"Which is…?"
"I'm just saying thatIwas right here reading in the lobby, whileyouwere out of the building entirely. So it just seems to me that you're in no position to judge – or to lecture me, for that matter."
"Except I'm your boss, remember?"
"Not now, you're not." Her chin lifted. "You said I was done for the night." She gave me a tight smile. "Remember?"
I remembered, all right. That conversation had occurred nearly eight hours ago, and it had taken all of my willpower to say goodbye after dinner.
Lately, we'd been doing that far too often – having dinner, meeting up for breakfast, or talking for hours during those long car rides and private flights.
The truth was, I couldn’t get enough of her. And I wasn't blind. The feeling was obviously mutual – which made it harder than hell to keep things casual while we both pretended there was nothing there.
But there was.
I could see it in her eyes and feel it in my own.She wanted me. I wanted her.And neither one of us was thrilled to pretend otherwise.
But when I gave my word, I didn't look for loopholes.No.I kept that word and stuck to it – even if itwaskilling me.
And seeing her like this, alone in the middle of the night, let's just say it wasn't helping.She shouldn't be out here.
I said, "If you want, I'll get you a suite."
"Why?"
"So you can read up there."
With a perplexed look, she asked, "Doyouhave a suite?"
"No." It was true. For reasons of my own, I was staying on the fourth floor.No suites there.As for Becka, she was staying on the eighth. I knew exactly where her room was, even if she couldn’t say the same in return.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked me up and down, taking in my black pants and dark jacket. From the look on her face, she wasn't liking what she saw.
Good.
Temptation aside, the less interested she was, the better. And more to the point, I was dressed this way for a reason, and itwasn'tto draw attention – not from her or anyone else.
When she finished with her impromptu inspection, she said, "Just so you know, you're not fooling anyone."
I didn't know what she meant. But it didn't matter. I was fooling plenty of people, including her.
I replied, "Is that so?"
"Sure." She lowered her voice to just a whisper. "So tell me. Who were you sleeping withtonight?"
Chapter 48
Becka
I shouldn't have said it.
I knew this just as surely as I knew that Jackwasn'tpleased. I could see it in the set of his shoulders and the look in his eyes – cold and wary, as if sizing me up.
In a tight voice, he replied, "What?"
On instinct, I took a step backward and nearly tumbled ass-first onto the same sofa that I'd been occupying for the last three hours.
It wasn't even my own balance that saved me. It was Jack's hand, reaching out to steady me just in time.
