Free Engaging the Boss (Heirs of Damon) by Noelle Adams Page A

his side
of the bed.
    They
didn’t talk as he got in bed and turned off the light. It was earlier than he normally
went to sleep, but he didn’t feel like reading.
    They
lay awake in silence for several minutes. She was perfectly still beside him,
but he knew she was awake.
    Finally,
she said what she’d obviously been thinking about. “Your uncle is worried about
you.”
    He
tensed slightly, not minding talking to her but not liking the direction of the
conversation. “What do you mean?”
    “He’s
worried about you. He was asking me about you today in the garden. He wanted to
make sure you were happy.”
    “What
did you tell him?”
    “I
told him you were.”
    He
relaxed slightly.
    “He
loves you, you know.” Her voice was mild, almost casual. “He wants to connect
with you but doesn’t know how.”
    Jonathan
didn’t say anything. Had no idea what to say, even if he’d wanted to.
    “I
know you think he doesn’t care much about you, but he does. I think, if you
made a little effort to connect with him, it would pay off.”
    A
thick bubble of feeling and confusion choked him. He had no idea how Sarah had
known that about him. He didn’t like that she knew. It made him feel
vulnerable.
    As
vulnerable as the idea that his uncle wanted to connect with him. He’d never
believed that was true. Still couldn’t really believe it. He’d never been able
to do anything to really impress his uncle. Even his work at the lab wasn’t
enough.
    “Jonathan?”
Sarah prompted finally.
    “Yeah,”
he muttered. “It’s not really any of your business.”
    “Okay.
Sorry.”
    He’d
said the worst possible thing he could have said. He’d hurt her feelings. He
could hear it in her voice, sense it in the tension of her body beside his.
She’d been trying to help him, and he’d thrown it back into her face.
    He
was an idiot and an ass in almost every way. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t
mean to—”
    “No,
it’s fine. I understand. I shouldn’t pry.”
    Her
voice was natural again, but he thought she was still upset.
    “Goodnight,”
she added, ending the conversation by rolling over so she was facing away from
him on the bed.
    Jonathan
wanted to say something, wanted to make it better. He wanted her to look at him
the way she’d been looking at him earlier that evening—like he was something
special.
    He
wished he was like Harrison or Andrew, always able to find the right words.
    But
he couldn’t. He didn’t know how to fix it. So he just said “goodnight” back to
her and rolled over away from her, counting down the days until this trip was
over and his life could return to normal again.
    ***
    Jonathan wasn’t sure
how it happened.
    He
wasn’t conscious of having an erotic dream, but the first thing he was aware of
on awakening was being deeply, dangerously aroused.
    It
wasn’t like a normal morning hard-on either. The need was urgent, and it was
the only thing in the world he was aware of.
    Then
he became conscious of a few more things, which only deepened his arousal. He must
have moved in his sleep because he was almost on top of a soft, warm, female
body.
    She
was wearing some sort of tank top to sleep in, but it had somehow gotten pushed
up, so his bare chest pressed against the smooth, bare skin of her back.
    Her
hair was all around, soft and fragrant, in his face, against his skin. He
shifted, since even in his half-awakened state, he knew he shouldn’t be lying
on top of someone.
    He
was too heavy.
    She
moaned when he moved, and the throaty sound went straight to his groin. She
pushed her bottom up as he shifted until it was in perfect, tortuous alignment
with his erection.
    She
was still asleep, he realized. She made a huff of sound and pressed her hips up
again, as if she were instinctively seeking what she’d felt before.
    No
wonder he’d woken up so turned off. She was clearly having a sexy dream, and it
felt all too real to him.
    He
couldn’t seem to think. Couldn’t seem to