Page 10 of Summer Heat
“Thank you,” she said softly.
He met her gaze, those green eyes warmer than she was used to. “You’re welcome.”
She sighed, her suddenly needy body swaying closer even though he was a full desk away. She jerked herself upright, forcibly shaking herself out of the spell he effortlessly wove around her.
She cleared her throat. “After you’re settled in, I’d like to go over my duties and how you handle your appointments and calendar. Things like that.” She cursed the huskiness in her voice caused from just a near smile. Man, either she was sex-starved or in big trouble.
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you in,” he said gruffly.
She inclined her head, turned, and started for the door.
“Lexie,” he said, the rough timbre of his voice sending more shivers of awareness rushing through her.
She grasped the doorframe, and yes, she squeezed her thighs together, because her body reacted to his use of her name, her panties growing damp.
“Yes?” She glanced over her shoulder, meeting his gaze.
“Point taken. Next time I’m going to be late, I’ll let you know.” No sooner had he spoken than he looked down, busying himself on his cell.
Stunned, she walked back to her desk on trembling legs … and waited for him to call her in to work.
A few minutes later, Derek and Lucas walked into his office and slammed the door behind them, giving her more time to wait. And to think about Kade, the man who seemed to be softening … and she hadn’t even been here long.
* * *
Kade was drinking the best damned cup of coffee he’d ever had just because Lexie had it made as soon as he’d walked in the door. He leaned back against his chair, feet on his desk. He was unfamiliar with the emotions coursing through him. From pleasure at seeing her in his office to appreciating how she’d picked up on his needs.
Yeah, he’d told his other assistants that he wanted his coffee hot and fresh as soon as he arrived in the morning, but somehow they’d all screwed it up. And though it was just coffee, he understood the need was as much a part of his routine as the way he put on his socks, right foot, then left, or brushed his teeth, also right side, then left.
But Lexie seemed to roll with his demands despite the fact that he could be a pain in the ass. The truth was, there was also part of him that liked to see how far he could push people before they walked away … because they always did.
Except for Derek, Luke, and once upon a time, Julian. Brothers in fraternity and in reality. Julian had chosen drugs over his best friends. Demons and addiction had driven him. Kade didn’t worry about anything pulling Derek and Luke away. They were solid. They were his family.
Now there was this spitfire of a woman who’d barreled into his life twenty-four hours ago, and he couldn’t think of anything else. He’d be a damned liar if he didn’t admit that after she’d left, her scent lingering in his apartment, he’d wrapped his fingers around his cock and brought himself much-needed relief. He’d come all over his hand like a horny adolescent, Lexie’s face in his mind, imagining it was her body he was fucking instead of his hand.
He tried to remind himself that she worked for him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He still wanted her. Just as he knew she could and probably would let him down.
Without warning, his office door banged open, hitting the wall behind it, and his partners stormed in.
Derek took one look at him and asked, “What’s with that grin on your face?”
Feeling like an ass, Kade ignored the comment. “What’s wrong?” Because they hadn’t come barreling in for no reason.
“We have a fucking problem,” Luke said.
Derek slammed the door shut and hit the lock. That meant shit just got real. “What’s going on?”
The two men glanced at each other.
“Just spit it out,” Kade ordered them, not enjoying bein
g in the dark.
“Somehow Julian knows,” Derek said. “And this company and everything we’ve worked for is in jeopardy.” He didn’t need to elaborate.
There was only one thing Julian could have uncovered that would threaten everything they’d built—were building.
Kade was the weak link and he knew it. “How?” he asked his friends.
