CHAPTER TWELVE
The next morning Lara found herself awoken by a kiss. She gasped in surprise, jerking bodily, then melted when she remembered.
A hunk of masculinity lay next to her, arms wrapped around her, his hips spooning hers, her feet being teased by his.
What a way to wake up, she thought, rolling onto her back so that he could climb over her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She purred with pleasure, blinking and smiling up at him when the kiss ended.
“Hello, sleepy head,” he said. “I thought I’d better wake you. You slept through the alarm.”
“Wow. I’ve never done that before.” Struggling to get her bearings, she glanced at the clock. “Oh my God! We better get a move on.” She scrabbled out from under him. “If we’re late, Susanna is bound to report back to my dad. Can you imagine?”
Even so, she laughed. She felt the happy and silly and ridiculous all at once, running round the room naked, grabbing bits of clothing from cupboards and drawers. It didn’t help that Draco was lying on his side, watching her, as if he intended to stay there all day.
“You better get ready quickly,” she said as she headed for the bathroom,
“No worries.” He rolled onto his back and put his hands behind his head.
So this is what it was going to be like, she mused. Nevertheless, she couldn’t be annoyed.
Darting into the shower she raced through her morning routine while she thought back. Being with him was awesome and special – an experience she would savor. How could she not want more of the same while they worked together?
He’d been warm and loving beside her on waking, and watched her with hungry eyes while she grabbed her clothes. Perhaps he was the kind of guy who sought a new woman every time he wanted to make love, though. Who knew?
Thankfully he was up and holding his clothes by the time she was dressed, waiting his turn in the shower. He saluted her with a smile as she shot by him.
Racing toward the kitchen she saw her shoes on the way and shoved them on.
There were croissants in the cupboard and she pulled them out. Serving up two glasses of orange juice she tore the packet of croissants open. A couple of minutes later, he joined her, fully dressed, collar up, tie half on.
“We’ll get a coffee at work.” She glanced at the clock. “There isn’t time to take the tube. I’ll ring for a taxi once we’re ready.”
Draco nodded and ran his fingers through his wet hair. He sat on one of the high bar stools at the kitchen counter and downed the orange juice.
He was staring at her, a smile playing around the corners of his handsome mouth. “What?”
“I was just thinking you look even more beautiful this morning.”
“And I suppose you want to take the credit for that?” Laughter bubbled up inside her. She wasn’t going to massage his ego though.
“I’d like to think I paid some small part in making you happy.” The look in his eyes made her melt and she had to grip onto the edge of the kitchen work surface steady herself. The sincerity in his comments made her wonder. Did that mean she could rely on him? She still wasn’t sure, and probably never would be until they got through this task, but it was kind of reassuring and she appreciated that.
“I guess I’ll give you that.”
“No regrets about…us?”
Wow, he really was concerned for her well-being. It was rather gentlemanly and old-fashioned, and completely unexpected. “No regrets. You?”
“Of course not.” He grinned, looking at her as if she’d asked a really silly question.
She had, she supposed, but she wasn’t building too much into it, even though she wanted to trust him. It was really getting to her, the trust issue. Why? Because they’d slept together, or because he’d joked about accessing the family code vault the night before? “You won’t take advantage of your access will you?”
His expression darkened instantly. “Is that why you slept with me, as an added incentive to stay on the straight and narrow? Perk of the job?”
“No! Bloody hell, Draco!” How dare he think that?
Fuming, she rushed off and grabbed her shoes and bag, then phoned for a cab. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, but she wasn’t going to give into them.
They traveled to work without further comment, each of them silently looking out opposite windows.
Once they got out of the car he grabbed her hand, and drew it to his mouth to kiss it. “Hey, friends?”
Melting, she nodded. “If you get me a large, strong coffee, yes.”
As they walked inside he kept hold of her hand. Lara enjoyed his touch, but it had been a good reminder of what her priorities should be.
Later that day, Harry called by.
“How are you into doing?” His hands were locked firmly over the low wall of their cube, and he peered at them both in turn. “Anything to report?”
Harry wanted this done and over with as quickly as possible, and she had agreed, before she got involved with Draco. Now she wanted to string it out for as long as possible. That was wrong though. She had to get the prize before her brother’s. Feeling conflicted, she offered him a smile. “Everything’s under control. Thank you.”
“We’re concentrating on the first task,” Draco chipped in, steering his office chair nearer to hers to get into the conversation without the risk of being overheard.
It meant his knees brushed along the side of her thighs, sending her into a spin. How was it possible that the mere touch of him through layers of clothing could muddle her thoughts even more than they already were?
She reached out and grabbed her keyboard, rearranging it on the desk.
Harry watched her, his eyebrows drawing together.
“I want to be sure the database is well in hand and we can show good progress across the time the other task will take us.”
Lara could only thank goodness Draco was responding to Harry.
“Did Compton Senior seem suspicious at all when you met him?”
“I didn’t think so,” Lara said.
“I don’t know the guy, obviously, but I didn’t think so.”
Harry nodded. “Let’s hope to God you’re able to keep it that way.”
“Chill,” Draco responded. “If I get found out, I’ll take full responsibility. Lara will not be implicated. I can easily say I tricked her into asking for a placement here.” He looked directly into her eyes. “You’ll be protected, don’t worry, I thought about it.”
Astonished, she studied him silently for a moment and had to remind himself of Harry’s presence by glancing at him. “That’s not in the contract.”
“Should have been,” Harry said gruffly under his breath.
Harry’d been the one who wanted to include all the points on the contract, he took on the task for her protection. But she was ready to take responsibility for her actions. It was the honorable thing to do. Besides, if this didn’t impress her father, nothing would. If it went belly up, she’d be little girl lost on the outside of the family forever. Which was pretty well what she was, given he was throwing her crumbs from the table with this placement offering the first place.
“It doesn’t matter whether it was in the contract or not,” Draco shrugged. “I thought about it and I’ve got a cover story ready. If any mistakes are made on my part, you stay out of it.”
Harry ducked his head closer. “What about the other project?”
Draco shook his head. “Too dodgy to do it here, people are curious about what we’re doing. The systems are easily accessible but it’s almost like an open gateway, you know?”
“What do you mean,” Lara asked.
“Well it’s too easy. You don’t want to step through and open door when somebody’s watching.
“So what are you going to do?” Harry looked genuinely intrigued for the first time.
“I’ve been working on it at night. We’ve got the access codes and no one looking over our shoulder.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” Lara asked. “I mean won’t IT be able to see and track those times you access it remotely?”
“I cover my tracks either way, that’s not the issue. I can do it more easily at a distance without people breathing down our necks all the time.”
When Harry had gone, she took the chance to ask him. “Why did you say that about taking the rap?”
He smiled at her, a slow suggestive smile.
“Was it because of…You don’t owe me any special favors” As soon as she’d said it, she regretted it.
His eyelids lowered and he looked back at his screen. “There’s no point in both of us taking the rap. I just figured out a story to avoid that.”
It might not work, and she wasn’t comfortable about him taking the blame for her project. She would own this, whatever the outcome “What if I don’t want you to take the rap?”
With a quizzical expression, he looked back at her. “You’re making me think you want to be standing in front of your dad, accused of causing trouble in the ranks.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Flustered, she turned away.
It was too weird he’d said that, because her mode of operation had always been to consider all eventualities and be ready for them. She would face up to it herself. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Silence hung heavy between them. Then Draco leaned in and touched her knee with his hand under the desk.
Lara’s head dropped back and she had to take a deep breath and try to control her erratic pulse. He just had to touch and she melted. “Okay… Scrap that, I’ve obviously upset you and I don’t want to do that.”
She almost wished he wasn’t being so caring. It was making it more and more difficult. When they were at odds she could stand her ground.
“But answer me this,” he added, “how in hell did you get Harry on board?”
Relief hit her hard and fast and she giggled. And she did want to tell him, because it was too funny, as far as she was concerned. “Harry had a bit of a crush on me.”
And you, you hardhearted woman, are making the most of that?”
It wasn’t that way, not at all. But his scrutiny made her wonder what he was thinking.
“Mind you, I don’t blame him for wanting you.”
There it was again, flaring between them, hot and undeniable.
Looking into his eyes she knew he was thinking about sex too.
“It’s hard isn’t it?” His tone was insinuating.
Breathless, aroused and startled, she laughed softly. Glancing around she saw everybody was working. Only Draco was looking her way. “It is. This wasn’t part of the bargain. This…thinking. About sex.”
“You can’t blame me, you’re doing it too.”
The mutual pull between them locked her into the moment, refusing to let her turn away. It was as if he was holding her, but al he was doing was looking in to her eyes. How was that possible? she wondered, trembling.
He folded his hands, his long strong fingers drawing her attention. Those hands had touched all her intimate places, had caused her to cry out with need and pleasure. Reaching out, she touched his thigh. “You’re turning me on.”
Moving, one hand disappeared under the desk.
Even through the fabric of her skirt she could feel his touch, then his hand was under the skirt and his fingers stroked on the bare skin of her thigh. Staring ahead and over the edge of the panel surrounding her desk, she name checked everybody in the area, reassuring herself they all had their heads down working.
Draco moved his hand, stroking her thigh beneath her skirt.
She bit back a moan, but not soon enough, a tiny sound escaped her.
Risking a side glance, she caught the mischief in his eyes.
He squeezed his strong hand around her thigh, smiling as he did so.
The nerves in her legs tingled, her arousal levels soaring. One foot was half out of her shoe, and she kicked it off under the desk, her body wired by Draco’s touch and the promise in his eyes.
Rubbing one calf with the toe of the other foot, she moved her legs, shifting anxiously. Somehow, it gave him the chance to move his hand between her legs.
“Oh yes,” he murmured, “you really do need some help, don’t you?”
Lara was mortified.
“Move your chair back a bit,” he instructed.
Apparently the heat welling from inside her panties was all he needed to know to take charge of her completely. And she couldn’t ever shy away from his instructions because they sent her into some crazy horny place where she had no self control. “We can’t do this, not here.”
“No one’s watching. My lady’s horny and I’ll take care of it.”
“Don’t say that,” she begged, light headed from his words.
“What? My lady, or horny?”
“Stop it!”
“You’re tempted, aren’t you?”
She was tempted, sorely tempted. Everything her mind put forward as an objection was overruled by the pulsating need for his touch on her body.
He stroked his hand over her panties again.
“Draco!”
“Don’t resist.”
She could say no, she could deny him, but it was too good following his instructions—too naughty, too arousing. Her skirt was already bunched up by his hands. Taking a deep breath, she lifted one stacked heel and pivoted it against the footrest under the desk, flashing her thigh at him.
“Is that okay for you?”
He gave a hoarse laugh. “Yes, I can admire the view now, but I intend to do more than just admire you, you know that don’t you?”
“Perhaps you’ve done enough already,” she whispered, in a feeble attempt to resist. She could hear voices in the distance outside the cube, but they were fading in and out, her attention fully harnessed to Draco and his instructions.
Stroking her panties with his fingers, he moved slowly over it, then under the fabric. He stroked one finger down the surface of her panties, pushing it into the groove of her pussy. Her groin tingled expectantly and she had to hold tight to stop from squirming in her seat. Gripping the desk with her fingertips, she tried not to slump. It was pure sensuality, a secret sensation that was only made real by the look that passed between their eyes.
“You like danger, you want to explore.”
“I don’t know. Christ, Draco, I don’t know.” He was driving her to distraction.
“Tell me what you like.”
Tension and need thrummed between her legs. “No I really can’t.”
He stared at her, then glanced back at the office. “Concentrate. Look at your screen, not at me.”
She felt light-headed because he moved the pad of his finger right into her groove. He paddled his fingers against her clit and the sensitive folds surrounding it. The contact was too good. Her hips rolled into his hand, her body rocking in the chair. Shocked, her eyes clamped shut. “If someone sees this, I’ll die!”
“Let rip. It’ll be our secret.”
His voice, it did bad things to her. He stroked her faster still.
A sweet, sudden orgasm hit her.
She heard Susanna’s voice in the distance.
Opening her eyes, she caught Draco’s wicked smile as he withdrew his hand from between her open legs. “Told you. Our secret. I promised I’d keep you safe.”
He kept saying that, and she wanted to believe him. On all fronts.
His phone bleeped. It was a well timed distraction. It gave Lara a moment to pull herself together.
“Crap,” Draco murmured.
She scarcely regained her breathing from the sweet orgasm he’d given her, and now she was wondering what he had going on. “Problem?”
“My Nan’s in hospital.” He continued to stare at his phone.
“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you need to go? If you do I’ll clear it with Susanna and my dad.”
“No. She’s going to be okay. Rowan just wanted me to know.” He pocketed his phone. “If she’s still in hospital at the weekend, I’ll head over there.”
“Really? You’re sure?”
He nodded. “I’ll call Rowan later. Right now I’m needed here, to look after your needs.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Don’t wind me up. We’ll never finish this database.”
She could see the shadow in his expression though. He was worried about family stuff.
“I could finish the database in less than an hour with one hand tied behind my back. I’m only stringing it out as cover, as you so rightly suggested.”
His remark was unusually flippant, as if he wasn’t thinking about what he was saying, his mind on family stuff. She was about to quiz him about the remote project, then Susanna strolled by.
Eyes front, she left it hanging.