sun shining through the half-closed curtains heated the cool room. The tangle of his legs with the woman asleep beside him heated his skin. His body was alive with urgent need.
Then his brain kicked into gear.
Where it had been last night, he wasn’t sure. His body tightened as images rose from his memory. The full impact of what they’d done hit him in a rush.
His assistant. He’d spent the night with his assistant.
An incredible night...
He breathed deeply, attempting to mitigate the odd mix of desire and panic. To slow his racing heartbeat, cool his body’s ardor. Because they couldn’t do this again.
He’d been such a fool.
Paxton glanced over at Ivy. She faced away from him, but the smooth curve of her shoulder and waterfall of tangled blond hair drew him. Her beauty made him reach out to touch, but he clenched his hand into a fist instead to stop himself.
Last night he’d been blindsided by the need to bury his hands in that silky blond hair. He licked his lips as he remembered the taste of her skin last night, of her full lips, plump breasts and soft thighs. And that garter!
A flash of fever heated his bare skin.
But as he watched the sun flirt with her as she slept, the panic lurking in the background simply wouldn’t go away. What had he been thinking?
Well, he hadn’t been.
He urgently needed coffee; it would be a welcome distraction. He eased from the bed, careful not to rouse Ivy, reminding himself that she must be exhausted. She’d spent the last week working her full-time job with him, then helping her sister out with the charity ball. Then she’d spent all day Saturday preparing for the event, and Saturday night splitting the hostessing duties.
She had every right to be tired...and to sleep in.
Leaving her asleep had nothing to do with not wanting to face her...not wanting to tell her this could absolutely not go any further than it already had.
As he headed to the kitchen, he heard the faint noise of his phone vibrating against the foyer table. Instinctively he made a detour for it. One glance at the display told him his executive VP was on the other end of the line—and weekend calls were definitely not his thing. Paxton’s senses geared up for whatever emergency was coming his way.
“What’s up, Mike?”
“Where the heck have you been? I’ve been calling since 5:00 a.m.”
Paxton clenched his jaw. “I’m here now,” he said.
“We’ve got a problem,” Mike said, ignoring his tight tone. “Remember how we took a chance on not replacing the old super engine?”
Paxton groaned. His manufacturing plant in Virginia had been a buyout that they were in the process of refurbishing and upgrading. He’d had a tough time convincing his grandmother, who was still chairwoman of the board, that it was a worthwhile endeavor. This could be a major setback.
Mike went on. “Yep. It blew during the night. I’m gonna need some help out here.”
Which meant catching the first flight out to Virginia ASAP. Paxton would need to be on site to formulate his plan for the repairs or replacement, while still keeping the plant functioning. He signed off, then sighed. Not a good morning for this. The only thing he wanted was coffee, and the chance to figure out what he needed to say to the woman whom he’d had the most inappropriate skin-to-skin contact with ever in his life.
Well, maybe not the most...but he didn’t want to think about the past mistake that made him believe the present situation could end in doom, too.
Knowing he needed to get a move on, Paxton headed upstairs to the master suite to shower and then pack his bag. He felt a moment of relief when he remembered how he’d rushed Ivy into one of the downstairs bedrooms last night because he couldn’t wait to get her undressed, and because that was simply his MO with women.
At least he wouldn’t be haunted by memories of the passion they’d shared every night when he would lie down in his own bed.
He quickly finished dressing, then threw some clothes into a duffel bag. A few days at the plant in Virginia, then he and Ivy could have a nice long talk about what had happened between them last night. And what should happen between them now. Paxton had his future mapped out to a T. And his family was fully behind him. Marrying his assistant was not in his life plan.
Paxton hoped Ivy was on the same wavelength.
On his way out, he paused in the shadowy doorway of the downstairs bedroom. Ivy still slept, oblivious to his dilemma. He felt the urge to crawl back into that sun-kissed space beside her. He even took a single step forward.
But duty called.
His phone started vibrating in his pocket, warning him time was of the essence. In a quick scrawl, he wrote a note, letting Ivy know that he’d had to run, but she could call the car to take her home. He’d be back soon...and they would talk then.
Still he carried the memories of her sun-warmed skin and everything they’d done to each other in the dark of night as he rode to the airport, paced the VIP Lounge and then boarded the first standby flight he could get for Virginia. He thought a few times about texting her...but it just seemed like such an impersonal, lousy thing to do.
Maybe after a few days away, they could both gain some perspective on what they wanted, how they could return to their steady, professional relationship. Right? He rubbed his palm over his face. Hell, what if this blew up in his face big time?
He remembered the sun glinting off her loose mane of golden hair this morning. Why had she been hiding it in a severe ponytail all this time? Oh, he knew. His buttoned-up executive admin was the utmost professional. Hair always pulled back. Business suits, but only with skirts. He’d always been grateful that she didn’t cover up the smooth curve of her calves with dress pants. Instead she accentuated it by wearing smart, sexy heels.
He gulped the last of his hot, black coffee as the plane began to descend.
Of course, he’d been careful to only look when she was walking away from him. Still she’d caught him looking a time or two. Just like he’d found her doing the same. And even though there’d been definite sparks in the air every time they’d locked gazes in the office, neither of them had been willing to break the status quo. Until last night.
They’d been playing with fire, not realizing just when it would blow up.
Paxton forced himself to pick up his bag from the luggage carousel, and then headed outside to flag down a taxi. Mike had his hands full right now, so Paxton had told him not to worry about sending a car. As he settled into the back seat, he read the half dozen text messages waiting for him from Mike. Each one was worse than the next. Paxton may have gotten his start in industry through his family name and his grandmother’s owning the umbrella conglomerate, but his diverse interests, determination and leadership skills had earned him the success he enjoyed today as the CEO of an international shipping parts manufacturer...with his eye on running the entire conglomerate one day.
So why was his mind on the woman who was still asleep in his house,
