a bite out of the muffin. She looked over at him, catching him staring. She licked a few crumbs from around her lips. “You sure you don’t want me to warm one up for you? It’s delicious.”
“Yes, I’d like one, but just a taste. May I have a bite of yours?”
He wasn’t sure whether or not his question surprised her. Her expression was unreadable. She lifted the muffin to his mouth and he took his own bite, in the very spot where she’d taken hers. Then he licked the crumbs off his lips, knowing she was watching him.
“You might be right after all, Regan,” he said. His gaze held hers, and he could see the pulse in her throat beating rapidly.
“Right about what?”
“Kidnapping Paulo.”
A smile spread across her lips. “Think we can come up with a plan?” she asked, finishing off the muffin.
Watching her, knowing they’d shared that muffin, made intense desire heat his core. “With us together, Regan, anything is possible.”
His words must have stirred something within her because he saw the pulse racing in her throat again. She took a sip of her coffee and then sat the cup down and looked at him. She licked her lips, which caused a hard jolt of need to pass through him. He picked up his cup to take a sip of his own coffee, wishing it was something stronger.
“You said we would talk, Garth.”
Placing his cup down, he met her gaze. “What I have to say can be summed up in a few words, Regan.”
She raised a brow. “And what words are those?”
“I want you.”
Eleven
Sensuous shivers spread through Regan as she stared at Garth, speechless. First off, the kiss; then he’d shared that muffin with her. And now...
Granted, she’d known he was a straight shooter. However, she hadn’t expected what he’d just said.
He wanted her?
“Yes, I want you,” he said again, when she didn’t respond. “I figured that kiss would have been a good indicator.”
She drew in a deep breath. It had been, but still... “I worked for you for almost five years, and you never paid me any attention, Garth.”
He leaned back in his chair as he picked up his coffee cup again to take a sip. “If you recall, Regan, after losing Karen, I wasn’t paying any woman much attention. I barely dated.”
As far as she was concerned, he barely dated now, and when he did, she figured it was to take care of his physical needs. “So why now and why me?”
“Why not you, Regan? You are a very beautiful woman.”
She rolled her eyes. “I look the same as I’ve always looked, Garth.”
“That might be the case, but I began truly noticing your looks a few months ago. I guess you can say my blinders were taken off.”
She took a sip of her coffee and met his gaze over the cup. “And just when were these blinders removed?”
“The night of the Westmoreland Charity Ball.”
She placed her cup down, remembering that night. He had surprised her by inviting her to go with him. She’d discovered later that Bailey, whom Regan had gotten to know after Bailey married Walker, had suggested that he bring Regan. She also recalled he’d been very attentive that night. Even his brothers had teased him about it.
“Do you remember that night?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Yes, I remember. I thought you were being overprotective.”
“You assumed that tonight, as well. You were wrong both times, Regan. Both times I was being territorial. That night I felt something that I hadn’t felt in ten years. Sexual attraction toward a woman, of a magnitude that it was hard for me think straight. It made me want to take you somewhere and seduce you.”
She blinked, finding what he was saying hard to believe. “Seriously?”
A smile curved his lips. “Yes, seriously.”
Regan took another sip of her coffee. Then with a boldness that surprised even her, she asked, “Why didn’t you seduce me, Garth?”
She saw the flash of heat that appeared in his eyes. He quickly took another sip of his coffee. “There’s no way I could have done that,” he finally said.
She lifted a brow. “Why not?”
“The man who seduces you should be the man who plans to marry you. You would expect that.”
He was right. Gone were the days when she was into sex for the sake of sex. She was older, wiser and a lot more mature than she’d been in her early twenties. At twenty-eight, she wanted more from a relationship. For her, being intimate