Chapter 12
Laith watched as Andi left his office, staring at her rigid back.
He knew that she was lying about being “fine”, but wasn’t sure why.
What had changed in the past five minutes?
While they were making love, Andi was so honest, so open about her needs.
But as soon as they stopped, a wall went up between them.
An impenetrable wall that he didn’t understand.
When he looked down at the floor, he spotted a flash of satin. Bending down, Laith realized that it was Andi’s underwear. Instantly, his body hardened as he realized that his woman was walking around without panties! Damn, that was beyond hot.
But…! Frowning thoughtfully at the door, his head spun with possibilities. What if someone else realized that she wasn’t wearing panties? What if she bent over to pick something up and…!
His body hardened all over again, wondering what she would do if he dragged her back in here and…and what? She had work to do and, if he’d learned anything over the past several weeks about Andi, it was that she was a smart, dedicated worker. She genuinely loved the challenge of the team’s efforts.
So no, he shouldn’t pull her back into his office and coax her into another round. First, he didn’t think she would appreciate it just now. Plus, that wounded look in her eyes just before she’d walked out floated behind his eyes.
More importantly, Laith didn’t want to damage her reputation with the rest of the team. Laith knew the team often ate dinner together after work. If he kept pulling her into his office whenever a bolt of lust hit him, the others would notice and Andi would lose the respect of her colleagues.
The men on the team automatically had credibility, but Andi and Jennifer were struggling to prove themselves. When the two women were introduced, Laith had seen surprise from Tom and Lawrence, but both women had worked diligently over the weeks to demonstrate their expertise.
Had he hurt Andi’s reputation by pulling her out of the conference room earlier? He didn’t want to think so, but he had to be sure. He had to fix things if he had.
Moving Andi into the hotel’s penthouse wouldn’t accomplish anything helpful. It would completely destroy any credibility she’d built over the past few weeks.
Sighing, he rubbed his face, then looked around his office, looking for anything else that might give away what they’d shared together.
Thankfully, the office seemed to be the same way it had been earlier. Other than the torn panties that were now stuffed in his pocket…and the lingering memories of Andi’s sweet sighs against his neck…everything looked normal.
Now he had to figure out how to protect Andi without ruining things for her any further.
Because of the passion that seemed to flare up whenever he was around her, that might be a bigger challenge than he’d anticipated.
Especially now that he knew what she felt like when she climaxed, knew the sweet sighs she offered as she found her pleasure, and the tightness of her grip around his throbbing erection.
And damn, he still hadn’t tasted her, or gotten to explore her delicious body properly! What was it about Andi that created such a frantic need inside of him that he couldn’t even take the time to get their clothes off?
Laith chuckled, thinking about how embarrassed Andi would have been afterwards if she’d been naked in his office.
He sighed and pulled the pile of contracts in front of him. Word had gotten out about the improvements he was making in the factories. Orders were already up by fourteen percent. Jennifer had suggested several more improvements to the production process, which would significantly cut costs.
He knew exactly how to fix a business and make it profitable again. But understanding Andi—and how to repair the damage he’d done—was a puzzle he couldn’t yet solve.