Read Online Shifting Gears by Audra North - Free Book Online

“Oh no. Oh. I’m the one who should apologize,” she said weakly. “Traffic wasn’t as bad as I’d expected and I figured I’d just … pop in early.” As she spoke, she slowly straightened, pulling that loose-limbed posture back into something more professional. Closed off.
    He hated it. He wanted her open to him. In every way.
    Except no way could he start that again. This was already awkward enough with him about to interview her for a job. It didn’t matter if he was leaving Hart Racing. He didn’t want it to be weird or, God forbid, have her feel like she had to kiss him or be shut out of the job.
    He should take his cues from her and ignore it. Act professional and pretend that their mind-blowing kiss hadn’t just happened. Fine.
    â€œWhy don’t you head into my office—” He gestured down the hall—“while I get cleaned up? I’ll be with you in just a few minutes.”
    She swallowed hard enough that he could see her throat work, that beautiful throat that just begged to be stroked and nipped and—
    â€œOkay.” She nodded, pulling his attention back into the present. “I’ll see you in a bit then. Enjoy your shower.”
    From the way her ears pinked, he knew she hadn’t meant it like it sounded, or at least the way he interpreted it, like he should pleasure himself in the shower. Which he wanted to do, but she didn’t know that.
    Did she? Had he read her return to professionalism correctly, or did she want to kiss him again as much as he wanted to kiss her?
    It was hard to tell. And it was confusing the hell out of him.
    That shouldn’t matter for a job interview, idiot.
    Right. He made himself smile politely. “Great. Help yourself to coffee, tea, whatever you want. There’s a kitchen just past my office.” At this point, his smile was more like a grimace, and he was speaking through clenched teeth, feeling the need to find release so badly that he could barely keep it contained.
    She started walking backward, toward his office, eyeing him like he was some kind of dangerous animal. “Sure. Thanks. See ya.” By then she was almost out of sight, and he watched as she spun on her heel and practically ran.
    He took a moment to collect himself, then headed out, too, moving in the opposite direction, bracing himself for what was probably going to be the coldest shower of his life.
    *   *   *
    Oh my Lord oh my Lord oh my Lord.
    Annabelle practically ran into Grady’s spacious office. The room was well-lit, with a set of floor-to-ceiling windows along one wall that overlooked the garage area below and another windowed wall that offered a view of the grassy lot on the side of the building.
    Too bad her vision was too clouded by a lust haze to enjoy it. That kiss …
    Wow. She’d never had a kiss like that. One that had made her feel needy and needed at the same time, ready to hike up her skirt right then and there and let him have her against the wall.
    She should have been shocked to realize that she would have let him do it. Her lips were still tingling and her fingers were practically twitching to feel his skin beneath their tips once more. But she wasn’t shocked at all. In fact, she found herself rather unfazed by the realization that Grady made her want things she’d never even considered before that kiss, as though she’d been ready for something like this for a long time.
    He was hotter even than she’d imagined. His arms were sinewy and strong, and his chest and the lines that outlined his stomach muscles were so well-defined that they looked like a path specifically built for her to run her tongue along. Too bad she’d had to settle for using her hands, instead.
    That thought made her smirk to herself. Who would have thought that she’d start her morning off like that?
    She’d found Grady shortly after heading down that corridor,