The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [113]
His honesty had her pink-cheeked again. He loved how she blushed, how her eyes turned bluer and her lips pressed together in a prim line. She was bold, and she gave as good as she got, but any talk of intimacy flustered her.
Damn, but he wanted to kiss her silly.
“If all that’s true, Morgan,” she fairly sputtered, “if I really affect you like that, why in the world would you want me around the office?”
“Because it solves a dilemma for both of us.” He used his in-command tone, the one that made people sit up and take notice of his official position as sheriff. “You need a job, and I need a worker who won’t be jumping my bones, interfering with my schedule and causing a scandal. You’ve made it pretty clear you plan to resist my bones, so…” He didn’t admit his hope that her resistance wouldn’t last long. “It’s an ideal trade-off.”
She considered that for a long moment, then finally nodded. “Okay. I can try the job, I suppose. On one condition.”
The restriction in his chest immediately lightened, though he hadn’t even noticed how tight it felt until she said she’d stay. “Let’s hear it.”
“I want you to fix my car. I will not be left here without transportation.”
She stared at him defiantly until he nodded. “I can do that, but I have a condition of my own.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
He tugged her slightly closer, holding her gaze. “I want your promise that if you decide to leave, you’ll tell me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t keep me here against my will, Morgan.”
“I’m all too aware of that unfortunate fact. And I won’t even try. But if you decide to leave I want to know it.”
“I wasn’t really sneaking this time—”
“Malone.”
“Oh, all right. I promise. But fix my car today.”
He nodded. “And my other suggestion?”
“What other suggestion?”
He looked at her mouth, so sweetly lush and very kissable, then at her full breasts pressing against the pale yellow camisole—just as kissable. He saw how she tucked her long slender legs beneath her, how smooth her thighs were, lightly tanned. Even her shoulders were sexy, making his tongue nearly stick to the roof of his mouth. “I’ll stake a claim for all to see, and that’ll keep interested males at bay.”
Dark lashes swept down over her eyes to avoid his gaze. She subtly tugged her hand away from his and stood. “I don’t know, Morgan.”
He got up and stood very close behind her. “We will be involved, Malone, in an arrangement.” She stiffened and he caught her shoulders before she could move away. “The type of arrangement is nobody’s business but our own. I’m not coercing you into bed.”
“As if you could.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“No!”
He smiled at her anxious tone. “We’ll be partners of a sort. You said you were through with men.”
“Completely.”
“Well, pretending to be mine ought to take care of other men hitting on you, and I’ll have some much needed help at the office.”
She shook her head while he stared at her nape, exposed by her upswept hair. He imagined kissing her there, watching her tremble. He couldn’t push her now or she’d walk out the door, and she was right, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop her.
“That attitude is archaic, Morgan.”
His newfound possessive streak was archaic, but he was dealing with it. Barely.
He rubbed her shoulders, relishing the warmth of her skin. His thumbs brushed the back of her neck to the base of her skull, lulling her, soothing her. “Look at it this way, Malone,” he added in a whisper, “all your problems will be temporarily solved. And if you think this would be hard on you, just think of what it’ll do to me.”
“What?”
She sounded intrigued, and he hid his smile. “I want you, so you can figure it out, I’m sure. Given that you seem to take sadistic delight in making me miserable, the idea ought to appeal to you.”
The torment would be worthwhile, he thought. He could spend a good deal of his time shoring up their ruse by getting closer to her. He knew, even if she didn’t, that they’d eventually end up in bed. The chemistry