked less shaken than she felt.

      “Well,” he began, then swallowed visibly. “I think we can both agree that if I need to I can convince your family that I am more than your boss.”

      “Yeah. I think so.” Then she paused for a beat while his words sank in. “That’s what this was about?” For a second, confusion swirled through her, muddling her thoughts even further. “You kissed me merely to make a point?”

      “I—” He shrugged, apparently at a loss for words.

      Indignation pushed past her embarrassment. “I was seconds away from dropping my panties to the floor and you were making a point?”

      For an instant, his gaze fell to her feet as if imagining her panties lying there. He swallowed again as he dragged his gaze back to hers, then ran a hand down his face.

      Well, at least she wasn’t the only one whose world had been rocked.

      “It seemed a prudent move,” he said stiffly.

      She nearly snorted her derision. Prudent? The kiss that had curled her toes all the way up to her kneecaps had seemed prudent to him?

      “Oh, that is wrong in so many ways, I don’t even know where to start.”

      He tried to interrupt her. “Actually—”

      But she cut him off with a wag of her finger. “No, wait a second. I do know where to start. If you think offering to marry me for Peyton’s sake gives you an all-access pass to this—” she waved her hand in front of her body “—then you have another think coming.” He looked as if he might say something in protest, but she didn’t give him a chance. “And secondly, you have no business kissing me merely to make a point.”

      And then—because she realized that was practically an invitation to kiss her for other reasons—she added, “In fact you have no business kissing me at all. If we’re going to do this pretend-marriage thing, we need to set some boundaries. And thirdly… well, I have no idea what thirdly is yet, but I’m sure it will come to me eventually.”

      For a long moment, Jonathon merely stared at her, one eyebrow slightly arched, his lips curved to just hint at his amusement. “Are you done?”

      She clamped her lips together, painfully aware of how cool and collected he seemed when she’d just been rambling like an idiot. A surefire sign that her emotional state was neither cool nor calm.

      Maybe she was wrong about the kiss affecting him as much as it did her. And wouldn’t that just suck. Didn’t she have enough on her plate just now? This was so not the time for her to be nursing a crush on her boss. Or her husband.

      When had her life gotten so complicated?

      On the floor between them, Peyton wedged her tiny hands under her to push up onto her forearms. She let out an excited squeal of pride.

      Right. This was when her life had gotten complicated. Approximately five days ago in her grandfather’s study when the lawyer dropped Bitsy’s will on her like a bomb.

      Wendy let loose a sigh of frustration. “I’m sorry,” she said. “None of this is your fault. I shouldn’t take it out on you. I just—”

      “I agree we need boundaries,” he said abruptly, cutting her off before she could bumble further into the apology. His tone was stiff, as if he was searching for the most diplomatic way to broach the subject. “Keeping sex out of this is a good idea. However, kissing you now seemed prudent because we will have to kiss again at some point.”

      “We will?” she asked weakly, her gaze dropping to his mouth.

      “Naturally.”

      She felt a curious heat stirring deep inside at the idea. He was going to kiss her again. Soon? She hoped so. Even if it was a very bad idea, she hoped so.

      “If we’re going to convince people we’re in love and getting married, people will expect certain displays of affection.”

      “Oh, I hadn’t thought…” Obviously, there was a lot she hadn’t considered about this idea. She didn’t know whether or not to be thankful that Jonathon’s brain worked so much faster than her own. Was it a good thing he was around to consider things she hadn’t? Or was it merely annoying to always be one step behind?

      “The people who know us best will be hardest to convince. Luckily Ford and Matt will both be out of town for another few weeks. We’ll have to get used to the idea ourselves before see them.”

      “Ford and Matt? Surely we don’t need to lie to them?” Jonathon had been best friends with Ford and Matt since they were kids.

      He leveled a steady gaze at her. There was no hesitation. No doubt. “Yes, we do. If your family decides to fight us on this, it could mean a court battle. I can’t ask either of them to lie for us.”

      “Oh.” Feeling suddenly weak, she sank back to the edge of the desk.

      Of

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