don’t know.”
“What if you fall in love with me? Can you handle it?”
She waved a hand in the air. “Bless your heart. I’m not worried about that. We’re way too different for long-term. But if you enrapture me, I’m also a big girl. I should be able to handle it.”
“See, this could work. People mix business with pleasure all the time. The key is to be smart and lay the groundwork.”
She shook her head slowly. “Still, too many variables. We’d fight.”
His eyes glittered hot charcoal. “We’d make up later.”
Morgan wanted to laugh but fell short. The way his gaze stripped away her clothes and laid her bare thrilled her. How addictive to become one of those women who was empowered by sex instead of always running away or trying to fit it into her busy schedule. How delicious to imagine her body taking over instead of her very rational, very proper mind. Still . . . Caleb Pierce was out of her comfort zone.
She finished her wine, blotted her mouth with the cocktail napkin, and folded her hands in her lap. Morgan opened her mouth to say thank you but no. Instead, strange words popped out. “I’ll need to think about it.”
Now, where on earth had that come from?
His carved lips kicked up in a satisfied grin. “Good enough for me, princess. Now, put your leg up here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Damn, I’m gonna wonder if you’re this polite when I make you come.”
“What!”
He chuckled, leaned over, and grabbed her ankle. With one quick motion, he lifted her leg so her foot was propped on his jean-clad knee. Morgan gasped as his hands slid over her bare ankle, the steady throb between her legs begging him to make a detour up, up, and Yes, just keep going, please.
His muscles stiffened, almost like he caught her musky scent of arousal drifting on the breeze. Her cheeks flushed, and she was about to yank her foot back when he began wrapping the broken strap of her sandal once around her ankle, then neatly tucked the frayed end into the center. She looked dumbly at him, not knowing if she wanted to jump in his arms or punch him for allowing this new mixture of emotions out of the bottle.
So she did nothing.
“I didn’t want you to trip,” he said simply. His fingers lingered, pressing into her skin like little pinpricks of electricity. He growled low in his throat, seemingly torn about something before he gently placed her foot back on the ground. “All done.”
She said nothing.
Cal narrowed his gaze. “This is the deal. I want you. I can tell from the kiss you want me, too. I’m not following my dick on an impulse decision. I’ve been thinking about you for a while now, and I think we’d enjoy each other very much. Not just the physical but also our conversations. Company during meals. A midnight skinny-dip. You’ve managed to get under my skin, Morgan Raines.”
She smiled and he smiled back.
“Think about it. I won’t push. But I won’t go away, either.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “But I may push back. And I’m not going anywhere, either.”
His laughter pumped through the air and gave her way too much pleasure.
Morgan didn’t get much sleep that night.
She hoped he didn’t, either.
chapter ten
* * *
Morgan walked into Sydney’s office and stood by the desk. She smiled as Sydney nodded for her to wait, talking crisply into her Bluetooth while sifting through a massive pile of papers on her desk with one hand and tapping out something on her keyboard with the other. These tasks were completed with a mixture of booming male voices echoing in the air. Seems there was a heated argument going on over an episode of Game of Thrones right outside the door.
Morgan took a seat, giving a sigh of relief at the temporary easing of her aching feet. The thought of the hotel hot tub was getting her through the day, but the past week she’d fallen asleep before room service had even delivered her meal. She was in crunch time, and Morgan tried to remind herself that she went through this at every job. Coordinating the massive amount of electricians, plumbers, and construction workers was a bitch to deal with. The skeleton was now firmly wrapped, the windows and doors were finally installed, and now they were at the delicate part of the project: the time when supplies went missing, workers never showed up, fights broke out, and general chaos was the