the way Candy had implied and the way his comment on her being worth the wait seemed to suggest?
Since she vowed not to let herself get wrapped up in one man so soon and since Blaine was a known no-strings kind of guy, Courtney forgot about the questions to focus on the gift. She pulled aside a thin red sheet of tissue paper and a dozen rosebud-shaped dark chocolates winked at her.
Candy let out a low whistle. “Nice. Not that cost is the point, but those sell for close to fifty.”
Holy cow. Whoever her admirer was, he obviously had money to burn. Courtney did a quick check for a card or anything else that might hint at the sender. Finding nothing, she set the box on the table. “In that case, I’ll forget about eating them.”
Candy looked stricken. “You will not. They’re laced with imported liquor and beyond awesome, or so I’ve been told. Eat one for me, if not for yourself.”
Courtney had been raised to save dessert for last, to ensure her body got all the nutrients it needed before being filled with fat. But then, she’d also been raised to believe her body was a temple only her husband deserved the right to worship. Saying to hell with the whole temple concept had left her feeling incredibly good. Saying to hell with saving dessert for last was bound to not only taste incredibly good but would make Candy happy, since her coworker had a cocoa allergy and couldn’t eat chocolate.
“All right. For you.” Courtney lifted a rosebud from the box, thinking it should be gilded itself for the price. She popped the candy into her mouth. Scrumptious rich dark chocolate exploded over her taste buds. Eliciting an unconscious moan, she bit into the candy’s center and liquor filled her mouth.
Strong liquor. Burning strong. Gagging strong.
She sucked in a breath in an effort to cool the burn. The liquor spread, coating the back of her mouth. Leaving her tongue feeling heavy, thick. Cottony.
Attempting to move her tongue had the unchewed portion of the candy sliding back, filling her throat. Stealing the air from her lungs.
Courtney’s eyes bulged with the sickening awareness she couldn’t breathe. Panic clawed at her from the inside out.
Oh, God! Her first admirer gift was going to kill her!
Slapping a hand at her fiercely pounding chest, she silently begged Candy for help. Her coworker was on the other side of the table and, by the time she realized Courtney was choking, it was too late. Someone else was already there, helping her.
A hard body pressed against her from behind. Strong arms slid around her waist. One fisted hand wrapped around another against her stomach, jerking solidly upward.
Once.
Twice.
Gasps filled the lunchroom as the half-eaten candy flew from Courtney’s mouth and landed on the next table over. Sweet air cruised into her mouth and down to her lungs on a whooshing breath. Tears pricked at her eyes, blurring her vision.
Praise the saints.
Her tongue still felt leaden, coated with the horribly strong liquor. But she could breathe. She was going to live.
Pulling in deep breaths, she wiped the stinging tears from her eyes. Her vision cleared to reveal everyone in the lunch room watching her. Not yet sure she was ready to speak, she gave a small smile and a wave to show them she was all right.
Candy stood at the other side of the table. The usual sass and vitality was gone from her brown eyes, replaced with horrified concern. “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me. Are you okay?”
Courtney cleared her throat. Finding it a little tender but not painfully so, she attempted a response. “Yeah. I—”
“You sure?” It was Blaine’s voice asking the question, his warm breath whispering next to her ear.
Delightfully life-confirming shivers skated along her neck. A different kind of awareness gripped her as she looked at the arms still wrapped around her middle, the intimately familiar hands, and realized he was the one who’d potentially saved her life.
So many ways she would love to thank him. With her mouth. With her body. Since they were once again surrounded by coworkers, she just said, “I’m sure. So you can release me.”
The press of his body left hers. His arms slid from around her. Ruing the loss, she turned to offer an appreciative smile.
While he was no longer holding her, he was still close. Too close not to savor the way the slate gray T-shirt molded to his chest, the damp material calling out the mouthwateringly work-honed muscles in his upper arms while suggesting he’d been working under the summer sun all morning. Too close not to let her gaze wander down to the tauntingly snug fit of his well-worn jeans. And too close not to appreciate the almost-black stubble dusting his angular jawline and the glistening skin above his upper lip as her attention drifted slowly back up.
Damn, he looked good fresh from the field. Sweaty and unshaven. The overlong bangs of his thick, dark hair hanging at an angle, nearly caressing his right eyebrow. Like she should take him back to his office and see if she couldn’t get him sweatier yet.
Behind her, Candy gave a discreet cough.
Courtney’s thoughts zipped back to the present, to the fact that she was grinning like a fool again. Well, geez, the guy had probably saved her life, what did people expect if not a little hero worship? Okay, and a little horny drooling.
“Looks like I owe you another thanks,” she finally got out. “The liquor was stronger than I thought it would be.” Truthfully, the candies were downright nasty, but given their cost, she would withhold her judgment. Beside, maybe others would like them.
Grabbing the box off the table, she held it out to Blaine. “Want one?”
He eyed the chocolates skeptically. “Not if they’re going to kill me.”
She waved the box around the lunchroom. “Anyone else?”
Apparently deciding she was okay, several people had returned to work. Those who remained declined the offer. Courtney set the box back on the table as she slid onto her chair. She grabbed her water bottle and guzzled a long drink in the hopes of getting the revolting taste of the liquor out of her mouth and making her tongue feel normal in the process.
Blaine moved to stand at the head of the table. He tucked his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and watched her drink through narrowed navy blue eyes. “Sure you’re all right?”
Courtney set the bottle down, considering his tone and stance. He seemed every bit as concerned as Candy. Possibly more so.
Had the chocolates been from him and was he now feeling guilty over her reaction to them? The answer was totally irrelevant, and still she was dying to know. “I’m fine. Aren’t you supposed to be working in the field?”
“Keeping tabs on my schedule?”
“I needed a dollar figure for a job and knew you could rattle it off the top of your head much faster than I could look it up. You weren’t in your office so I checked the sign-out sheet.” Total fabrication, but lying was far better than admitting she wanted to see how he would behave around her after the incident in his kitchen.
The
