Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ASLAN
W hat am I doing?
Her gaze narrows, but there’s no nostrils flaring or scornful curl of her lip. There’s panic in her eyes, but excitement too as I slowly bend closer to her.
“If you need to ask, maybe it’s been too long since the last time you did it,” I say with a low voice as I capture her mouth.
I bring my other hand up into her hair, tangling among her soft curls.
I push the tip of my tongue between her lips, asking for permission to explore more, to taste her.
She does, without hesitation, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I take my time exploring her mouth, enjoying the little throaty moans that escape her.
I slide my hands down her back, pressing her close to me.
The speed of the kiss changes as she loses her reservations and begins to demand.
The sparks around us become a wildfire that might ignite the entire building.
There’s a knock on the door. Keaton jumps out of my embrace and almost falls as she tries to get away from me.
I catch her in mid-air. She recovers fast and looks at me briefly, almost scared to be so close but wanting more.
She can deny that the kiss affected her, but her swollen lips and sparkling eyes tell a different story.
I take a couple of steps back, fixing my jacket to hide the tent in my pants. “Come on in.”
“Sir, I just wanted to drop off your drinks,” Tim says as he sets the drink tray on top of the table.
Keaton takes one of them, gathers her things, and jets out of the office. I’ve never seen anyone leave in such a hurry.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Tim stares at the couch where Keat’s belongings were only a few seconds ago.
“It’s not your fault. I think she’s been trying to leave for the past ten minutes, and you were her best excuse. Thank you for bringing us coffee.”
“Anything else?”
“Not for now. I’ll make sure to message you when it’s time to take Ms. Nealy home.”
“How about you?”
“I’ll catch an Uber or use one of the cars I have parked in the garage.”
“Then I’ll be going to Paradise Bay. Your mother needs me to run some errands.”
“Good luck.”
He shakes his head and leaves.
Once he’s gone, I grab the tray with breakfast, making my way toward Keaton’s office. Her door is open. She’s already sitting by her desk.
Her attention is on her monitor.
I knock so that she knows I’m entering and set the tray on top of her desk. “You left without the food.”
She looks up. “I’m not hungry, but thank you.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m busy,” she says.
“Uh-huh, I thought we agreed we wouldn’t lie to each other.”
“We agreed to keep our PDA to a minimum.” She raises her voice, but I can see she’s not angry, just flustered.
“Should I apologize?”
She rises from her seat, shuts the door, and mumbles, “That shouldn’t be happening again.”
“Lying? I agree.”
“No. The kiss.”
“You liked it.”
She almost jumps toward the other side of her office. “That’s not the point.”
“We have to get acquainted.”
“Take the intensity down a few flames, and we can try again.”
“Flames?” I almost laugh at the scale she’s using to describe our kiss. “Tell me more about this.”
“Well, if you categorize kisses, the one you just gave me was a five-flame kiss. It’s unnecessary. If we must kiss, we should do it with a different intensity.”
“I could always try a ten.” I wink at her.
“Aslan,” she warns me.“I won’t accept anything higher than a one flame.”
It’s hard not to laugh but I stop when she glares at me. “Okay, so what’s a one flame? Can you demonstrate so I know what I should be doing?”
“No.”
“I’ll get it wrong.”
“You’re being obtuse.”
“I’m following your lead.”
“Fine. She walks closer to me, pushes herself up on her tiptoes, and gives me a chaste kiss close to the lips.
“What was that?”
“A one flame kiss.”
“That’s nothing. I have more chemistry with the glass door of my apartment.”
“What does that mean?”
“Sometimes, when it’s too clean and I’m distracted”—I pause, swallowing as if I’m ashamed of my confession— “Well, I don’t realize the door is closed, so I slam my face against it. Believe me when I say that it’s a lot hotter than what you just did.”
She chuckles.Mission accomplished; she’s relaxing. “Are you laughing at my misery?”
“No, I just wish I could see it.”
“So, let’s find a three flame, acceptable kiss,” I propose instead of bickering about the times I’ve mistakenly gone outside the terrace and kissed the door.
She waves her index finger, as if saying no. “You’re just looking for an excuse to kiss me again.”
“Can you blame me? I liked the little taste you gave me.”
She takes a couple steps backward, almost bumping into the wall. “We have work to do.”
“We need to practice,” I insist, stepping closer. I put my hands on each side of her, caging her in.
She looks at me like a small bunny desperate to escape its hunter. I lick my lips, ready to try another long, scorching kiss when there’s a knock on the door. “Fuck. I should fire everyone for interrupting me.”
She scurries away from me and opens the door. “Hey, Lulu.”
“Sir, your meeting starts in twenty minutes. You still need to change your suit.”
I check the time, look at my wrinkled suit, and sigh. “I’ll be there in a second.”
Lulu nods and leaves immediately.
Keaton holds the door open. She smirks while saying, “Goodbye, Mr. Spearman.”
“This isn’t over.” I walk closer to her. She moves to the other side of the office. She’s as fast as a hare.
This little bunny thinks she will escape me, but she’s wrong. I’ll catch up to her, and she’ll be begging me to devour her soon.
“Oh, but it is. We’ll keep it at a one flame. That’s what I’m comfortable with.”
“You were pretty comfortable in my office.”
She waves her hand, as if saying goodbye. “It’s time for you to go.”
I do as she says, but as I close the door, I warn her. “If we don’t find that sweet spot of three flames, I’ll stick to what we did in my office. See you at lunch, Keat.”
I grin when I hear her say, “Keep dreaming, Spearman.”