Unexpectedly Expecting the Sheik's Baby - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,69
looking at data and financial records, checking on the company’s sales and stock values.”
“You’ve done your research well,” he replied, setting the now-empty plate on the table. “And you think that this symbol,” he pointed his chin towards her notebook still open on the low coffee table, “involves something nefarious, dark, and evil?” he asked. “This is the string at which you are pulling, looking under rocks and behind the curtains to find out what’s going on.”
She stood up, feeling the need to get away from his distractingly handsome smile. “I’m going to find out what this means, Malcolm,” she warned, stuffing her notebook back into her messenger bag. “And I’m going to treat you exactly as you treated my mother when she told your family that she was sick.”
He’d stood as well, moving closer to her. “I’m very sorry about what my father did to your mother,” he said.
Ella jerked, startled by his words. Looking up into those blue eyes, she felt…something strange again.
Pulling back, she blinked and stepped away from the chair. “Right. Well, it’s in the past.”
“Is it?” he asked gently. “I remember the day that my mother passed away.” His jaw clenched and he shook his head slightly. “My father announced that she’d passed and that the funeral was in three days. He ordered me to wear my dark suit.” Malcolm’s hands slid into his pockets. “I don’t think one ever truly gets over the death of a parent, do we?”
Was he closer now? Ella realized that she’d been staring up into his eyes and hadn’t noticed him walking towards her.
“It was…years ago.” And yet, she could still remember holding her mother’s hand in the hospital, seeing the pain in her eyes as the cancer slowly destroyed her.
Malcolm reached out, brushing a light finger down over her cheek. The touch both burned and soothed…it short-circuited her brain.
“You’re quite lovely, Ella,” he murmured, almost as if he were talking to himself.
Startled, she looked up into his blue eyes, not sure what to say. Never in her wildest imagination would she have expected him to say something like that. Lovely? She wanted to snort with disbelief. Naya was lovely! Cassy! She was a gorgeous woman! Ella knew that she wasn’t ugly, but…she wasn’t lovely.
But standing here, in front of Malcolm, for some strange reason, she did feel…oddly beautiful. For all her life, she’d pushed to be smart and brave, to confront the injustices in the world. Never had she felt beautiful. This man… his eyes and his electric touch …caused her to feel pretty.
Why wasn’t she leaving? They were standing there, the silence and tension expanding as they stared into each other’s eyes. Ella told herself to walk away. But her feet didn’t move.
That’s when he did something even more astounding.
Ella watched in stunned fascination as he leaned in and kissed her! His lips, so firm and temptingly commanding, brushed over hers, eliciting a startled response from her own. The tingling in her lips was so astonishing that she forgot to pull away. He did it again and again, his lips brushing back and forth against hers and Ella stood there, taking it. No, not just accepting the kiss…her lips actually moved, actually participated in the kiss!
The ache in her belly and the burning sensation against her lips was so new, so strange that she finally pulled away. For another long moment, she just blinked at him, wondering what the hell had just happened!
“Right,” she whispered into the silence.
With that, she turned and walked out of his office, feeling stunned and…tingly. And ashamed! She’d just kissed Malcolm Reynolds! What in the world? Why? Why had she simply stood there? Why hadn’t she slapped him and given him some pithy set-down that would humiliate him?
Ella stepped into the elevator, too stunned and confused to even fear the glass-enclosed space as it whisked her silently down to the lobby. Down and away from the man she wanted to see in prison.
The man she’d just…kissed!
Malcolm stared at the now-empty doorway, more intrigued than before as he replayed Ella’s soft, trembling response to his kiss. Ella was startlingly beautiful, but also tough and sexy with her tight jeans and black boots. Her messenger bag was scruffy and well worn, but was of obvious quality. Her clothes weren’t rumpled, as he’d expected she’d requested a meeting with him. She was…lovely. Her blonde hair was straight and long, shining in the overhead lights. While other women of his acquaintance would have done something to bring his attention to their long hair, flipping it over their shoulder or twirling a lock around their fingers…Ella’s hair was brushed but forgotten.
She wore minimal makeup, just a touch of mascara and lipstick. Her skin was soft and creamy, making her appear youthful and strong. She was a capable woman wrapped up in soft femininity that, Malcolm suspected, the lovely Ella tried hard to hide and ignore.
An impossible task, he thought with a chuckle as he stood and walked to his desk. Ella couldn’t hide her beauty any more than she could ignore a mystery. It was all part of her lovely package and…he was determined to get to know her better. Ella Fleming had always intrigued him. But now, with maturity and bright determination, she got to him in different ways. She was more than simply a curiosity.
She was a challenge!
Damn, she was beautiful! And smart and didn’t give an inch! He liked that about her.
What he didn’t like was that she might be getting close to something that he and his friends had been working on for the past several years.
Picking up his phone, he dialed a number. “Jenna,” he replied as soon as his friend answered. “I just spoke with Ella Fleming and, apparently, she’s onto us.” He paused, listening. “Right. But we need to be a bit more discreet. Otherwise, the whole operation could be revealed, which would put our people in danger.”
Hanging up, he wondered if…was his father still countering the group’s efforts? Were his father and his cronies still active? Malcolm had thought that their efforts had been shut down, but perhaps it was time to make sure.
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