AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think I’m nuts, but what the heck.” She picked up the pen he’d discarded earlier and signed the contract. “There.”
“Don’t forget, I owe you.” His eyes glowed, magnetic and enticing, and she suppressed a shiver of longing at what his payment might entail.
“Don’t worry about it.” She tugged at her ponytail, twisting the ends around her finger in a nervous habit she’d had since childhood. “This is turning into some vacation. The ship’s amazing, the ports are interesting, then that kiss last night—”
She bit her tongue and mentally slapped herself for running off at the mouth and thinking out loud. That kiss was history, remember? Forgotten.
His gaze riveted to her mouth, her lips tingling as his blistering stare focused, and she surreptitiously itched behind her ear where her skin prickled the most.
What had happened to the woman who’d just instructed an aerobics class for the first time and nailed it? What happened to her newfound bravado? Looks like it had deserted her, along with her common sense, for thinking she could sign on as an employee and keep her distance from Zac.
She fidgeted, shifting weight from one foot to the other, rubbed the nape of her neck, wound hair around her finger again, and his gaze finally lifted from her mouth only to lock onto her eyes, all that endless blue enticing and intense.
She looked away first and gestured to the desk. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“It can wait.”
She couldn’t stand the tension, the air practically crackling between them, and she backed toward the door. “Well, I need a shower so I better go.”
He stalked toward her, like a powerful alpha wolf shadowing a helpless, quivering rabbit.
“But what about figuring out what I owe you?”
She waved her hand, fluttering, ineffectual at keeping him at bay. “The payment’s all there in the contract. Clearly spelled out in black and white.”
He stopped less than a foot in front of her and leaned forward. “Nothing’s ever that clear. There are many shades of grey here that I think we need to figure out.”
Her breath caught as his head lowered, her heart pounding like she’d just taken ten aerobic classes back to back.
“Like?”
It came out a squeak and she darted a glance to the door handle a few inches from her hand. She should grab it, twist it, and make a run for it, but she couldn’t, trapped beneath that disconcerting stare, overpowered by his sheer masculinity as he towered over her.
For one insane second she almost wished he’d kiss her again and get it over with but instead, he straightened, ran a hand through his hair and pointed at his desk.
“Like a stack of paperwork, tax forms and the like that you need to fill out. How about you go take that shower and meet me back here in half an hour?”
She almost collapsed against the door in relief—or was that disappointment?
Buoyed that she’d had a lucky escape, she saluted. “Aye, aye, sir.”
With her hand on the door handle, she couldn’t resist the parting shot considering he’d had the upper hand ever since she’d set foot in here. “You know something? I’m looking forward to being your colleague. You might actually let up on me if we’re co-workers.”
After Lana closed the door, Zac sank into his chair and stared at the contract she’d signed, the fine print blurring.
Colleague.
Co-worker.
Lana Walker, the woman who was slowly but surely driving him crazy, was now a colleague, neatly circumventing his golden rule of never getting involved with a passenger.
Hell.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. It didn’t help, as an image of pert breasts, narrow waist, toned abs, and slim legs covered in lycra haunted him. She wasn’t tall, yet her perfect proportions gave the illusion of height, and he ached to touch her, every tempting inch.
Damn it, why couldn’t she stay hidden behind those loose dresses and revolting pants she wore? First the wet one-piece and now this: tight candy-striped lycra bike shorts and a white T-shirt, fitted enough to highlight the curves he’d love to run his hands over.
He’d snuck back to the gym to watch the last few minutes of her class and had been blown away.
