“Within a week.”
“Okay. Not a problem. I’ll take care of everything.” A smile danced across Josie’s plump lips as she played with the ID badge clipped to her waist.
She smiled so much it gave him a headache. No one could be that damn cheerful all the time. Yet she was, and damn it, he found that attractive. Everything about her was attractive to him, almost as if helikedher.
At that thought, he shot her a violent scowl.
The ID badge flew off her pants and hit the floor.
“Whoops.”
There was no way that word should be sexy, but somehow it was.
Josie leaned down to pick up her badge right as he turned to move out of her way. Her forehead connected with his thigh.
His pants were no thicker than hers and he could feel the warmth of her skin brush against him. Hot breath drizzled across his crotch as she gasped in surprise.
Houston took a fast step back. By sheer willpower heprevented an erection from popping up and embarrassing the hell out of both of them.
“Oh, sorry, my fault,” she said, brushing her hair out of her green eyes. The movement made her shirt pull up, exposing a tiny ribbon of pale smooth skin above her waistband.
If he opened his mouth, the only thing that would come out would be a primitive growl, so he kept his lips clamped tight.
This time when she started towards the hall, she tripped. Over nothing, from his point of view. But as she stumbled, he reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.
“Thanks,” she said in a breathless voice, her moist pink tongue peeking out from under her shiny teeth. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled.
If she had any idea how close he was to yanking down her pants and sliding into her, she wouldn’t be smiling at him.
She would be running.
Or moaning.
Shit.
Houston dropped her arm. “You’re welcome.”
Annoyed, he turned his back on her to hide the hard-on that he could no longer keep at bay. He stood rigid and listened to her leave the room, her shoes squeaking on the tile floor.
He was never this greedy, this needy, this wanting. It made him feel reckless and vulnerable, out of control.
All feelings he despised.
The first of his rules wasn’t one he was about to break. There wasn’t ever going to be any woman who would entice him into wanting a relationship, or even more than one night. But Josie Adkins was well on her way to beguiling him to toss the second rule out the window.
He’d never fucked a co-worker, but then he’d never been this distracted by a woman’s backside either. There were a thousand reasons why dating Josie would be a disaster. But the reasonsagainst it dipped down to only several hundred when he thought about just having a quick, burning-hot affair with Josie.
Would an affair be wrong? Yes. But so was repairing Mrs. Kransky’s kneecap while sporting an erection, which he was going to have to do in another minute, since his dick was not cooperating and deflating.
Sex with Josie wouldn’t just be inappropriate, it would also be a mistake, of course.
Houston had made mistakes in his life, though nothing monumental or unfixable, including proposing to his first girlfriend in a fit of Jack Daniels-inspired euphoria at age sixteen.
He’d skirted disaster on that one—and given up alcohol for life—and would on this, too, if he handled it with a little bit of discretion. As long as no one knew and it was just a night or two...
Houston grabbed the film and started towards the door. No. He would not give in to his base carnal urges.
Unless Josie gave him the slightest hint that she was interested.