Sam did a mental reminder of his rules. Never get too interested and never let them get too close because in the end, all women he got emotionally attached to ended up walking out.
One perfect brow arched. “You taught her sign language?” Cat climbed to her feet.
Sam shrugged. “Yeah.” He pointed to the small bathroom. “You can get changed in there. I’ll make coffee.”
He took pleasure in the sight of her sweet backside as she moved across the room. At the sound of the door clicking shut behind her, Sam went to work on making a fresh pot of coffee. He turned his attention to Rio while waiting for it brew.
Crouched on his knees, he petted her. “What are we going to do, girl? If I can’t finish the assignment, I can kiss my career and any future grants good-bye.” Rio signed that she loved him. Sam laughed. “I love you, too.” Lips flapping, Rio grabbed the metal bars on her cage and pulled, giving Sam a message. “Yes, I know, I promised you a bigger cage, too.” A fresh wave of anger ripped through him. He fisted his hands and clenched his jaw. “That damn article has complicated everything.” He stroked Rio’s back, nuzzled his face next to hers, and then stalked back over to the coffee pot.
“These things are pretty comfortable.”
The sound of Cat’s voice brought his attention back around to her. He twisted sideways and made the mistake of panning the length of her body. There was something very sensual about a woman in a pair of scrubs, he decided.
As his gaze caressed her curves, anger once again segued to desire, leaving him warm and wanting. Cuffs rolled up at the ankle, her pants rode low on flared hips. Underneath her thin top she wore no bra, gifting him with a view of perfect round peaks. Eyes fixated on her sweet angles, he tried not to stare, but her gentle slopes proved too much of a distraction. His fingers itched, forcing him to fight his natural inclination to touch her. Christ, if she’d removed her damp bra, he could only bet she’d disposed of her panties too. Fire licked over his thighs. Oh hell! He gulped air as his thoughts scattered like his lab rats when the lights flicked on.
“Coffee smells good.”
Right. Coffee. Censoring his thoughts, he turned from her probing gaze and filled her mug. His knuckles brushed her skin as he handed it to her. Soft. So very soft. Like a kitten’s fur. He wondered if she purred too.
“Have a seat; let’s talk.” He tried to keep his voice level, but it came out harsher than he intended.
She raised one hand in a halting motion. “Before you start yelling, I want to apologize.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
“First, hear me out.” Cat grabbed a chair, tipped her mug, and took a tiny sip of her coffee. “I heard what you said to Rio and I really am sorry, Sam. The article wasn’t meant to draw negative attention to your experiments. I just wanted to break away from fluff articles and show my editor what I’m capable of.”
Sam’s head came up with a start. It surprised him that she considered her work fluff. He loved her humorous “Cat on the Prowl” column. A satirical take on “men, mating and masturbating” as she put it. On many mornings her column was the topic of conversation around the watercooler.
“Fluff articles?”
She blew out a breath and continued. “If I ever want to move up the food chain at the paper, I need to start writing serious news. Without substantial experience or noteworthy editorials, no one is going to look twice at me.” Cat took another sip of coffee and blinked up at him. “So you see Sam, I respect your work. It was never my intention to upset you or lead protestors to believe you were going to hurt Rio. I, for one, understand the need for testing but never thought for a minute you’d do anything to harm her. I’ve seen the way you care for her.”
The last shreds of anger dissipated as he met her apologetic eyes. He understood the inner drive to succeed. He had that drive himself.
“So I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.” She leaned forward, her plunging neckline affording him a view of her creamy cleavage, fueling his imagination. In that instant, he knew there was nothing he could do to deter his cock from rising to the occasion and tenting his pants. The gentleman in him urged him to look the other way. The man in him decided at this particular moment, manners were overrated.
His mind careened off track. Desire stabbed through him. He indulged his wayward thoughts as he envisioned his mouth wrapped around one perfect, pink areola, sucking, nibbling, and licking until she cried out in painful bliss. Sweet mother of God and all good things holy! His sinful thoughts were paving him a path straight to Hell.
“I’ve figured out a way I can help you finish the experiment.”
He transferred his thoughts back to the situation. “Help?” He poured a generous amount of cream into his coffee and met her at the table.
She cleared her throat before speaking. Her voice thinned to a whisper as she proceeded. “Yeah, me in exchange for the chimp.” With a quick nod, she motioned to Rio.
Had she read his mind?
Blood racing, he came up short. His knees nearly went right out from under him, causing him to spill his coffee. Suddenly it took effort to stand. He pulled out a chair and lowered himself into it. He met her gaze from across the table.
She had to be kidding.
He paused and cocked his head, assessing her. They stared at each other for a long quiet moment. He furrowed his brow, unable to believe her offer.
“Are you serious?”
Her sensuous mouth twisted into a frown, clearly indicating her silent apology.
