“This project is really important to you, isn’t it?” he asked.
She nodded. “I expect the Carlyle Library to set the stage for my career.”
“Do you?” he asked, his eyes dark and unreadable.
Sudden sexual energy crackled in the air between them, catching her off guard. Her breath caught in her chest as she tried to remember what they’d been talking about. A muscle worked in his jaw and she couldn’t tear her gaze away. Whatever was happening here, he felt it, too.
When he clasped her arms and lowered his mouth to hers, it seemed perfectly natural to respond. She opened her mouth, welcoming the warm tip of his tongue as his lips claimed hers in a powerful, hungry kiss. Her body pulsed with surprise and awe that he could make her feelso many things with just one kiss—anticipation, exhilaration, lust, and—
Her office door burst open and she wrenched her mouth from Teague’s, appalled at her behavior. Worse still, her father stood at the door, his expression thunderous.
“That boy Friday of yours wouldn’t let me in—”
“I’m sorry, Samantha,” Price said. “I—”
Both men looked from Samantha to Teague. Her father gaped and Price gave her the thumbs-up.
Samantha’s stomach bottomed out with shame. She wiped her hand over her mouth to see how much of her lipstick had gone astray and cleared her throat. “It’s all right, Price.” She conjured up a smile. “Hi, Daddy. I’m a little busy right now.”
“I can see that,” her father said, his mouth flat with disapproval.
Her gaze flew to Teague, who had turned away and was already moving toward the desk. “If you’ll just finish signing those forms, I’ll get out of your way.”
She moved awkwardly to the desk, scanned the remaining forms and signed where necessary.
The fact that Teague still hadn’t made eye contact with her father was not lost on her. He was reluctant to meet her powerful father, someone Teague probably had heard stories about for most of his life, especially after being caught kissing his daughter. Her father had a way of intimidating people, she conceded, despite his five-foot, ten-inch stature.
Price mouthed “Sorry,” before slipping away, hiseyes twinkling. Samantha felt sick to her stomach. What had she been thinking to let Teague kiss her like that?
Teague’s body language was rigid, his eyes wary as he watched Packard Stone walk toward the picture of the library. Sam knew just how he felt.
“This close to the end of the job, I thought you’d be on the library site, Samantha, so I went there first,” her father said, his tone sarcastic. “I forgot that architects spend all their time behind a desk.”
Her heart blipped with added apprehension. “I needed to spend the day here, catching up on phone calls and e-mail,” she stammered, feeling like a schoolgirl.
“Uh-huh,” her father said, obviously unconvinced.
She gave herself a mental kick. It was her own guilty conscience that made her feel as if she had to explain herself to her father. She glanced up at Teague, whose expression was unreadable. If the kiss had affected him, he wasn’t letting on.
“And how was the job site, Dad?” she asked, to smooth over the awkward moments while she finished signing the papers.
“I saw those crazy retaining wall footers,” her father said, and she suddenly realized the purpose for his visit. “They’re simply not going to work,” he announced flatly.
Her father had never had a problem with belittling her in front of other people, but to be chastised in front of Teague made her feel undermined—and humiliated. Her cheeks flamed as she handed Teague the folder of signed forms. “Thank you,” she murmured.
He didn’t respond, just nodded curtly and headed for the door. She watched him leave and when the door closed behind him, she was dismayed to feel a little less…strong. The sensation perplexed her because she was pretty sure that Teague agreed with her father.
When the door closed behind him, she turned to her father and crossed her arms. “Daddy, you can’t simply barge into my office whenever you please.”
He jerked his thumb toward the door. “Who the hell was that guy you were kissing?”
She squirmed. “No one.”
“He looked familiar—and he had papers for you to sign.”
She sighed. “He’s the foreman on the library job site.”
He looked incredulous, then his mouth tightened. “Well, that’s one way to get the job done in thirty days.”
