Read Online Her Perfect Stranger by Jill Shalvis - Free Book Online Page B

the public is losing interest." "Good," Stephen said, and both Jimmy and Frank laughed. "Not good," Corrine corrected. "We need a total of forty-three flights to build the ISS. That's quite a bit of taxpayer money." "We're already committed as a nation," Stephen said. "It's too late for them to decide they don't want in. I'm with Frank and Jimmy. Dump the experiments." "Stephen," Mike said softly. "This isn't a democracy." Corrine took a deep breath but didn't look at Mike. He was siding with her, apparently. Because he agreed, or because she'd slept with him? She hated that she questioned it. "We're not ditching the experiments." Stephen's jaw tightened. Jimmy looked irritated, too, but asked calmly, "Can we agree to shelve them if we have a problem up there?" "We'l make that decision when and if the time comes," Corrine said. ''Well, let's work on the timetable then," Stephen said, still grumbling. In a low mutter he added, "And make sure nothing conflicts, especially a PMS schedule. Geez." The rest of the men appeared to fight for control of their facial expressions, and lost. Jimmy and Frank grinned. Mike wisely looked down at his clamped hands. But Corrine was infuriated, anyway. Why was it if a woman had a strong opinion, or needed to get her group under control, she came off as a moody bitch? But when a man did so, he was merely acting within his rights as a male in charge? The unfairness wasn't new to Corrine, but for some reason, today it hit hard. She chalked it up to a lack of sleep, not the unquenched heat Mike had kindled within her body last night, and used her don't-mess-with-me expression to stare down the men. Jimmy and Frank were unhappy, to say the least. Stephen looked equally so. "I think this stinks," he said. "For the record." "It doesn't matter what you think," Mike said evenly. Fair or not, at his defense of her, Corrine felt smoke come out of her ears. She didn't want any heroics here, she wanted... she wanted—Oh hell. She wanted him, damn it! "Obviously we need a break," she said, standing. "Now's a good a time as any." Mike was the last to the door, and she stopped him. "I want to talk to you." "Do you?" "I don't need defending." She knew she sounded stiff and ungrateful, but as she was both at the moment, she couldn't help it. "Especially in front of my team. Not now, not ever." "It's my team, too," he said softly. Too softly. "And I won't let anyone talk to you like that. Not now, not ever," he said, mocking her words, while somehow utterly meaning what he'd said. If she'd had more sleep, she would have seen it coming and deflected it. But as it was, she'd been sidetracked by all that heat in his gaze, so that when he cupped her cheek and stroked her jaw with his big, warm and oddly tender hand, all she could do was stand there and tremble like a damn virgin. "Corrine." "No," she whispered. "You don't even know what I was going to say." "I don't want to know." "I'm going to tell you anyway." "Please, don't." "Please." His lips curved. "The only time I've ever heard you say that word was when I was buried inside you and—" "Mike!" His eyes darkened. "And that, too. The way you say my name. Makes me hard, Corrine." "I'll be sure never to say it again," she said through her teeth. "I want you." He shook his head, clearly baffled. "God, I still want you." She crossed her arms, desperately striving for normalcy, which was impossible with this man. He set her body humming without even trying. "We were talking about what happened in this room a few minutes ago. About the fact that you came to my defense when I didn't need it." "No, you were talking about that. I wanted to talk about something entirely different. Or not talk." His eyes flared with an unmistakable desire. "Not talk is okay, too." This was far worse than she could have believed, because how could all this...this heat still be between them? They'd had each other, more than once! It should be over. Done. And where had her anger