Free Fighting for Control (Against the Cage Book 3) by Melynda Price Page B

she confessed, sitting in the chair he held out for her. Instead of scooting her forward and dragging her chair against the tile, her feet left the ground as he lifted her up, setting her back down gently.
    She didn’t realized how close he stood behind her until his low, throaty chuckle rumbled beside her ear. “I’m glad you did.”
    “Do you have my papers?” she asked, just in case he thought she was here for another reason.
    “I do. What do you like to drink?” Nikko asked, returning to his seat but making no move to produce said papers. Instead, he reached for the wine list in the center of the table. “Do you prefer red or white?”
    “I’ve recently switched to red.” Why was he doing this? What did he want from her? Curiosity gave her the justification to let this play out. Perhaps he’d be more forthcoming outside of the office. Maybe she’d learn a thing or two about Nikko Del Toro she could pass on to Jim for their therapy sessions. She was just doing her job by being a compassionate, dedicated therapist. Oh, yeah, and she was lying her ass off, but that was okay, as long as her gullible self kept buying every word of it.
    “Dry or sweet?” he asked, glancing up at her over the menu.
    “Sweet.”
    “Sweet and red, huh? Lambrusco all right?”
    “It’s fine. Nikko, what are you doing?”
    His brow arched at her question. “I’m going to order a bottle of wine.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m thirsty and you seem like you could use a glass yourself. Tough day at the office?”
    And just like that he managed to strip away all of her bravado. “Is it that obvious?” She dropped her face into her hands, suddenly feeling out of place and self-conscious. Did she really look that bad? True, she’d had a long day, and she had hardly slept at all the last two nights. When she wasn’t lying awake thinking about Nikko and wrestling with the moral dilemma of wanting him, he was playing a starring role in her erotic fantasies.
    His hand wrapped around her wrist, sending a jolt of heat racing up her arm. “That wasn’t what I meant, Clover. You look beautiful. You just seem . . .” He shrugged. “Really tense, is all.”
    “That’s because I shouldn’t be here, Nikko.”
    He scowled, his voice dipping lower. “Then why did you come?”
    “Because you wouldn’t turn in your papers and I need them before tomorrow.”
    His thumb swept over her wrist in a gentle caress. How could a simple touch make her body go so haywire? The chaotic pounding of her pulse reverberated in her ears.
    “Is that the only reason?”
    “It’s the only one I’ll admit to.”
    This time he smiled—a real, genuine, white-toothed grin that nearly knocked her off her chair. Holy shit, was that a dimple? She thought this man was gorgeous before, but with that smile, he was absolutely mesmerizing. “Why did you ask me here?” she demanded.
    He looked at her for a long time, studying her with that inscrutable stare. She almost thought he wasn’t going to answer her when he finally said, “I really don’t know.”
    She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting him to say, but that was not it. At least his answer was honest, though Nikko didn’t strike her as the kind of guy who would lie. He might keep himself closed off and guarded, but as far as she could tell, he was a straight shooter who rarely minced his words. She liked that about him, found it refreshing to be around someone that had an authenticity rarely found in men these days, especially in her line of work. There was a small part of her that took comfort in knowing that whatever this was brewing between them, it seemed to baffle Nikko as much as it did her.
    “The last thing I was expecting when I walked into that office Monday was to see you sitting behind that desk. I don’t know . . .” He shrugged. “I guess I thought, maybe if I saw you again . . .”
    What? Saw me again what? She bit her bottom lip to keep from blurting out the question.