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He ran a hand over his head. He did look tired, and she knew she wasn’t helping. But he’d hired her to do a job, and she’d do it.
Or not.
“Give me the checkbook.” She held out a hand. “I’ll do it.”
He hesitated, shooting a glance toward Cal. Daeg let out a rasping sigh, still down for the count. No back up there.
Pinning Cal with a no-nonsense stare, she asked, “Do you have a problem with my paying bills?”
Cal shrugged. “If Tag’s cool with it, so am I.”
“Cop out.” Tag groaned.
“You hired her.”
True. She wondered how Tag had explained their knowing each other. It didn’t matter. She was staying on task here. She waggled her fingers.
“Give it up.”
Tag yanked open his desk drawer. Since she’d had spare time, she’d organized the contents. Now his pencils were lined up on the left, with pens only on the right. “Jesus.”
“I’m going to assume that’s a prayer of thanksgiving.” She had no idea how he’d ever managed to find anything in there.
He leaned in, big and rough and sexy. “Let’s recap. Who’s the boss here?”
He was either playing with her, or he was genuinely bent out of shape because she’d touched his office supplies. Her money was on option A. But since he was tired, she’d cut him some slack.
“You’re signing my paychecks,” she said cheerfully.
“That’s what I thought.”
“You told me to stay busy,” she reminded him. “And your record-keeping is a disgrace.”
Shaking his head, he pulled the drawer out farther and pointed. To underscore the fact she was a team player, she made a point of looking. Everything was exactly as she’d left it. Neat and ordered. Square and lined up. Perfect. He could definitely thank her now.
“Your Post-its look like they’re on drill.”
“You can also find them,” she pointed out.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to touch my things.”
Right. “I didn’t know I needed permission.”
“Mia—” God, she loved the way he said her name. “I am your boss.”
“In the office.” She could play games, too. Slowly she walked her fingers up his muscular chest and hooked a finger in the collar of his T-shirt. “So you’d better make the most of it, big guy.”
* * *
JESUS. SHE LOOKED at him and he—he wanted to give her whatever she wanted. Unzip her sassy little skirt and explore all her secret spots. He eyeballed the room, assessing the feasibility of his ad-hoc plan. Daeg had his head down on his desk, and, from the rough sounds emanating from his friend’s vicinity, the guy was out for a while. Cal wouldn’t be rescuing him, either. Still busy arguing with someone, he was headed out the front, ear glued to his cell. Yeah. If he was looking for backup, he wasn’t finding it there. He was free to fall unchecked for Mia.
Pity, he couldn’t afford it.
She’d declared herself to be a stay-put kind of gal—and he was headed back for San Diego and a new mission in a few weeks. The problem was, he had absolutely no willpower around Mia. She tugged at his shirt, a quick, determined no-nonsense kind of pull. He let her reel him in. He didn’t want to keep his hands off her, and she seemed to share his opinion.
Which was why his mouth had ended up hovering mere inches above hers in dangerous territory. “You like to be in charge.”
She smiled and crossed her legs, her bare knee brushing his. Her denim skirt inched upward. If he ran a hand up her leg, the denim would ruck right up, leaving her bare.
“You’re playing with fire,” he growled.
Instead of retreating, of course she tilted her head up until her lower lip brushed against his. Jesus. Was that her tongue?
“I’ve got it on good authority you know how to rescue a woman.”
“Whatever you want,” he croaked. If Daeg weren’t here, he’d have her on the desk, and that was wrong. He didn’t want his body making promises his heart couldn’t keep. Staying on Discovery Island was out of the question. He’d signed contracts, made a commitment to his CO. He’d never questioned his decision before, but now...he wondered. Hell, yeah, he wondered.
“This.” The word became a whisper as her mouth closed in on his. So, damn it, for a long, sweet moment he let her kiss him.
She nipped him then, her hands cupping the back of his head as she lifted her mouth off his. “Don’t make me do all the work here, sailor.”
