any kind of change. They were usually the less talented workers, trying to find justification for their lack of accomplishments by gossiping about the others who were more dedicated.
He wasn’t overly concerned about those people, thinking that he and his transition team had done a good job of minimizing the anxiety over lunch today.
But now it was after hours and he was intent on trapping his fly-away butterfly. Sierra Colbert had avoided him all afternoon but now, he was going to get to know her a bit better.
“You’re here late,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Sierra jumped out of her chair and spun around. When she saw the tall, awe inspiring man leaning against her doorway, she gasped and almost fell sideways.
Trying to regain her composure as quickly as possible, she stepped to the side while at the same time, hide the papers she’d been working on.
Unfortunately, her composure wasn’t having such a good day and she started to slide over, her feet not properly braced far enough apart.
With a swift move, Drake moved forward, catching Sierra before she could fall on her face to the floor.
With his hands wrapped around her, she couldn’t help but grab his arms, her hands wrapping around surprisingly large biceps hidden by the relatively tame-looking dark suit.
Slowly, and with great reluctance, she looked up at him, her entire body tingling with awareness of this moment. Her body was plastered against his, even his right leg was pressed between her legs, pushing her skirt up higher on her thighs. A part of her wanted to die of humiliation but a larger part of her wanted to press her hands against his arms, to slide them higher, testing for other muscles. Perhaps if she could slide her fingers over, feel his chest…
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, suddenly realizing what she was doing and pulled herself out of his embrace, her face flaming with color at both her thoughts as well as her clumsiness. She wasn’t usually like that but he’d surprised her and she really didn’t like surprises. “Thank you for your assistance.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper now and she tried to step backwards, but the table was behind her and his huge body was blocking everything in front of her.
“My pleasure,” he commented, his voice deep and husky.
They stood like that for a long, pregnant moment, both of them staring, neither moving. Sierra tried to breathe, but his touch was making that impossible. She wanted so desperately to feel him, to examine those muscles underneath the deceptive suit, to find out what it would be like if he were to kiss her…
Drake’s mind was reeling with how incredibly soft she was. His hands were still holding her waist and his leg could feel the muscles in her own. He wanted to lean forward, to feel her breasts against his chest again and taste those pink lips, to find out what she tasted like.
And she smelled terrific. Something in his brain caught her perfume and he knew he’d smelled that scent before, but he couldn’t place it. Rose? No, not that. But something flowery. Something fresh and alive. Something that made him think of….
He couldn’t place it, but it there was something so familiar about that scent. “Where are you from?” he asked his voice husky and deeper than normal. He watched her face but wouldn’t give her enough room to feel comfortable. He knew he should step backwards, but there was just something about the way that she smelled that kept him close, made him want to move closer and eliminate all barriers between them, both physical and psychological.
Damn, he loved a mystery!
Sierra was instantly wary, not wanting to let him connect her past with his. She couldn’t tell him that she’d grown up in Chicago, knowing that his company was headquartered there. He would ask too many questions and she most likely couldn’t answer any of them without giving him more clues to her past. And more specifically, clues to the connection they shared. “I live over off of Golden Road.”
He immediately was aware that she’d told him where she currently lived and not where she used to live. So she didn’t want him to know about her past? Interesting. It only added to the puzzle that was quickly growing around this lovely woman.
He could tell by the stubborn jut of her chin that she wouldn’t reveal anything else at the moment. He almost smiled with anticipation. This woman would be