Free Office Affair by Jess Dee Page B

anything but. He suspected that beneath that distant veneer was a lonely woman screaming out for company. For friends. Maybe even for love.
    They reached the car park and for the second time in a few minutes climbed into a lift. Ben did nothing, leaving it to Melissa to push the required button.
    “Surprise me now. Have lunch with me tomorrow.”
    She shook her head and furrowed her brow, looking worried. “I’ll have sex with you tomorrow night. More than that, I draw the line.”
    “You have a deal. On the sex front. As for the lunch—I insist. It’s not a date. We can call it a business lunch. Hit the coffee shop on the ground floor. After all, you were the one who pointed out I miss too many lunches. C’mon, sweetness, help me correct that now.”
    “Don’t call me that.” She stepped out of the lift and took a left. Ben followed. The level was all but deserted, just one car parked on the other end. A black Peugeot Cabriolet. Nifty little car. Racy. Nothing like he’d expected her to drive.
    On second thought, having met the other side of Melissa, maybe the Peugeot was the perfect car for her.
    “Don’t call you sweetness? Sorry. No can do. Now that I’ve had a couple of tastes of you, I know it to be the truth. Can’t call you anything else.”
    “Back off, Cowley.”
    “Tell you what. Forget going out to lunch. I’ll bring sandwiches to you. We can eat in your office. Or mine. But if we eat in mine, you know I’m going to have to have dessert.” His mouth watered at the thought.
    She clicked the remote for her car, and her indicator light flashed. Faster than he’d anticipated, her door was open and she was seated in the front, the keys in the ignition. Ben crouched next to her before she could slam the door shut.
    “No sandwiches,” she informed him. “No lunch. No socializing. No nothing. You and me, we’re about work and we’re about sex. And that’s it.”
    Ben frowned at her. “I’m confused. I thought you wanted me to be happy.”
    She gaped at him.
    “Your words. You said that. Last night.”
    “When I offered you sex. I figured that would make you happy.”
    “It did. It does. But I’d be happier spending time with you. Not talking about sex. Or work.” He screwed up his nose. “Nope, cut that. We can definitely talk about sex. And other stuff too.”
    Melissa sighed. “Please, let’s not turn this into something it’s not. I can’t afford to be distracted now. Too much is at stake if I lose my focus. We’re sex, Ben. That’s all.”
    Hell, she was closed and unapproachable. Nothing like the wanton sex goddess who wanted to know everything about him not half an hour ago. “Are we sex now?”
    “No, we’re colleagues now. Period.” She didn’t look at him when she answered. Her expression was stoic, unemotional. But she shifted just the tiniest bit in her seat, and that was all Ben needed.
    He placed a hand on her knee, letting his fingers inch under her skirt. “So if I moved my arm up your leg, let my hand trail over your inner thigh, I wouldn’t find you wet and wanting?”
    Her cheeks turned scarlet. “You wouldn’t find me anything, because your arm is not moving another inch.”
    Too late. He’d already let his fingers whisper up her thigh, already lost himself to the heady feel of silk and heat.
    “Ben—”
    “Have to touch you, Mel.”
    “Leave me alone!” Her command was a hoarse whisper.
    “Open up for me, sweetness.” The fog of desire quickened his breath.
    “No. Please, go away.” But her body’s response contradicted her words. She parted her legs for him.
    “That’s it.” His hand crept up over her smooth skin. “A little wider.”
    She slumped against the back of the seat, spreading her thighs as far as her skirt would let her, allowing him in. It was a tight fit but worth the effort. He found her exactly as he’d hoped to. Wet and warm. Slick with desire.
    “Mel, you’re killing me.”
    Her response was a soft moan.
    He couldn’t