How messed up was that?
Abruptly, I got to my feet. "And why is it so cold in here?"
From his chair, he eyed me with apparent amusement. "Because it isn't."
"Yes, it is," I insisted. "It was cold when I worked for you, too."
"No, it wasn't."
"Yes," I gritted out. "It was. Every time I came in here, I was absolutely freezing. I mean, seriously, my nipples were so hard, they could've cut diamonds."
Oh, God.
As those words echoed over the desk, I clamped a hand over my mouth, as if I could retroactively stop myself from saying something so incredibly ridiculous.
And yet, I hadn't been lying about the whole nipple thing. That's how I knew it was cold in here. Back when I'd worked for him, it had been the same way. On any given day, I could be nice and toasty at my own desk, but as soon as I walked into Cole's domain, my nipples nearly always hardened, and I got a case of the shivers.
True, they were never big shivers, but theywereshivers none the less – little shivers, the kind that annoyed me to no end as I tried to hide them from his sharp, intelligent eyes.
But today, there was no hiding anything, because right on cue I gave a brand-new shiver just as he was watching. Even worse, it waswarmshiver caused by the look in his eye when he asked, "So…are they hard now?"
Chapter 33
Cole
At my question, she gave a small shiver, and her hand fell away from her face. Our eyes locked, and her lips parted.
I waited, but she said nothing in reply, unless I counted the little sound she made, a soft breathless noise, something between a sigh and a moan.
Whatever it was, it went straight to my groin, reminding me of how many times I'd thought of having her alone in my office.
Alone and naked.
As far as the whole reference thing, it sounded like office gossip – the kind I made a practice to ignore.
Yeah, I'd been distracting her with bullshit, but that was only to calm her down so we could have a rational discussion like two intelligent adults.
Except now, I wasn't feeling so rational.Not anymore. And as far as intelligence, my common sense had evaporated the moment she'd mentioned her nipples.
I was still sitting. She wasn't. My gaze drifted to her holiday sweater. The sweater was thick and black, with little white Christmas trees knitted along the edges. It wasn't a pullover sweater. It was the other kind with big white buttons down the front.
The style of sweater had a name.A cardigan?
Hell, I didn't carewhatthey called it. I was too busy wondering what she wore underneath.A bra? A shirt?
Nothing?
Were her nipples hard right now?
Yeah, I'd asked, but I'd gotten no answer.Not yet.But if I played my cards right, I surely would.
I looked back to her face and waited.
The waiting paid off when Lexie broke the silence, speaking in a voice that was too breathless to be outraged. "I can't believe you asked such a thing."
At something in her eyes, I felt my lips curve into a leisurely smile. "Yeah, well you brought them up."
"But that was totally a mistake." Her cheeks were flushed, and she gave another shiver. It wasn't a cold shiver. I knewthatjust by watching her.
