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He straightened his spine in his specially designed chair and stretched both his arms above his head. He’d taken off the sling within minutes of beginning his online search. His arm ached a bit now—okay, it ached a lot—but the process was too slow when he could only use one hand.
That was especially true when he had Persy seated at the desk beside his, her laptop now linked to three of his six screens, her fingers literally flying across the keys.
She was good. Better than good. She was also totally focused. And fast. Which was the reason Casper had to get rid of the sling.
“Is it hurting?” Persy had obviously noticed Casper flexing his right arm and fingers for the second time in as many seconds.
“It aches,” he conceded. “What?” he prompted when her eyes widened.
She chuckled. “I thought you would do the big-strong-man thing and deny it.”
“I’m an arrogant arse, not an unnecessarily stupid one.” He shrugged. “A broken arm is obviously going to hurt when it’s put under too much stress so soon after the break.”
She frowned. “Maybe you should just leave the searching to me for a few hours while you rest.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m thirty-five, not seventy-five. Besides, we’ve done all we can tonight. It’s time for us both to go to bed,” he announced as he stood up.
Persy glanced at him. “Doesn’t one counteract the other?”
“Depends whether you intend sleeping or doing something else when you get to bed.”
Persy turned her gaze back to her screen, obviously logging out as the monitors in front of her started to shut down. “I still have a couple of security feeds at private airports I want to check on before—”
“Bed,” he repeated firmly. “Now.”
Persy’s eyes widened. “You know, you like to give the appearance of being the amiable Kingston brother, but underneath that affability, you’re as decisive and inflexible as the rest of the men in your family.”
He grinned. “See how well you’re getting to know me? By tomorrow, we’ll be the best of friends.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Tomorrow?” Persy had a feeling she must have missed something in the conversation from when they arrived at the Kingston estate earlier.
Because she was sure that Remy Kingston, once Persy’s initial awkwardness at the situation had been dismissed by Sinclair, had told Persy a bedroom would be ready for her to use after she and Casper had finished working for the night. But if that was the case, then how were she and Casper going to be the best of friends by morning?
Unless the other woman meant Casper’s bedroom would be ready and waiting for her when they decided they’d worked long enough for one night.
In view of what Casper had told her regarding his family knowing he was attracted to her, that wasn’t such an unlikely occurrence as it sounded.
She shut down and closed her laptop before straightening. “I’ll be happy sleeping on the couch in here.” There was a long, wide, comfortable-looking one pushed up against one wall, the blanket folded over the back of it hinting that Casper or Sinclair took naps there when they were working through the night rather than bothering to go to their individual suites to sleep. Maybe not Sinclair now that he had remarried and he and Remy were expecting their first child, but Persy could easily picture Casper stretching out there taking a powernap.
“Not happening,” Casper dismissed.
“Casper—” She gave a startled squeak—she would blush over that audible reaction another time—when she was suddenly pulled into Casper’s arms and her senses were immediately overwhelmed by his heat and what she now knew to be the natural earthy scent of his body.
His eyes glittered the color of molten onyx. “That’s the first time you’ve called me by my given name.”
“It can’t be.”
“It is,” he stated with certainty. “I’d like to hear you call me by it again,” he added huskily. “Preferably when you’re lying next to me in bed. Or under me. Or even above me. I’d be happy with any of those scenarios.”
Persy could feel the warmth in her cheeks and the heat of the blood coursing through her veins. “Remy said she would make sure a bedroom was prepared for me.”
“No doubt she has.” Casper nodded before burying his face against the side of her neck. “You smell delicious.”
“I can’t wear perfume. I’m allergic to it.”
“Another little fact to store away in my Persephone file.” His breath was a soft caress against her skin while his lips and tongue explored the hollows at the base of her throat. “And I didn’t say your perfume smelled delicious. I said you do.”
