Accidentally Yours. Susan Mallery

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ got on the elevator. “I’m sorry,” he said, the words unfamiliar and hard to form.

      “You should be.”

      “That’s gracious.”

      “You assume the worst about me.”

      How was this his fault?

      He was a master of negotiation. He didn’t get flustered or confused or run out of things to say. But this woman made him crazy.

      He turned to tell her that, then realized he couldn’t admit the weakness. She looked up at him expectantly, so he did the only thing he could think of.

      He kissed her.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      NATHAN’S MOUTH WAS warm and firm, but not demanding, which surprised Kerri. She’d expected to be ravished, not kissed. He didn’t grab her. Instead he let his lips handle all the action, and they did a fine job.

      Her eyes fluttered shut as she gave herself up to the kiss, enjoying the heat, the pressure, the little tingles that shot down her arms. Without meaning to, she tilted her head slightly, in silent invitation.

      One he ignored, she thought sadly. His touch was fleeting, more heat than substance, and left her wanting more. Something she wouldn’t have guessed. When he pulled back, she felt an unexpected whisper of hunger. Probably because she hadn’t kissed a man since Brian had died…before Cody had been born. How sad was that?

      He looked stunned, as if he hadn’t planned to kiss her. She quickly reassured him.

      “It’s okay,” she told him. “I don’t mind.”

      His expression hardened. “Is this about sleeping with me for the money?”

      “What? No. Besides, you kissed me.”

      “It’s your fault it happened.”

      “That’s mature.” Why was he making this so difficult? “I don’t mind. It’s fine. I owe you.”

      “So you’ll have sex with me?”

      “Not the most subtle come-on.” She considered the question, then answered honestly. “If it’s important to you.” She touched his arm. “You came through for me. That means a lot.”

      “Fifteen million dollars’ worth of meaning.”

      She smiled. “At least I’m not cheap.” Her smile faded. “Don’t make this more than it is. I was grateful and I spoke in a moment without thinking. I offered Tim a kidney. That doesn’t mean I’m scheduling surgery.”

      “So you won’t sleep with me.”

      “Are you asking me to?”

      “No. I’m looking for clarification. Is sex on the table?”

      “Do you want it to be?”

      “This isn’t about me.” He sounded frustrated.

      “But you’re the one asking.”

      “I’m not asking. I’m not interested.”

      “Then we don’t have a problem.”

      “But if I was, you’d say yes?” he asked, sounding as if he really wanted to know.

      “I don’t know. Maybe.” She eyed his mouth. Maybe with a little more kissing.

      Then she jerked her head away. No, she reminded herself. She had to put all her energy into Cody. If she turned her attention from him for even a second, something bad might happen.

      “You don’t want me, so it’s not an issue,” she said. “Right?”

      The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the parking garage. Tim was waiting by the limo. She sighed. It had been a lovely ride. She looked forward to the return trip. Maybe they could stop by Kidd Valley for burgers before they headed up I90. She was starved.

      She turned back to Nathan. “I’ll see you soon,” she called.

      He muttered something she couldn’t hear and pushed a button. The elevator doors closed.

      “Strange, strange man,” she said to herself, and walked toward Tim.

      FRANKIE TYPED frantically on her computer keyboard. Even when she wasn’t sure what to say, she kept typing because the rhythm was as important as the words. Her to-do list hovered in the periphery of her mind, but most of her attention was on her article for the monthly newsletter. She had the lead.

      Damage to the Puget Sound continued at a devastating pace. So many species of plants and animals had already disappeared. Many more were on the verge of becoming extinct. Sometimes, when she wrote, she felt as if the fate of the planet rested on her shoulders. That if she could just find the right combination of words and sentences, she could change everything.

      “Frankie, got a sec?”

      Frankie looked up at her boss and nodded, not showing her irritation at being interrupted. She hated to be interrupted before she was finished. It broke her rhythm. But she’d learned that most people didn’t understand that.

      She finished her sentence, saved her file, then pumped some hand sanitizer onto her palms and began rubbing her hands together.

      One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Exactly eighteen times the groups of four, because seventy-two was her favorite number.

      She followed Owen into his crowded office. There were reports and books and office supplies stacked everywhere. The room seemed to close in on itself. Sometimes Frankie couldn’t stand to be in there—she needed order—but today she was strong.

      She looked at her boss. “What’s up?”

      He sighed heavily. “We’re not going to make it, Frankie. We don’t have the funding. I’ve been fighting them for nearly two years and it’s a battle that can’t be won. We’re shutting down.”

      “No,” she breathed, unable to believe him. “No, no. This is where I belong. We have to stay in business. We have to make a difference. We’re needed.”

      Owen, a thirtysomething, heavyset man, shrugged. “We’ve let most of the staff go already. The truth is we’re too radical to get mainstream funding and the fringe element that agrees with us is generally lacking in funds. Right now the only thing that keeps us from going under is the money you put in. I can’t keep taking that from you.”

      “I don’t mind,” she said quickly. She didn’t need the money. Blood money, she thought as she closed her eyes and saw the blood on the living room walls. It wasn’t like in the movies. It wasn’t clean or neat or organized. When someone got shot in real life, it was messy. It smelled and it stayed inside your brain forever.

      “It’s not right,” Owen told her. “You need that money yourself.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ