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CHAPTERTHREE
Those hips could drivea man insane.
Noah stood in Emma’s doorway and drank her in. Classical piano wafted from a speaker in the corner. Her back to him, she swayed to the slow, spellbinding tune as she arranged something on the long table behind her desk. What he wouldn’t give to draw her into a slow dance and finally feel her against him.
She’d changed from her beach attire, but the wide-legged pants and flowing top flattered her curvy figure in all the right ways. Having her dominate his fantasies since the gala was nothing compared to what she’d done to him today—when he’d known exactly who she was and where to find her.
She’d knocked him entirely off his game when he needed to be at his best. A strategic retreat would probably be his best option. He could go work at the NYC office until he wrangled his need for her into submission. That would certainly be a workable plan of action, or he could, asPapáhad said when teaching Noah to drive, turn into the skid, embrace this need, and see what happened.
He’d nearly kissed Emma in his office. He’d only held back because he’d needed to speak with Bridget first. After a misunderstanding in his teens had turned tragic, he’d made a promise to himself: be brutally upfront about his feelings and intentions with anyone he dated. From the beginning, Bridget had known where she’d stood with him; they were having fun and nothing more, which made ending their relationship—what little there was of it—simple and effortless.
A relationship with Emma would be tricky, though. He was already on Phillip’s hit list. If things with Emma turned south or their relationship somehow made the situation with Lone-Star Tech worse, there would be hell to pay. His uncle would see to it, so he’d need to tread carefully.
“If someone had told me the view from your office was this gorgeous, I’d have visited sooner.” Despite his casual tone, Emma spun around, and her hands flew to her heart as if she’d come face-to-face with an ax murderer.
“Mr. Whitlow! You scared the bejesus out of me.”
“My apologies.” He pushed from the doorframe and stepped into her office. “I’m here to take you on that tour, if this is a good time for you.”
“Yes, this is a perfect time, Mr. Whitlow. I was about to take a quick break.”
“Great. And please, call me Noah.”
Her expression indicated she’d rather walk across broken glass barefoot than utter his given name.
Her office didn’t have the expansive space his did, but he liked its openness. No curtains framed the long window dominating the left side of the room, leaving the view of the Houston skyline unobstructed. Her college degree hung on the back wall, her law degree next to it, both taking positions of prestige. The furnishings weren’t overly ornate, but they were modern and stylish, like the woman herself.
She tucked a curl behind her left ear. “I’m about three-fourths of the way through the complete Lone-Star Tech file, including David’s notes on each lawsuit, and I’m getting a good handle on his way of thinking and how he went after each case.”
“I appreciate the thoroughness, especially after I hijacked your vacation. Will you be able to recoup the hotel and plane fares?”
“I don’t know. I think I can with the plane, but the resort manager was less forgiving. I may be out there. But life, ya know?”
Yes, he did know. Although he’d been born into wealth, he didn’t devalue money. He may not have firsthand knowledge of what it was like to go without, but his mother’s family did. And she’d made sure he understood those struggles.
“Well, if you end up not being able to recoup the money,” he said, “put it in as an expense on your bill, and I’ll see that you get reimbursed.”
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t expect Whitlow Group to—”
“I know I don’thaveto, but it’s the right thing to do, especially considering you swooped in and saved my bacon.”
A smile lit her face, sudden, genuine, and heart-stopping. “Oh, I’m sure you’d have muddled along just fine without me. Reynolds, Clark & Morgan would have risen to the occasion, but yeah, without me, the transition would have been a complete mess.”
God, he adored her quick wit!
Somewhere during their conversation, she’d stepped to him. Or he’d stepped to her. They stood so close that her floral scent teased and tempted his already misfiring brain. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep from touching her, from burying his fingers in her mass of auburn hair and tipping her mouth up to his.
Would her pink lips taste like cotton candy? They did in his dreams.
But if he gave in, he doubted he’d be able to keep himself from gorging on her, so he forced himself to look away. His gaze landed on the two framed photos sitting on the corner of her desk. One showed Emma hugging a snaggletooth boy he guessed was four or five. A red-headed man in military dress smiled out from the other, his arms wrapped around a smiling Emma, and jealousy burned through Noah, scorching and unwanted. He couldn’t tell what branch of the military the uniform signified, but the affection between the two was undeniable.
Was she involved with this man?
Before the more primitive parts of his brain took over, he noted something about their smiles. They had the same one. They were related. The age difference didn’t seem right for a father-daughter connection. Could be a young uncle or a cousin, but Noah’s gut said brother.
The photo wasn’t recent, he noted. Emma’s college years, maybe? She was so fresh-faced and vibrant, and a disturbing thought struck him. What if this picture was old because it was the last one they’d taken together before he’d died in combat?
When the lighton the door turned green, Noah placed a hand at the small of Emma’s back and ushered her into the anteroom off Whitlow Group’s Research and Development wing. Emma did her best not to stiffen at the feel of his hand pressed against her. She couldn’t get a handle on this man. In his office, she’d have sworn he’d been about to kiss her. A similar thing happened in her office. If he were any other man, she’d think he was hitting on her, but Noah Whitlow III did not hit on plain Jane women like her.
