Seducing The Boss (Pulse #2) - Mari Carr Page 0,33

to keep going.”

She shook her head slowly, but the action didn’t seem to be one of rejection. “Is this still just about sex, Kellan?”

He frowned. “Of course it is.”

“Then I’m going to have to reject your offer. Much as it pains me to admit it, I can’t deny that sex with you is incredible.”

He grinned. Sara was good at offering compliments while keeping him humble. “Better than incredible,” he added, just to tweak her.

“But I’m not looking for a hookup. I’m not interested in being a booty call like Veronica. Someone you contact when there’s no one else around and you feel like getting laid.”

Kellan didn’t care for her comparison. “You’re nothing like Veronica.”

“I don’t do casual sex.”

He started to contradict her, but she raised her hand to cut him off. “I agreed to try it for one weekend. I need to…” She paused, as if she was weighing every word before she spoke. Kellan didn’t like it. Didn’t want her to feel as if she had to guard herself around him.

“What?” he prodded.

“I can’t keep things separate—” She bit her lower lip, and he realized whatever answer she gave him wouldn’t be the truth.

“Emotionally,” he filled in for her, not bothering to make it a question. “You’re afraid you’ll fall for me?” He forced himself to smile, to appear amused, though the idea of being on the receiving end of Sara’s love wasn’t as frightening as he would have imagined. He quickly blamed the absence of panic on the lack of blood in his brain. It would take him a little while to recover from the climax that just rocked his world. He didn’t want a relationship. That fact hadn’t changed. He just needed to prove to Sara that her concerns were unfounded. “Seriously? Have you thought that through? The sex might be great, but after that meeting we left this morning, I’d be surprised if you felt anything other than hate for me.”

“I don’t hate you. You annoy the crap out of me, but…” She blew out a long sigh. “I don’t hate you. You’ve been my boss for years, and even when we disagree at work, we’re still friends outside of the job. You know that.”

He had learned early on in this gig as hospital admin, he was commander-in-chief of the Dark Side. He actually drank his coffee at work in a Darth Vader mug simply because he thought it was funny and proved he was willing to take the heat associated with the job. He was a businessman, and at the end of the day, it was his responsibility to see that the hospital was running efficiently and within budget.

Doctors and nurses saw the people in need. What they didn’t understand was that he did, too. While he may see those faces projected in numbers, he still saw them. Still understood that the hospital’s role in the community was to heal.

“We’re also friends who set the sheets on fire. I’m struggling to see anything wrong with that.”

“If I’ve learned anything this past weekend, it’s that you should never say never. I used to believe hell would freeze over before I had sex with you.” She raised her hands as if to say look what happened there.

“I’m just asking for another week or two.”

She laughed. “So now it’s two weeks?”

He loved the way her face lit up when she was amused. Her blue eyes sparkled, and the tiniest dimple appeared in her right cheek.

Then he recalled the second part of their deal. He had begrudgingly agreed to accompany her to her fundraiser, but now it seemed like to perfect way to convince her to come back to his bed. “It’s a little less than two weeks until the gala, right?”

She nodded slowly, and he realized she’d forgotten about that caveat. “Yes.”

“So, we’ll make that the new deadline. For everything. Two weeks to explore some more of those sexy, kinky desires of yours. After the gala, we let life return to normal.”

She didn’t respond immediately. Kellan took that as a good sign. She was actually considering his offer. Then she shook her head. “No, Kellan. My answer is still no.”

“Sara—”

“I’m not interested in just sex. I want a real relationship. Dating, commitment, and all the emotions that go with that. We both know that’s not something you can ever give me. So I need to keep looking for a man who can.”

Her words hit him hard, knocked him off balance. She was right, he couldn’t give her that.