The One Who Got Away (Wilde Ways #12) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,1

buried in tech. In programming, as you created all the incredible systems and games that your players love.”

He attempted to tread carefully. Mind fields were everywhere in this conversation. “I don’t remember Clark Kent being a—”

Her index finger jabbed him again. “I thought you were helpless.”

Now that was just insulting. Helpless? Newborn kittens were helpless. He wasn’t a fucking kitten. Did he look like a kitten?

Her high cheekbones flushed. “I thought that you needed me to keep you safe and to protect the company,” she charged angrily.

“That’s exactly what I need! That’s why you are my head of security!”

“Liar.” Her hand fell.

He was sure—very, very sure—that she hadn’t meant for the word liar to sound sexy. She’d probably meant for it to sound more like an angry, hissed accusation. The problem was that he found it sexy. He found far too many things about Ella to be sexy.

She’s your employee. That’s a line you will not cross. Keep your shit together, man. His mind flew in a dozen directions as he tried to figure out how to fix this nightmare. There had to be a way to fix this. Losing Ella wasn’t an option for him. “Ella, you are indispensable at this company. You know that I am working to set up a new branch and production factory outside of Atlanta, and your skills are necessary for the success of that project.” He held her gaze. “I need you.”

“Atlanta.” She seemed to taste the word. “I was in Atlanta while you were supposedly scouting new locations. I was trailing you. I was watching what you did. And I’ve been digging. Looking a whole lot deeper beneath the image that you show to the world.” Her chin lifted and her hands rose. Her fingers curled around the glasses that Antony wore, and she slowly pulled them away from his face. “And now I see you.”

“Listen, I don’t know what you think went down in Atlanta…” Dammit. He’d been worried about the events that had transpired in that town. He’d known when he came back from that particular trip that he’d have to work some damage control, but he hadn’t thought things would be this bad, this fast.

“You’re not inept,” Ella noted. “Not even a little bit.”

“Well, I should hope not.”

She licked her lips. Her full, plump, red lips. “You’re not some bookish genius with his head in a computer.”

“Bookish? Like there is something wrong with enjoying books?” His head leaned down toward her. He was fixated on her mouth. This was the wrong time to be fixated. Focus. Don’t lose her!

“Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with enjoying books. Books are hot. Hot guys reading books? Extra hot.” She leaned up on her toes. “But there is something horribly wrong with pretending you are weak—”

“I have never—”

Her body brushed closer to his. “Pretending that you can’t protect yourself—”

“Ella—”

“Pretending that you don’t understand hand-to-hand fighting, or weaponry, or a dozen other things—when all along, you…” Her mouth was an inch from his because she was still on her toes and leaning toward him as she proclaimed, “When all along, you are a damn…spy.”

His hand flew up and covered her mouth. It was either cover her mouth with his hand…or maybe cover it with his own lips. And he could not kiss her. Okay, fine, so he’d fantasized about kissing her far too many times. But this was not the time or the place. “Don’t say things like that.” His tone wasn’t so mild any longer. A thread of steel had entered his voice. “Someone might overhear you and think that you aren’t kidding.”

Over his hand, her eyes narrowed. Angry, gold fire shot at him. He’d always thought her eyes were incredible. Her stare could gleam with her happiness. Turn sober when she was worried. Or shoot absolute fire when she was angry. At the moment, her gaze was blazing with golden fire. A whole inferno was in her stare.

Antony winced. “You want me to lower my hand, don’t you?”

More fire. He took that as a yes.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” he whispered to her. “Especially when you don’t know who may be listening.” His hand slowly dropped from her lips.

Her tongue swiped out. Wet her mouth.

He held back a groan.

“No one is listening,” she told him. Her words were fast and furious. “I swept this office right before our meeting. I have made sure you have the best security possible at this facility, even though you have been diligently working against