He stood with a drink in each hand, brows raised, flicking his glance from one to the other in query. She glanced back at Rory. He’d retreated and was looking coldly at James who was still talking. ‘You need a drink, Lissa?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m just leaving. See you tomorrow.’ She walked away before either of them could say anything more.
She waved goodbye to Gina, who came to meet her at the door.
‘People are asking if you and Rory are having an affair,’ Gina said without preamble.
Lissa’s head jerked back.
‘Don’t get mad,’ Gina added hurriedly. ‘I’ve said not as far as I knew. I just thought you’d like to know.’
Lissa forced herself to shrug. It was hardly surprising. Even Karl had immediately spotted the attraction between them. Coupled with the few incidents in front of Marnie and James and the soul-searching looks they’d just swapped in the middle of the crowded bar, of course people were going to wonder. Despite what she’d said to Rory, she didn’t really care. People would think what they liked with little regard for the truth. She’d learnt that one a long time ago as the only child of a single teenage mother. Besides, it wouldn’t be the only office affair to be speculated on and nor would it be the last. There’d be another shortly, she bet, knowing the antics of some of the junior consultants.
‘Are you OK?’ Gina touched her arm, bringing her back to the here and now. ‘Look, Lissa, if you don’t want to tell me, fine. But I know there’s something going on. You guys put all the “izzle” in sizzle.’
Lissa smiled, aiming for nonchalance, unwilling to unload the sorry saga onto Gina. ‘I’m fine. Just tired, that’s all. I’m going to call it a night.’
Thursday passed in a flash. Despite another night of minimal sleep, she sped through the final version of the reports. By mid afternoon they’d been checked and she was printing and binding copies to be distributed at the presentation.
Then she set about perfecting the online slide show and ensuring that the equipment Rory and the others needed to take with them on Friday had been checked by IT and was ready to go. The others had been in conference at the other end of the table for most of the afternoon. Lissa glanced down at them, taking a breather from the figures in front of her. They all seemed hyped on an adrenaline rush. Rory’s energy levels were phenomenal. He paced the end of the room, eyes gleaming as he grilled Marnie over and over on her part of the presentation. He seemed to thrive on the excitement of the challenge. Looked so competent, so assured, so focussed.
Lissa grimaced and looked back at her computer. She felt anything but—her suit crumpled rather than crisp, her body hot and sticky. Her throat was sore and her head felt heavy and seemed to have the army band drumming in it. Even her eyeballs ached. She put her hands to her cheeks; they were burning up and her cold fingers soothed them a little.
She was tired. Tired of staring at computer screen and graphs and figures for hours, tired of being cooped up in this tiny room, but most of all she was tired of being so close to Rory and yet not being with him. She wanted him. Badly. The thought consumed her and so did the resulting anger. She was allowing her physical attraction to him to overshadow her work. Such a thing had never happened before. The thought of him fevered her mind. It clouded her judgment and, she worried, affected her performance. She resented his ability to be able to switch it off. How could he be so focussed on work if he felt the same overwhelming passion?
Suddenly it was well after six and the office had all but emptied leaving just their small team. Marnie and James went to get pizza, insisting on going out to get it rather than order delivery. Marnie said she was desperate for fresh air. James took the orders. Distractedly Lissa said she’d be happy with anything but seafood. Damn, she needed to get this finished so she could get away. Her nerves were shot to pieces. It was all she could do to sit there and keep some semblance of concentration on the screen.
She battled to finish the remaining few pages. Part of her wanted to get out of the room and head for home as fast as possible and the other part wanted nothing more than to leap onto Rory and ravish him. Her reservations about an office fling were fading fast under the weight of the desire she felt for him. They would only have a few weeks together. But then that was a whole problem in itself. As the days progressed and her attraction steadily grew she knew she had to be stronger than ever because she could end up heartbroken. Total no-win situation.
She wanted him so badly but she couldn’t have him.
A heavy silence filled the room. She sat fuming at the apparent ease with which he could continue working. He had such focus despite her proximity whereas she was practically having a meltdown. She couldn’t resist jibing at him.
‘People are saying we’re having an affair.’ Her tone was as bitter as burnt coffee grinds.
‘Really?’ Rory didn’t look up from his screen. ‘I’m surprised. They know I don’t usually fool around in the office.’
‘And why don’t you usually?’ Lissa demanded, anger sparking within her.
‘Work’s work and play’s play,’ he replied easily, his eyes still fixed on the computer before him.
‘And never the twain shall meet?’ she asked tartly. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt the need to goad him. To prove he wasn’t as immune as he appeared.
‘It’s easier that way. Otherwise how do you concentrate on work?’ Suddenly he jerked his head up and glared at her. She shrank at the blaze in his eyes. He continued, his volume rising with every word. ‘How do you cope if the woman you’ve fallen for is sitting across from you, only inches away, and yet you can’t reach out and touch her the way you want to? How the hell do you get any work done?’ He swore viciously and pushed the keyboard away.
Satisfaction slammed into her. But still she continued prodding brazenly. ‘So you’d rather out of sight, out of mind?’
‘No,’ he replied with a mirthless laugh. ‘Never out of mind. But it makes it damn hard to concentrate on bloody numbers when you’re wearing a slightly see-through blouse and all I want to do is rip it off to see what’s underneath it properly.’
Heat consumed her. Heart thudding, she stood and reached for her suit jacket. Just as quickly he rose and came around the table. He reached out a hand and grasped her wrist. His grip was hard. Her jacket fell to the floor. They stood staring at each other. She was certain he could feel the frantic tempo of her pulse. She watched as he lowered his gaze to her lips, then down to her chest. With a deep breath she realised her breasts had tightened and swollen. He stared at them and they tightened still further. With her arm outstretched pulling the fabric of her shirt taut across her body, she knew there was no way he could fail to see their aroused outline. He looked back up at her face. His pupils were so large there was only the smallest ring of dazzling emerald around them.
‘Feeling cold?’ he mocked.
Desire and anger merged and grew. She was so close to the edge. She sucked her lips in and bit down on them, trying to suppress the throbbing desire, wishing the pressure on them could be his lips rather than her own teeth. Then she took a breath. ‘Practically hypothermic.’
The hint of a smile softened his blazing stare. The pressure of his hand on her wrist grew and he pulled her towards him. His other hand came up and cradled her jaw, his thumb sweeping down from her cheek to her chin in soft strokes.
‘Why
