position put Gabe not two inches behind her. The heat of his body bled into hers.
“That’s better,” Willem said.
Better for whom? Lorin disguised her reflexive shiver by tipping her head and scratching under her ear.
“Fighting already, I see.” Elliott’s amused voice made Lorin suspect that he knew the true source of their tension.
Gabe shifted his weight in the squeaky-wheeled office chair, clearly uncomfortable.
It was all her fault.
Last night during their sauna, Gabe had prattled on about their breakdown of responsibilities, their processes and procedures, with an erection tenting his shorts, asking cogent, focused questions, mentioning their reporting relationship a lot more often than necessary.
How convenient for Gabe that he could ignore basic biological functions, could ignore… her not-very-subtle pass.
She closed her eyes in mortification.
“Could you stop squirming?” Gabe grumbled from behind her.
Lukas looked up from his mini, nostrils twitching.
Damn it.
“I know some of us have other meetings in a half hour, so let’s get started,” Willem said. “Recording started. Let’s take roll, please. Elliot Sebastiani.”
“Here.”
“Lukas Sebastiani, Jack Kirkland, and Bailey Brown, representing Sebastiani Security.”
There was a trio of responses from the side of the table closest to the window where the Sebastiani Security contingent sat together. The slight blurring in the windows at their backs indicated the security shades were fully engaged. “Good to see you when you’re not diving for the corner, Lorin,” Jack added with a smile.
She smiled back. “Hi, Jack.”
Beside her, Gabe cleared his throat.
“Wyland.”
“Present.”
From across the table, Bailey mouthed something that looked a lot like “unfortunately.”
“And Julianna Benton from Physical Sciences Ops. Welcome.”
“I’m glad to be here,” Julianna said. The gorgeous redhead was Alka’s—now Gabe’s—operations manager.
Gabe leaned forward, placing his hand on Lorin’s shoulder for balance. “Apologies for the short notice, Jules.” To the room at large, he said, “Julianna will be coordinating some of our work while I’m on-site here with Lorin.”
Lorin’s head whipped to Lukas. “Security clearance?”
“Completed and upgraded late last night,” he responded around a jaw-cracking yawn. “You should have a copy in your Council email.”
Of course she did. And her question to Lukas simply exposed the fact she hadn’t even cracked her laptop open that morning, much less read her email. Upon waking, she’d been in such a twitchy state that, after two self-administered orgasms, she’d gone for a punishing run, barely making it to the workroom in time for the meeting. And despite the light burning in Gabe’s tent long into the night last night, this morning he looked disgustingly poised and alert. Somehow, he’d managed to get his Council work environment installed, configured, and functioning without her help.
Just how much work had he knocked off last night while she’d been taking care of… business? She was out of the loop, and it was her own damn fault.
Lorin shifted her weight to the side as Gabe leaned in to use the keyboard, opening a chat window with Julianna. On-screen, Lorin noticed Julianna’s tiny smile as she read what Gabe quietly typed.
How… cozy . Was there more than business between them? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Last night in the sauna, after declining her clumsy pass, Gabe had kept a careful distance between them. Mr. Scruples wouldn’t screw around on his girlfriend.
Her face flamed, but she kept her tone cool. “There’s no reason for Gabe to be stuck here when the box—and the action—is down there,” she said. She turned toward him, bumping into his chest with her shoulder. “Go home, Gabe. Where you belong.”
Their gazes locked in a private battle. “For the time being, I belong right here.”
“Yes,”
“That’s better,” Willem said.
Better for whom? Lorin disguised her reflexive shiver by tipping her head and scratching under her ear.
“Fighting already, I see.” Elliott’s amused voice made Lorin suspect that he knew the true source of their tension.
Gabe shifted his weight in the squeaky-wheeled office chair, clearly uncomfortable.
It was all her fault.
Last night during their sauna, Gabe had prattled on about their breakdown of responsibilities, their processes and procedures, with an erection tenting his shorts, asking cogent, focused questions, mentioning their reporting relationship a lot more often than necessary.
How convenient for Gabe that he could ignore basic biological functions, could ignore… her not-very-subtle pass.
She closed her eyes in mortification.
“Could you stop squirming?” Gabe grumbled from behind her.
Lukas looked up from his mini, nostrils twitching.
Damn it.
“I know some of us have other meetings in a half hour, so let’s get started,” Willem said. “Recording started. Let’s take roll, please. Elliot Sebastiani.”
“Here.”
“Lukas Sebastiani, Jack Kirkland, and Bailey Brown, representing Sebastiani Security.”
There was a trio of responses from the side of the table closest to the window where the Sebastiani Security contingent sat together. The slight blurring in the windows at their backs indicated the security shades were fully engaged. “Good to see you when you’re not diving for the corner, Lorin,” Jack added with a smile.
She smiled back. “Hi, Jack.”
Beside her, Gabe cleared his throat.
“Wyland.”
“Present.”
From across the table, Bailey mouthed something that looked a lot like “unfortunately.”
“And Julianna Benton from Physical Sciences Ops. Welcome.”
“I’m glad to be here,” Julianna said. The gorgeous redhead was Alka’s—now Gabe’s—operations manager.
Gabe leaned forward, placing his hand on Lorin’s shoulder for balance. “Apologies for the short notice, Jules.” To the room at large, he said, “Julianna will be coordinating some of our work while I’m on-site here with Lorin.”
Lorin’s head whipped to Lukas. “Security clearance?”
“Completed and upgraded late last night,” he responded around a jaw-cracking yawn. “You should have a copy in your Council email.”
Of course she did. And her question to Lukas simply exposed the fact she hadn’t even cracked her laptop open that morning, much less read her email. Upon waking, she’d been in such a twitchy state that, after two self-administered orgasms, she’d gone for a punishing run, barely making it to the workroom in time for the meeting. And despite the light burning in Gabe’s tent long into the night last night, this morning he looked disgustingly poised and alert. Somehow, he’d managed to get his Council work environment installed, configured, and functioning without her help.
Just how much work had he knocked off last night while she’d been taking care of… business? She was out of the loop, and it was her own damn fault.
Lorin shifted her weight to the side as Gabe leaned in to use the keyboard, opening a chat window with Julianna. On-screen, Lorin noticed Julianna’s tiny smile as she read what Gabe quietly typed.
How… cozy . Was there more than business between them? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Last night in the sauna, after declining her clumsy pass, Gabe had kept a careful distance between them. Mr. Scruples wouldn’t screw around on his girlfriend.
Her face flamed, but she kept her tone cool. “There’s no reason for Gabe to be stuck here when the box—and the action—is down there,” she said. She turned toward him, bumping into his chest with her shoulder. “Go home, Gabe. Where you belong.”
Their gazes locked in a private battle. “For the time being, I belong right here.”
“Yes,”
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