“Yes.” Still annoyed at the way single mothers were treated by society, her tone was brusque, far shorter and snappier than she’d intended. Deliberately softening her tone, she smiled. “Yes, it’s just me and Lily. We’re a team.” Admitting that to him did strange things to her insides. It seemed so intimate, telling him she was single. Like it was an invitation. Except that it wasn’t. It most definitely was not an invitation. Just so long as he knew that...
“I, um... I... have to get back to work,” she stammered. It was too confusing, the way Matthew made her feel. Annoyed at him one second, melting at his feet the next.
“Sure.” Matthew gave her a smile that made her stomach flip and he moved quickly to the door, held it open for her.
Hurrying back down the hallway to her desk, she wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and tried to calm her racing heart. They were just innocent questions, she told herself. It meant nothing. He wasn’t coming onto you. She told herself that so forcefully that she started to believe it. Of course he wasn’t coming onto her. He was a professional. So was she. He was concerned about her daughter, nothing more. Just innocent questions, she told herself again. Why, then, did she feel so disappointed?
Back at her desk, she couldn’t put Matthew and their conversation out of her mind. No matter how hard she tried to wipe her memory of his deep, sexy voice, she couldn’t get his words out of her head. She couldn’t put aside his smile, the gentlemanly way he opened the door for her. She tried to concentrate on the mountain of work on her desk to be completed, but she couldn’t do it. The only thing she could think of was him.
From across the office, Vanessa caught her eye, gave her a questioning look, mouthed “Are you okay?” and grinned. She’d be wanting the gossip soon, no doubt. Jilly nodded, returned a strained smile, then bent her head to her work. She liked Vanessa, she really did. But her incessant nosey streak was a bit much, sometimes. Especially when thoughts of Matthew and what she wanted to do to him, and have him do to her, were running rampant through her mind. She imagined herself in his office, alone with him, standing at the window that overlooked the harbour, wrapped in his tender embrace. She imagined his fingers trailing up her leg, higher, higher, his fingernails catching on the nylon of her stockings as he slid his hand further and further up her thigh, under her skirt. Her knee was bent, she balanced on her toes, her arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes, their lips about to lock in a passionate kiss...
She needed water. Cold water. Her breasts felt heavy, achy, her breathing was shallow, ragged; her heart raced. This was ridiculous. She was a mother! And he was her boss! Well, not quite her boss, but near enough to it to make these kinds of fantasies entirely inappropriate. It’s a long time since you’ve been with a man, Jilly Watson, her snarky subconscious reminded her. And Matthew Stevenson is as fine a man as they come. To look at, anyway.
She felt hot, flushed, as she hurried to the staffroom and the water cooler for a long, cold drink. As she positioned her glass carefully under the steady stream of icy liquid, quick footsteps on the carpeted floor outside the door alerted her to Vanessa’s presence.
“So what happened? What did he say? I want to know everything!”
Jilly took a long swallow, savouring the icy liquid, letting it chill the hot blood racing through her veins. She grinned at her friend but shook her head. “There’s not much to tell, really.” She shrugged, and Vanessa looked sceptical. “He let me use his phone. To ring home,” she clarified. “Check on Lily. So Janice wouldn’t see.”
Vanessa laughed. “Conspiring against Janice with him, are you? So he knows you’re a single mum?”
“Yep.” Jilly blushed, but smiled. There was no point denying it. Not to Vanessa.
“Ooooooh!” Vanessa teased in a singsong voice. “Go you!”
“There’s nothing going on,” Jilly insisted, but the blush she could still feel heating up her face belied her words.
Vanessa grinned smugly and patted her on the shoulder. “You keep telling yourself that.”
“It’s true!” Jilly insisted, about to argue the point more, but heavy footsteps just outside the door made her pause.
“Speak of the devil,” Vanessa whispered. “I’ll leave you to it.” Quickly holding her glass under the waterspout, she filled it and prepared to leave the room.
Matthew stood in the doorway and glared at them both. “You’ve finished your gossip session then, have you?” he asked Vanessa, frowning.
“Research, actually. But yes, it’s done, thank you for asking.” She smiled sweetly at him, then turned around and winked at Jilly. “I’ll get back to work now. See ya later, Jilly.”
Jilly’s stomach tightened as Matthew strode toward her, his presence seeming to fill the entire lunchroom. The air around her thickened, catching in her throat, clogging her lungs when she tried to breathe. Her legs turned to jelly. How could he have such an effect on her?
His eyes darkened and his jaw twitched as he closed the gap between them, stopping right in front of her, so close that surely he’d be able to hear the rapid pounding of her heart.
He looked at her sternly. Like a strict headmaster would before chastising a naughty pupil. A shiver went down her spine and her pussy clenched with need.
“Late to work, now gossiping at the water cooler?” His stern look deepened, if that was even possible. His furrowed brow furrowed a bit more, his dark eyes boring into her, an unspoken lecture emanating from them. “I expected more from you, Miss Watson.”
“Why would you expect anything from me? You barely know me!” The words escaped her lips before she even knew they were going to,
