Your Room or Mine?

not, that’s precisely where she found herself looking. Even when she wasn’t watching him, she was painfully aware of him. He had an easygoing, charismatic manner about him that she could see inspired respect in his staff. She’d noted as much during the previous month, but now that she was viewing him through different eyes, his leadership abilities, confidence, and commitment to his staff were crystal clear. He accomplished his tasks in the time allotted and made fair, intelligent decisions. It was easy to see he was an excellent boss, and she mentally scolded herself for allowing her preconceived notions about him to color her opinion of him so unfavorably. She normally didn’t jump to conclusions about people as she had with Jack, and she wondered why she had in his case.

Because you were attracted to him from moment one and didn’t want to be, her sly inner voice informed her. So you thought the worst of him to talk yourself out it.

Okay, that little voice was really annoying.

But totally right.

She had found him attractive. Too attractive. And hadn’t wanted to. A problem that wasn’t going to get any better, because she now not only found him attractive, she really liked him. A lot. Too much, she feared. He was not only an incredible lover, he made her laugh. And could converse on any subject. Heck, he was even willing to talk about chick flicks and shoes. No doubt due to his close relationship with his sister, but still-chick flicks and shoes!

Just then Jack looked up from the puzzle he and his four team-mates were trying to solve. Their gazes locked and for several seconds the air around Maddie felt too thick to breathe. Something seemed to pass between them, something warm and intimate that sped up her pulse and made everything inside her turn to the consistency of warm honey. She knew in that moment that if she weren’t careful, she stood in danger of falling into the emotional abyss she feared yawned before her: of caring for him, much more than she’d ever intended to.

By the time the afternoon break rolled around, Maddie could already see some new friendships forming. She purposely avoided Jack during the break, afraid that if they sat together everyone in the room would guess what was going on between them. Instead she ate her lunch at a table with Bob and Kathy Whitaker, who ran the team building program, and spent the time asking them questions, taking notes on their responses to add to her report that Gavin expected Monday morning.

Lunch was followed by more team building exercises. Maddie took copious notes on each team’s dynamics, each staff member’s personality, and how they responded to their tasks. Dinner was a casual outdoor cookout where the staff could volunteer to set up, cook, serve, or clean up. Maddie noted what each person volunteered for, hiding a grin at the fact that most of the men volunteered to grill the burgers and hot dogs, and none of them volunteered for cleanup duty.

Dinner was followed by a tour of the Caso di Lago winery and a wine-tasting party. Maddie mingled, making mental notes on how people reacted to each other, who interacted with whom, who kept to themselves. Jack, she noted, spoke to everyone, moving from group to group, listening and chatting with equal ease. Finally he stood before her. And smiled.

“Hi. I’m Jack Walker.”

Had it only been last night that he’d said those same words to her in the bar? She was instantly reminded of the words to an old song her grandmother used to sing… What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours.

She smiled in return. “Maddie Price. Nice party.”

He nodded, then said in a low voice, “Personally, I can’t wait ’til it’s over.”

She raised her brows. “Hot date?”

“Very.” His eyes seemed to breathe smoke. “I’m a lucky man.”

“Hmmm. Yes, something tells me you’re going to get lucky tonight.”

He sipped his wine then said, “You’ve been taking notes all day.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“To see how everyone is interacting with each other.”

“Among other things.” Anxious to change the subject, she said,

“The wine is excellent.”

“Yes. And you’re changing the subject.”

“Yes. The wine is excellent.”

He studied her for several seconds and she hoped he wasn’t going to question her. Per Gavin’s instructions, she couldn’t reveal the nature of her report. Besides, she didn’t want to talk about work. Didn’t want to risk having anything cast a pall on their last night together. Finally he said, “How about my room tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

“Great.” He shot her a wink. “C’mon over, honey. And bring your lingerie and condoms.”

After the party finally broke up an hour later, Maddie remained downstairs long enough to note which Java Heaven employees returned to their rooms and who headed to the bar or lobby to continue chatting. “Don’t forget, breakfast’s at eight, followed by more team building,” Bob Whitaker called to the departing staff.

Right. Breakfast, two more team building sessions, then by noon the weekend would be over. As would her interlude with Jack.

She hurried back to her room and changed clothes. With the resort’s bathrobe wrapped firmly around her, she grabbed her supplies, checked to make certain the hallway was empty, then crossed the carpet to Jack’s door. Before she even had a chance to knock, the door opened and Jack pulled her into the room. Into his arms. And laid one of those toe-curling, breath-stealing, palpitation-inducing kisses on her. When he finally lifted his head, she said, “Wow. If kissing were an Olympic sport, you’d have a trophy case filled with gold medals.”

“Kissing takes two,” he said, lightly scraping his teeth over her sensitive earlobe. “It’s all in who your partner is. What took you so long?”

“I took a few minutes to consult my copy of Fifty Ways to Please Your Lover.” She leaned back in the circle of his arms and playfully waggled her brows. “I have a feeling you’re going to like number twelve. And number eighteen. And number forty-six.”

“Have I mentioned that twelve, eighteen, and forty-six are my lucky numbers?”

“No. But even if they weren’t, I promise you, they’re going to be.”

He smiled into her eyes. “I think that makes me the luckiest guy on the planet.”

She held up the bag she’d brought. “I come bearing lingerie and condoms.”

“Excellent.” He pulled her farther into the room and she noticed that like her, he wore the white terry cloth robe bearing the resort’s logo. “I come bearing champagne and chocolate.”

Maddie’s eyes widened at the champagne chilling in a silver wine bucket on the nightstand, the pair of crystal flutes, and the gold-foil box of Godiva. “I love champagne and chocolate.”

“I know. You mentioned it last night.”

And he’d remembered. Everything female in her heaved a gushy sigh at the thoughtful gesture. “Thank you. Although I have it on good authority you would have gotten lucky without it.”

He grinned and popped the bottle’s cork. “Yeah, but maybe now I’ll get really lucky.” After pouring two glasses, he handed her one, then raised his. “To… surprises.”

“Surprises,” she agreed, and touched the rim of her flute to his.

After taking a sip, he set aside his glass then slipped his fingers beneath her robe’s sash and tugged her closer, until their bodies bumped. “Whatcha wearin’ under this robe?”

She set her glass next to his then tugged on the sash to his robe. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“One way to find out.”

They untied each other’s sashes at the same time. He opened her robe and pushed it down her arms, where it pooled at her feet. His avid gaze took in the cream-colored lace-up corset, which she’d chosen because it made her waist look smaller than it was and her breasts larger than they were, and the matching barely there panties. When his gaze met hers, the heat in his eyes nearly singed her. “Wow.”

That single word, said in that appreciative tone, made the outfit worth every penny she’d spent. She then pushed his robe off his shoulders, where it joined hers on the floor. He wore nothing but skin. And a very impressive hard-on.

“Double wow,” she said. Reaching out, she ran a single fingertip down the length of his erection. “I seem to recall an imbalance between our debits and credits-something I’d like to even up. Starting with number twelve.” She