Read Online A Little Wild by Kate St. James - Free Book Online Page B

the pen cap. Zach located it and the fountain pen body. Easing out of their hideaway, he returned to stand in front of her desk.
    Voice contrite, she murmured into the phone, “In that case, put him through. I’m sorry for snapping at you, Sammi.”
    Avoiding his gaze, Tess smoothed her hair. Zach examined the fountain pen. A second later, she spoke into the phone again. “Yes, Mr. Greenburg. Um, Lawrence. Yes, sir, I’ll tell him. You can count on me, sir. Thank you.” Hands shaking, she hung up.
    Zach reassembled the fountain pen and placed it the ceramic holder. “The pen’s okay.”
    She gazed at him. “You must think I’m a slut.”
    “I think you’re incredible.”
    “I’m not. I’m not usually like this at all. I—” She rubbed her neck. “You said I was shedding.”
    He retrieved a red-gold curl from the desk. “Your hair. Here’s another one.”
    She glanced at the curl then at him. “Oh.”
    “Yes. Oh.” He dropped the strand into the wicker wastebasket by her desk.
    “But you did call me babe.” She grabbed more tissues. “Once in the hall and twice in here. I don’t like it. It’s not professional. Please stop.” She wiped the remaining coffee with abrupt movements and chucked the soaked tissue in the trash.
    Zach grinned. Forget opening Climbing The Walls. If he could liquefy and bottle Tess Sheridan’s overabundance of nerves, he could market it as an energy drink and earn a mint.
    “What can I say? We have a history.”
    “Not anymore, we don’t.” She yanked her chair to the desk and sat, her hands clasped and her spine schoolteacher-straight. The passionate irritation dissolved from her features, receding to a civil façade.
    Every inch Teresa Sheridan. Not one trace of Tess S.
    “That was Lawrence on the phone,” she muttered. “He said if I can’t address your needs, you’re to go to him.”
    Zach chuckled, and pink hued her face.
    “I’ll be honest with you, so I’d appreciate it if you took me seriously, J-Zach. You have me over a barrel, and I think you know it.”
    “Over a barrel? The idea has possibilities. Although one of those big exercise balls would work better.”
    Her mouth firmed. “Yes, over a barrel And I’m not talking sexually, so please drag your mind out of the gutter.”
    If she held a ruler, he’d no doubt she’d rap his knuckles. “I’ll try.” Although it was damn difficult with that sexy schoolmarm thing she had going.
    “Good.” The civil mask reassembled over her features. “My job is very important to me, Zach. It’s who I am. Who I want to be. Did you tell your brother about us?”
    “The bar?”
    “The phone call.”
    He shook his head. “I thought maybe you knew him.”
    “I don’t—didn’t.” Her hand shot up. “If you say anything to Lawrence about our prior association—”
    Zach laughed. After their foray under the desk, her uppity manner should annoy him, but instead it placed him in danger of growing hard again. He hadn’t realized he was into dominance—he’d only mentioned whips in the hall to rile her—but right now envisioning Teresa Sheridan swapping her tidy two-piece suit and classy hairstyle for shiny black vinyl and thigh-high stiletto boots appealed immensely.
    Arms crossed, he propped one hip on her desk and leaned toward her. The subtle, violet-like scent of her perfume reminded him of the bell-shaped white flowers his mother used to grow. Summer snowflakes, she’d called them. During her illness, he’d picked masses of them for her, so he’d never forgotten.
    Summer snowflakes. Both hot and cold.
    Like Tess.
    “I already said I won’t tell L.G.,” he murmured.
    Her eyebrows dipped, but she didn’t back away. “Then what is it you think I can do for you? And why should I?”
    Zach suspected her bluntness stemmed from residual discomfort. He shouldn’t egg her on, but he couldn’t resist. “Tess, you wound me. Doesn’t our ‘prior association’ mean anything to you?”
    She paused.