Chapter 5
5
JASMINE
I hope that pitching in to help with his project has made Alex see me as more than a girl who digs around in dirt. Although right now, I’m also lowkey kind of tired and itchy from being in this cleansuit.
“Annnd we’re done,” he announces, gesturing toward the airlock and gown room.
I watch as he peels off his protective gear and drops everything in the appropriate bins, then do the same. The second my gloves and mask are off, I scratch my cheekbone vigorously. “ Yesss – I’ve been needing to do that for an hour.”
Alex turns to me, very close in this small space. I breathe in his scent…natural soap, along with a note of…something else. Oh, right – pure, warm, hulking man.
“Ha! I’ve been there. Annoying, isn’t it?” His hand lifts, and my breath stops as his thumb runs gently across my cheek several times. “Is that better?”
The way he looks directly into my eyes… There’s that connection I’ve been hoping to see. My pulse is racing. Please don’t let me be misreading this. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Where would you like to go for dinner?” he asks, leaning against the wall and pulling off his blue booties. “I have a list of the top fifteen restaurants in town.”
“As in your favorites?”
“As in they’re the highest rated by the health department.”
Of course.
“Honestly, I could go for pizza. Or maybe subs?”
We walk to his office, then he waves me to his desk chair, opens his laptop, and navigates to the page of a local pizza and sub restaurant. “Order whatever you want, and something you think I’d like. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Forty minutes later, I’m in the middle of the best date of my life. Alex used plastic sheets, boxes, and cushions from the lunchroom benches to fashion a table and “picnic fort” on the floor in front of his huge office window. He also turned off the overhead lights, so there’s just a desk lamp at the side and a soft glow from the hallway.
It’s the cleanroom version of being sprawled in the forest, but with the sparkling lights of the city spread out in front of us instead of trees. Honestly, it’s super romantic. Partly because Alex was so quick and creative to arrange it all, and also obviously trying to make this a real date.
After finishing my second slice, I roll my eyes. “This pizza is amazing.”
“Glad you like it.” He grins, which lights up his deep, soulful eyes. “I wasn’t sure about this place when I first saw it on the list of cleanest restaurants. It’s just a small shop in a strip mall. But it’s family run, and the food is consistently amazing.”
We shift at the same time, turning toward each other, leaning closer. His hand goes to my knee, then he looks down as if the movement surprised him.
“Jasmine.” His voice is husky. “I truly am grateful that you’re going to help me add some life to this space and fix this whole stressed environment thing. And I appreciate you helping with the project earlier. But I need to know…”
He hesitates, staring so deeply into my eyes that I feel it low in my belly. This man is sexy , but I don’t think he has any idea how much.
“May I?” he leans in, lips an inch from mine. My heart practically explodes from how sweet it is that he’s careful to make sure I’m comfortable.
“Yes.” I’ve barely exhaled the word when his lips brush softly over mine.
My mind is flooded with a mishmash of thoughts and observations all at once. Like how the contrast of such a huge, strong man being so breathtakingly gentle is lighting me up. How his hand is definitely pressing against my lower back, nudging us closer. How our lips are parting at the same time as this kiss becomes deeper, sultry and warm and…oh, wow .
“Jasmine,” he breathes, pulling me onto him so that I’m sitting on his lap. We’re heart to heart as he stares into my eyes. “This is…” The pure, fiery longing of his expression sends my arms around his neck and my mouth crashing back to his.
We both moan at the same time, the kiss becoming deeper, hotter. We shift, getting as close as possible. His firm hand is still on my back, the other one clutching my outer thigh. My fingers grip his shoulder and thick arm. His mouth demands mine with a surprising hunger.
I can’t help wondering if Alex has been starved for touch. For intimacy. From what I’ve seen so far, he seems completely dedicated to work. This physical closeness feels healthy and right for both of us.
He slowly sinks back, pulling me with him until I’m lying on top of him. Now his hands run up and down my back, the right casually skimming along my hip, not quite touching my ass, teasing me.
My breasts press down on his huge, hard chest. My fingers slip up the back of his neck, tangling in his hair. I feel like I’m floating. Alex wants me .
As our mouths move together, I feel even more proof of this physical connection. Not just the spring coiling tightly between my thighs, making me want to rip his clothes off. It’s the feeling of him…rising to the occasion. The thick, firm pressure growing and building between us.
Alex’s eyes snap open, then he rolls me to the side, cradling my body with his arm. “I’m sorry,” he pants, nearly breathless. “I didn’t mean to get, ah, carried away.”
“It’s fine.” My fingers brush back the hair from his temple. “I like it.”
“I like you .” The words are the faintest whisper, but they trigger an explosion of emotions inside me. “I’ll drive you home?” he offers, propping himself up on an elbow.
“Cool. Thank you. Hey—” I tap his nose with my fingertip. “I didn’t even get around to showing you my ideas!”
His chuckle resonates low in his throat. “You know what? I trust you. Just go for it. Everything you’ve said makes sense. We have the budget. Go nuts.”
I laugh, and instantly feel his arm tighten around me and his thigh brush against mine. “You’re telling me to go nuts? Careful what you wish for, buddy. I’ll have so much greenery in this place you’ll barely be able to walk through the front door.”
He chuckles again. “Don’t care. Do what you like. Honestly, I’m curious to see what you come up with.”
His faith in me is delightful, just like this adorable floor picnic, and the way he insists on boxing up the leftover pizza for my breakfast.
Alex is thrilling, yet also comforting. Exciting, yet levelheaded. He’s a straight arrow – a sexy, businesslike, yet open-minded straight arrow.
And he’s already shot me straight through the heart.