She felt the smile split her face.

With a groan at the sight, he grabbed the knife and started slicing without her, his hands and fingers moving so quickly and efficiently they were a blur. “It doesn’t matter, Em. It’s not going anywhere, you know that. You’re heading back to L.A., and I’m…”

“You’re what?”

“I’m not sure. I’m never sure.”

“Because you like to be free to walk when it suits you.”

“That’s right.” He finished the huge stack of carrots and started in on the celery.

“Because contracts, even short-term television contracts for huge amounts of money, don’t interest you any more than planning for the future interests you.”

He set down the knife. “Thank you for your help.”

She’d been dismissed. Well, didn’t that suit her. She turned away from him, and suddenly realized they were all alone. “Hey, where did everyone go?”

Equally bewildered, Jacob looked around. “You’re stressing out my kitchen.”

Em put her hands on her hips. “I’m stressing out your kitchen? Are you kidding me? You’re the one giving me heart failure-”

“When did I give you heart failure?”

She shook her head and bit her lip so the rest couldn’t come out.

He merely hauled her up on her toes and put them nose-to-nose. “Tell me.”

“Every time you made me come,” she whispered.

Still holding her, he stared at her. Annoyance faded, replaced by emotions that made her swallow hard.

“Is that right?” he asked in that silky voice that last night had driven her over the edge too many times to count.

“Yes.”

He set her down. His hands left her. “Flour,” he said.

“What?”

He gestured behind her, to what looked like a pantry door. “I need flour.”

She narrowed her eyes. Was this yet another test? Or his way of changing the subject?

He just waited.

Fine. She’d get him the damn flour. And then they’d talk. She opened the double doors. Inside were shelves stocked with cans and dry goods.

And Eric and Liza. Eric’s hair was wild from Liza’s fingers, his shirt gaping, his belt open. He had Liza backed to a shelf, one hand up her shirt, the other down her pants.

As Em’s mouth fell open, they jerked apart.

“Sorry,” Eric said.

Liza smiled apologetically. “Make-up sex…well, you know.”

No, Em didn’t know. But suddenly she wished she did.

Jacob shut the door.

“Oh, my,” she finally said.

Jacob looked into her hot face, then without a word, took her hand and pulled her back through the kitchen, down an employee hallway and through yet another door.

It was a beautiful room, quite obviously his office, with a black lacquer desk and matching shelving unit, and a large window looking out to the busy city.

A black cat sat on the desk, the cat from the elevator on her first day here. At the sight of them, she gave a soft “meow,” rubbed around each of their ankles, and began to purr.

Jacob scooped her up, scratched behind her ears, and then set her down outside the office door.

“Yours?” she asked.

“Eartha Kitty belongs to Piper, the owner of the hotel. Sort of a mascot.”

She tried a smile. “You have a nice view here.”

“I guess. I look at you and I can’t see anything else.”

The words stunned her. Thrilled her.

“Em, I want to finish what we started in the kitchen.”

“The fight?”

“We were discussing, not fighting. I believe you were telling me how it felt when I made you come-”

More heat flooded her body. “I don’t feel like talking about that anymore.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Um…” She broke off when he took a step toward her. She took one back, but came up against the windowsill. She gripped it tight at her sides to steady herself.

He arched a brow.

She returned the gesture. “Because,” she said, feeling immature as she crossed her arms.

And aware. Let’s not forget extremely aware.

“Because isn’t a complete sentence, or a reason,” he pointed out.

“I don’t feel like talking about it,” she repeated a little shakily when he slid his body to hers, sandwiching her between the sill and his hard form.

“So what do you feel like doing?” His voice was amused, but looking into his eyes, he was anything but.

She bit her lip harder this time. No more blurting anything out! There was no point to it, no point in hashing this out.

“Then maybe we shouldn’t talk at all,” he decided, and slid his muscled thigh between hers, bringing it up high, making all her happy spots zing to life. While she was still absorbing that, he slid his hands in her hair, tugged her face close and kissed her.

13

To: Concierge

From: Housekeeping

Room 1212 has left a request for a pack of batteries. Please make sure they’re AAs.

EM PULLED BACK from Jacob’s mind-blowing kiss. “Okay, maybe we should talk.” Before I let you take me right here on your desk. She wanted him, so much, but realized that scared or not, edgy or not, Jacob was nothing but heartache waiting to happen.

When he stroked a strand of hair from her face and then left his fingers cupping her cheek she squeezed her eyes shut. “Jacob-”

“I loved watching you.”

“Butchering the veggies?”

“When you came.”

Her eyes flew open.

He smiled wickedly. “You always seemed surprised, every single time. The sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, watching you let go.”

Just his words flooded heat in her veins. “Stop.”

“Why are you always so surprised, Em?”

Nope. Talking was a bad idea, too. No more talking, no more kissing. In fact, no more staring at him, either, because he looked so good…

She shut her eyes again.

He stroked his fingers down her throat, then over her collarbone, pushing her sweater out of his way as he went.

Her nipples hardened but she nibbled on her lip and didn’t make a sound.

“Haven’t you ever come with a man before?”

That got her. Her eyes flew open. She shoved his hand away. “You are so full of yourself.”

“Have you?” Undeterred, his hands took each of hers, bringing them around her back, holding them there low on her spine, which brought her entire front up against his.

“Yes, I’ve come with a man before.” His gaze was so deep, so real. How could it be that he could let her in like this, and yet not keep her in? “But not like with you,” she admitted. “Never like with you.”

“What made it different?” His voice was low, husky. Sweet.

Damn it, he was sucking her right back in. “Are you sure you want to hear this?” she asked, and saw the truth. No, he didn’t want to hear this. He didn’t want to know any of it, but he was as deeply shaken as she. And listening to her was the only chance he had of understanding.

Her own understanding nearly rose up and choked her. God, he was something, all confident and sexy as long as things were on his terms, in his comfort zone.

But as he had with her, she, too, had taken him beyond comfort, and the expression behind his eyes opened her heart and made it bleed. “You make it different,” she whispered. “There’s something about you. About how I feel when I’m with you. There’s something between us that I can’t resist, even if you can. You take me out of myself, Jacob, whether we’re laughing, talking, or making love. And because of that, you make me feel more than I ever have. An orgasm with you suddenly isn’t this tiny little ping I have to strive so hard for. It’s like…”

“What?” he whispered.

“Like the Fourth of July. A full fireworks display.” She looked into his eyes and saw the acknowledgement, that he felt the same. “It involves so much more than just our body parts. For me, it involves my heart.”

“Your two friends,” he said. “Is it this way for them?”

“I think so.”

“Seeing them like that made you hot.”

And she wasn’t the only one. She could feel him, heavy and hard against her. “They belong together, they have an undeniable connection. It makes me want such a thing for myself.”

His eyes grew dark, if that was even possible. “I can give you a connection.” Banding his arm around her, he lifted her. He sat her on the sill, then stepped between her legs.

“Jacob-”

“I want you again, Em. I can’t think with all this wanting.”

It melted her, and in spite of herself, she tilted her face up for his kiss, sighing as he met her more than halfway, leaning in, pressing his body flush to hers.

“I keep remembering last night,” she murmured when he took little bites out of her on his way over her throat. “How good it felt…”

“If I say I can’t remember, can we do it again?”

She let out a laugh-that backed up in her throat when he tugged her sweater down and exposed her bra, its front hook posing no problem for him. He just crouched in front of her, clicked the bra open, then let out a low breath of desire when her breasts popped free. Carefully, gently, he ran his stubbled cheek over one.

Her nipples puckered into a tight knot, wrenching another sound from Jacob’s throat. “You are so beautiful, Em.”

“Thank you, but I’m not sure-”

He sucked her nipple hard into his mouth and her thoughts skittered right out of her head.

“We probably shouldn’t-” She broke off on a moan when he bunched up her skirt and slid a hand between her legs. “Um…well, maybe.”

“Oh, yeah,” he murmured roughly, slipping her panties aside to sink a finger into her. Then another. “You’re already wet.” His thumb spread that wetness around while his fingers stroked her until her vision faded.

“Jacob-”

“I’ll buy you a new pair, I promise.” Then he tore the flimsy scrap of material away from her and tossed it over his shoulder.