Free Substitute Bride (Beaufort Brides Book 2) by Noelle Adams

About sex and James
together, in the same breath.
    And that was something she absolutely couldn’t do, not if
she wanted to hold onto any vestige of professionalism.
    She wondered if he found her attractive. He’d called her
pretty last night, but he might have just been trying to be nice.
    It would be nice if her body could arouse him,
though—because his body could sure arouse her.

Five
     
    James was so distracted the next morning
that he ended up forgetting his phone at home.
    His phone contained everything—his schedule, his contacts,
his notes about projects he was working on—and he was absolutely useless
without it, since he could never keep details in his head. So, after getting to
his office, he had to turn around and drive back home.
    He’d gotten more sleep last night than he had the two nights
before, but most of that sleep had been with Rose in his arms.
    He’d known what he was doing the previous evening when Rose
had dozed off and unconsciously leaned over toward him. He’d put his arm around
her on purpose, knowing he shouldn’t and also knowing that he wanted to hold
her like that. She’d been asleep, so he’d told himself it didn’t matter. He
could enjoy it for a little while and then get up and go to bed.
    He hadn’t gotten up. He’d fallen asleep too. He’d half-woken
a couple of times, aware that her body was pressed against his fully and that
his own body really liked it, but she’d been gone when he woke up this morning
for real, his back stiff and his groin hard.
    He’d taken a long shower and reminded himself that these
were feelings he couldn’t indulge again. Things were already getting messy in
his life—sliding into a kind of chaos he remembered from after Melissa had
died—and he wasn’t going to straighten them out again if he let himself lust
after their nanny.
    But he was tired and frustrated and generally cranky as he
parked in the driveway and let himself in through the kitchen door.
    He froze when the first thing he saw was a wide expanse of
Rose’s breasts.
    She was leaning over, evidently trying to hook the leash
onto Topsy, who was spinning around like crazy. She wore only a short, thin
bathrobe which was hanging down to reveal most of her chest.
    James stared fixedly at the full, heavy curve of her breasts
and the glimpse of a rosy nipple he could see, his body immediately tightening
with interest at the sight.
    Rose jumped up when she saw him, making a breathless sound
and taking a couple of steps backward. “Oh, Mr. Harwood!”
    He knew he was expected to speak, and he tried to make
himself do so, but his mouth was bone dry and his growing erection in his pants
began to pulse. By standing up, she had hidden most of her breasts, but the
robe was still hanging loose, and he could see more of her fair skin than was
good for him.
    “I’m so sorry,” she said, a flush starting to stain her
cheeks. “I wouldn’t have come down like this if I’d known you were coming back.
Topsy really needed to go. She was doing her spins.”
    He managed to clear his throat, finally finding his voice.
“It’s fine. I forgot my phone. I’m—I’m sorry to interrupt.”
    That last part was pretty stupid, but it was the best he
could do, given the circumstances.
    Rose had dropped her eyelashes delectably and was closing
her robe more with her left hand. She still held Topsy’s leash in her right.
“Well,” she said. “I better take her out.”
    “Yes. You better. I mean, I’ll just run get my phone.”
    He wasn’t sure he could move immediately, so he was relieved
when Rose walked past him with Topsy and took the dog outside.
    James took a few shaky breaths and tried to pull himself
together.
    This was ridiculous. He was never afflicted with lust like
this. He could hardly ask Rose to stop looking so sexy in his presence. He was
the one who needed to get his responses under control.
    He finally managed to move, and he hurried down the hall to
his office, which was the