pretty good at that, aren’t you?” she said bitterly, blinking back the moisture that stung her eyes.
“What can I say, I have a suspicious mind.” He smiled back at her, and despite herself she was charmed by his self-deprecating tone. And that was more than half the problem, she acknowledged. He could get under her defenses with no more than a smile.
“I need to get back to the office. Please let me go.”
She stared pointedly at his hand, which still captured hers within its warmth.
“Not yet. I want to apologize to you properly. I’ve been an idiot and I’ve treated you very unfairly. In my defense I can only say that it started back in Adelaide.”
“But surely you can understand why I didn’t tell you the truth about why I was there right from the start? For all I knew, you would have just shipped me off the property—which is what you pretty much did anyway after you read the letter.”
“I can understand now. And like I said, I am sorry for allowing myself to let that color my judgment about you.”
“Fine, I accept your apology. Now let me go.”
“Ah, Anna, in such a hurry to leave me?”
He stepped a little closer and Anna felt that all-too familiar thrum of awareness course through her veins. He was like a drug to her, and she was rapidly losing, becoming addicted. She’d let herself become dependent on his kisses, his touch, everything.
“Don’t, please.”
She dropped her handbag and put up her hand, but he didn’t stop moving, not even when her hand became trapped between the wall of his chest and her breasts. He was so close she could see the silver striations that feathered his irises and lent his eyes their particular vivid blue hue. Her heart quickened as she watched his pupils dilate.
“Don’t what?” he asked, his voice soft, enticing.
“Don’t kiss me.”
“Afraid of me, Anna?”
“No,” she admitted. “I’m afraid of me.”
“I’ll keep you safe,” he said.
His kiss was short and incredibly sweet. The seal of a promise that offered so very much—perhaps even a chance of a future together that was no longer threatened by the shadows of his family’s past. She was trembling when he released her, her entire body screaming for more than just that brief embrace.
Judd bent to collect her bag and handed it to her, then opened her car door, holding it for her as she slid into the driver’s seat.
“Will you be okay to get back to the office?”
“Sure,” she said, willing her body back under her control.
“I’ll see you there.”
“Judd? How did you know where to find me?”
He gave a small frown before answering. “There was a page missing from the report you gave me. I went to your computer to reprint it and you’d left your email open.”
So for all his apparent mistrust of her, he hadn’t been actively snooping. And, he’d listened to her—really listened. The thought gave her another little thrill of hope. Anna nodded and pulled her door closed before starting the engine and backing out of the car space. Judd stood to one side, watching her leave. She gave him a small wave and drove out of the car park.
Judd went straight into Anna’s office when he arrived back at Wilson Wines.
“About your resignation,” he started, closing her office door behind him.
Anna looked up, surprise on her face. “My resignation?”
“Yeah, back at the restaurant. You quit, remember?”
“Ah, yes, so I did.”
“Just for the record, I don’t accept it.”
“For the record,” she repeated, a tiny smile on her face, before slowly nodding. “Okay. So we’re all good now—I can get back to work?”
“No.”
“No? What’s wrong?”
“I miss you,” he answered simply.
“Miss me? But we see each other every day,” she protested.
“Is that enough for you? Really? Tell me, Anna, how are you sleeping at night, knowing I’m just down the hall from you—wanting you as much as you probably want me?”
He watched the muscles in her throat work as she swallowed.
“What? Lost for words?” He moved across the office and sat in the chair opposite her desk. “Seems to me that we have a pretty good thing between us. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Physically, yes,” she finally concurred, although he could see how reluctant she was to admit even that.
“Don’t you think we should let that play out? Keep exploring it to its fullest potential?”
To his surprise, sadness seemed to cloud her eyes. Her voice, when she spoke, was flat. “No, I don’t. Tell me, Judd, how do you define potential?”
Her words surprised him. “Define it? Are you kidding me? You mean you have this level of physical synchronicity with every man you sleep with?”
“And there we have it,” Anna said, throwing her hands in the air. “Just how many men do you think I’ve slept with?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, it doesn’t matter, but you continually imply I have loose morals. First you accuse me of sleeping with your father, then you jump to the ridiculous conclusion that I was sharing company information with Nicole.” She shook her head emphatically. “There’s no way I can even begin to contemplate any kind of relationship with you when you don’t trust me at all—over anything!”
“You’re right,” he admitted, deciding to take another tack on this argument.
He had assumed the worst about her all the way. In the beginning that had partly been her own fault, but he was man enough to admit it had been far easier to remain guarded around her than it was to examine just how much he wanted her, or why. He’d hoped that, as with all his conquests, he’d enjoy the ride while it lasted. After all, he didn’t plan to stay in New Zealand forever.
The moment he thought that, though, everything in his mind rebelled. For some reason this had stopped being a temporary fling. He’d gone at this whole exercise looking upon everything as being temporary—expendable even. But somewhere along the line things had changed, and that change started with Anna.
Her voice pulled his attention back. “Of course I’m right. So you’ll agree that we should forget about there being any kind of relationship between us, except for at work.”
“I
