go, I figured now was as good a time as any. We were both relaxed, comfortable underneath the super soft blankets we’d been given, and had warm cups of tea in front of us.
“About what you said earlier,” I blurted out, realizing as soon as the words were out of my mouth that I could’ve been a lot more tactful about it. “Did you mean it?”
“I’ve said a lot of things to you today,” he said, still smiling as he turned his head to face me. “I meant all of them, but you’re going to have to be a little more specific than that.”
Our seats were right next to each other, and his arm was so close to mine on the armrest that I could almost feel the heat coming off him. I had a feeling this wasn’t the normal configuration for these seats, but I wasn’t going to complain if he’d arranged for us to be next to one another.
“Leah?” Amusement made his eyes seem sparkly as he gave me a soft smile. “You were saying?”
“Oh. Right.” A faint flush crept over my cheeks, but being caught swooning over the possibility that he’d wanted to sit next to me on the flight wasn’t nearly as embarrassing as the conversation we were about to have.
Well, embarrassing if I’ve been reading him all wrong. If I hadn’t been, the conversation would be promising instead of humiliating.
“You said you’d be here if I changed my mind,” I said softly, my eyes firmly on his. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” he replied without hesitating for a moment. His gaze shifted from one of my eyes to the other with a raw hunger building behind it. “Why? Have you changed your mind?”
“Not quite yet.” I managed a smile at the infectious enthusiasm in his tone. “Doesn’t it bother you that we work together, or that Rick is your friend?”
“No,” he said firmly, again without any hesitation whatsoever. “There’s no policy at Killen that prevents us from being together if we want to be. Co-workers just aren’t allowed to engage in public displays of affection at the office. There are a few more rules, but they’re more about decorum than the actual relationship.”
“What if things go bad, though?” I asked, pulling my lower lip between my teeth. “What happens if we sleep together tonight, and everything goes to shit tomorrow?”
He took my hand in his, holding it gently in complete contrast to the serious expression on his face. “Everything can only go to shit if we’re not on the same page. So let’s get on the same page. Do you want to fuck me?”
Wow. He didn’t even flinch. I nodded, trying to channel his level of confidence by keeping my gaze on his as I did. He tightened his grip on my hand, then gave me a panty-melting smile as he tugged me closer.
“I want to fuck you too,” he said, sliding a hand up my arm to cup the side of my face and bring it closer to his. “If we do, do you expect me to marry you or to make any kind of long-term commitment to you?”
“No,” I said honestly. “Do you expect that from me?”
“Not at all.” He brought his mouth to mine and kissed me deeply, lingering with his lips near mine when he finally broke the kiss. “As for Rick, if it turns into anything he should know about, then we tell him. If not, do you always speak to your brother about the men you sleep with?”
My nose scrunched up. “No. I tease him about all his girls all the time, but we don’t really talk about anything like that otherwise.”
“Why should anything between us be any different then?” he asked. “We’re attracted to each other. If we want to act on that, then that’s our business. If he wants to fuck me up for sleeping with you if he ever finds out, I’ll handle him. Again, Leah, we’re grown up. We don’t need permission.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to keep working together if we do hook up and it doesn’t work out?”
He smiled. “As long as we keep being honest with each other and talking about the things that need to be talked about, then yes. I think we will be.”
As easy as one simple conversation, and there we were, totally on the same page. It felt like a gigantic weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I realized I was glad I’d come right out and