Give her a break.”
“I can’t. This whole murder investigation is eating me alive.”
“Then get a bodyguard for her and quit worrying.” Jolie stared across at him. “She’s had a man following her the past few days. It wouldn’t hurt to have someone to watch her back. Now, here.” She handed him a plate of Kung Pao Chicken and steered him toward the couch. “Sit. Eat. If you still feel like it when your stomach is full, then you can resume your worrying.”
He let her push him toward the living room, her fingers warm on his back. He liked the touch a little too much and growled menacingly, feeling as though his attraction to her was a sign of his exhaustion. He’d be better off escorting her to the door as soon as possible before things got complicated. “I don’t need you telling me what to do. Just so you know, I’d already decided on a bodyguard.”
Jolie grounded her hands on her hips, her stance wide, fearlessly ready to take him on. “When was the last time you ate?” she demanded.
“Lunch.”
She snorted. “You skipped lunch to meet with the board of directors.”
He didn’t like it when she was right, but the color in her cheeks had heightened, a sure sign she was riled. He did like it when Jolie got riled. The unflappable executive assistant was entirely too tightly bound.
What were they arguing about? Oh, yeah. “We had lunch at the meeting.”
“You spoke all the way through the meeting. Bottled water doesn’t count.” With her shoulders flung back, her head held high and the cut of her blouse dipping low over her breasts, she looked more lively than he could remember. And there was something vastly different about her tonight.
Suddenly feeling the need to rub his executive assistant the wrong way, Devin set the plate in front of him. “I’ll eat when I’m hungry.”
“When will that be?” She perched on the edge of the coffee table, lifted a forkful of food and held it out. “I’m under orders to stay until you’ve eaten. So do me a favor and eat this so I can go home.”
He opened his mouth to argue and she shoved the fork in.
His eyes widened and then narrowed. He chewed thoughtfully, emitting a soft moan. “Mmm. This is good.”
That she was perched on his coffee table, leaning forward in a soft ribbed-knit shirt that showed the rounded curve of her breasts didn’t make it easy to swallow. Somehow he managed.
He frowned. “You look different.”
“I’m the same old Jolie who’s been working with you for the past six years. How different could I look?” She leveled another forkful of food and raised her eyebrows. “Are you going to feed yourself or am I going to have to?”
He opened his mouth and let her place the fork between his teeth. She always got his blood flowing and made him feel alive, even when he was half-dead with worry and lack of sleep. “How do you do that?”
“Feed you?” She scooped up another forkful of food. “It’s easy, just like feeding a baby.”
He grabbed her hand, spilling rice onto his lap.
Her eyes widened, her green irises flashing a startling contrast to her pale skin.
“No. I can feed myself.” He pulled her closer until her bottom came up off the table and she teetered forward. “How do you go from being my plain executive assistant to this?” He touched her hair, the soft waves curling around his finger. “Ah. It’s the hair.”
She stared into his eyes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, her breasts inching dangerously closer to his hand with each breath she took.
If Devin was a gambling man, he’d bet she was as attracted to him as he was to her at that moment.
Holy crap, why hadn’t he seen this before? Why had it taken him so long to really look at her?
Jolie Carson had worked for him for six years and this was the first time he’d seen her with her hair down around her shoulders. It totally changed her appearance from the cool, efficient executive assistant, moving determinedly in the background of his life. She’d morphed from the one-person dynamo he relied on so much at work to a softer, more personable and more … hmm … vulnerable woman he’d swear he’d never met.
And yet he had.
She tugged against the hand holding her wrist, her gaze dropping to his lap. “I’m sorry. I seem to have spilled rice on you.” Her hand reached for the food, brushing against his crotch.
The nearness to his arousal made him suck in a breath, his body on alert, his member jerking to attention.
Jolie wrenched her hand back, her pale cheeks flaming. “I didn’t mean to touch you there … I mean, I’m sorry … well, hell. If I could be more of a clown, I’d be in a circus.” She laughed and backed away so quickly her legs bumped against the coffee table, throwing her off balance.
Devin caught a flailing arm and yanked her forward, her teetering momentum sending her falling toward him, landing hard on his lap.
She scrambled to get up, but Devin’s arm hooked around her waist, holding her still. “Relax. I won’t bite … unless you want me to.” He chuckled, his chest rubbing against her back. A citrusy scent wrapped around his senses. “You smell good.” He leaned into her, his nose tickled by the soft red curls. “Why is that?”
“It’s my shampoo.” She wiggled against him, her bottom grinding into his rising arousal. “I’m fine, really. You can let me up.” She sat in his lap, her body rigid, her brows knitted. “Mr. Kendall. I believe you’ve gone from exhausted to delirious. Let me up.”
“So it’s Mr. Kendall now, is it?” He knew he should let her go, but her body was so soft against his, all the curves, the scent. The way she moved made him relaxed and excited all at once. Most importantly, it made him forget his troubles if for only a moment.
He could imagine how it would feel to have her long, naked legs wrapped around his middle as he drove into her. Heat filled his groin, pooling low and strong. He wanted her in a way that had nothing to do with PDAs or memos. The CEO in him shut down; the man roared to life.
“Why did you come over tonight?” He leaned into her neck, the temptation to taste more than he could resist. He nibbled the tender skin just below her earlobe.
Her back arched against him, her head dropping back until it rested against his shoulder. “I thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m hungry, all right.” He nibbled again, nipping at the pulse pounding away at the base of her throat. “But not for food.”
He turned her in his arms and cupped her cheeks with his palms. “Where have you been hiding?”
She stared into his eyes, her green ones darkening. “I’ve been here all along.” Her gaze dropped to his lips and her tongue darted out, sliding across her own lips.
Mesmerized by that little pink tongue, Devin couldn’t deny tasting it for himself. He pulled her close, capturing her mouth beneath his, his tongue
