Free Fever by Kimberly Dean Page B

eyes were alert, but he seemed more curious than angry. “It’s ready. I cleaned up your spreadsheet last night and gave him the final numbers before I came here. Don’t worry about it.”
    “But… I don’t understand. If you didn’t come here about the budget…”
    “Are you asking me why I showed up at your apartment in the middle of the night?”
    She nodded hesitantly.
    He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Twenty-two.”
    Her eyebrows drew together. It wasn’t what she’d expected to hear. “What?”
    “Twenty-two. I knew you were sick when I found that error. You never make mistakes like that.” His fingers brushed across her cheekbone, and the look on his face sobered. “That’s when I knew it was serious. I got over my jealousy real fast.”
    “You were jealous?” she choked out. “About what?”
    He actually looked embarrassed. “You caught me by surprise when you left work so suddenly, and when I saw Rob with his arm around you…”
    “I knew you got the wrong impression!”
    “What was I supposed to think when you two started sucking face on a public sidewalk? You want to talk about envy? That old green monster took a huge bite out of my ass.”
    The kiss. Delia was horrified. She hadn’t known he was watching. She never would have let Rob kiss her if she’d known.
    The realization made her come up short. She never would have let Rob touch her. A flirty little kiss or two was okay, but if he’d asked for anything more?
    She would have been tempted, but Jackson was the one. They’d been gearing up for this for two months. It was he that made her feet stumble, her words clumsy, and her heart slam against her ribcage.
    She looked at him in wonder. “I thought Rob was your best friend.”
    “He is—the little prick. He staged that whole thing and thought it was funny, too.”
    “He did what?”
    For once, Jackson was the one who acted uncomfortable. He let out a long breath and ran his hand through his hair. “He knew how I felt about you,” he said quietly. “Hell, he’s known since the first day I interviewed you, and he’s been goading me to do something about it ever since. Yesterday, though, he kicked his plan into high gear.”
    “But… I don’t understand.”
    “Let’s just say we had a man-to-man talk when he got back to the office.”
    “Oh, no.” Delia didn’t like the sound of that. “You two didn’t. I never meant to come between the two of you.”
    “Relax. That pretty boy face of his is just fine.” Jackson reached out and began to toy with her hair. He seemed entranced with the way the red strands wrapped around his fingers. “You’ll find a receipt for a new trash can, though, when you get back to the office.”
    Delia couldn’t help it. The thought of Jackson Lloyd losing his legendary control—and over her—made her feel all warm inside. It wasn’t the feverish heat she’d felt over the course of the night, but a warmth that went deep into her being and wouldn’t go away. She finally understood what that mischievous smile on Rob’s face had been about. “He told you to come check on me last night.”
    “It’s the only thing that saved his puny butt. That, plus the fact that he kept his hands to himself.” Jackson glanced at her uncertainly. “Are you disappointed?”
    She lifted her head and shyly kissed the mark her teeth had left on his shoulder. “No.”
    He cupped the back of her head and held her look. “Somebody needed to take care of you—and it was going to be me.”
    “I’m glad it was,” she murmured. Finding him in her bed had been a surprise, but it was turning out to be a good one. It was just going to take her a while to merge her night lover with her day boss. Still, knowing what she did about him… His power, his compassion, his mouth-watering body, his unblinking focus… Ooh, the possibilities were endless.
    A thought occurred to her, one that had bothered her even in her delirium. “But how did you get