Chapter 19

The week proved to be nothing short of pure torture.

By Friday morning, Gina had completed most of the great room decorating in between helping Dean and Mike lay the groundwork for their offensive against Jackson. It wasn’t the work of transforming the empty echoing cavern into a warm, welcoming place for family and friends to congregate around the fireplace that had been so trying. Nor was it the labor of diving back into software design.

Nope. It was all Dean.

She sat at the conference table in his office, thinking about the time they’d spent together over the past week when she should’ve been focused on the computer work in front of her.

He’d reverted back to the guy who’d dared her to fix that first kiss. In his office, he’d lean over her shoulder to look at her notes, giving her a lungful of heaven while the mere touch of his hand on her shoulder sent tingles to her toes. Then there were the long, leisurely, hot looks he didn’t even bother to hide—like his sensual perusal during his trip to the kitchen for more coffee while she hung Serena’s mountain landscape on the tall wall by the stairs. She’d swear she felt his eyes tracing the line of her body.

All those light, teasing finger grazes and countless heated glances built her level of anticipation to a nearly unbearable level.

She was ready to combust, primed for physical contact in a way she’d never imagined possible, and what did he do?

Nothing.

Nada.

Not one move to kiss her, or fan the smoldering embers into a full-blown explosion—not even when she decided to fight fire with fire.

Since she’d initiated a couple of her own ‘chance’ touches yesterday, things had gotten so intense, she was actually relieved he and Mike were gone this morning. With the two of them at the company offices in Boulder for the day, she could work at the conference table without the coiled knot of awareness tightening her muscles whenever he was in the room.

Especially since she’d be working in his bedroom later this morning. His new furniture was scheduled to arrive, and she needed to pack up his clothes so she could bribe the delivery guys to move the old bed and dresser to the room down the hall before moving the new stuff in.

Lord knew if Dean showed up to see how things were going, she’d probably tear off his clothes and toss him on the bed herself.

No, she wouldn’t dare. She was too chicken.

But it was fun to imagine the look on his face if she did. And what would happen after. She paused, propped her chin on her palm, and closed her eyes as she let her imagination have a little fun. When her body started thrumming with anticipation, she opened her eyes and pressed her hands to her heated cheeks.

Liz appeared in the doorway of Dean’s home office, making Gina jump at the conference table as if she’d been caught naked.

“What time did you say the delivery truck is coming?” the redhead asked.

“Ten.” Gina glanced at the clock and closed her laptop. “Shoot, that gives me a half an hour. I better get upstairs.”

“At least it’s before the storm is supposed to hit.”

A national weather advisory had been issued that morning. With a cold front pushing the temperatures down, freezing rain and sleet were predicted, with up to a half-inch of ice accumulation. Power outages were likely, and they’d warned everyone to get where they needed to be and stay off the roads after three. She planned on leaving by no later than one, just to be on the safe side.

“Are you going home early?”

“Probably by noon. I don’t have a lot to do today, so maybe even sooner.”

“Any fun weekend plans if the ice allows?” Gina asked as she grabbed her water bottle and started for the stairs.

Liz sighed. “I wish.”

“So nothing planned with that guy you mentioned you were seeing?”

She shook her head and backed toward the kitchen. “No. In case you’re busy when I leave, have a good weekend.”

“Thanks. You, too.”

Gina hurried upstairs. A few minutes later, as she began pulling Dean’s clothes from the drawers, she didn’t allow herself to think about how intimate it felt to be handling his personal items. Like a wife would—

Oh, God, don’t even go there!

She finished emptying the drawers and carried them to the other room. Back in his bedroom, she found a box of condoms in his nightstand and was ridiculously pleased to discover it was unopened. She knew he could easily have just finished a box, but with the way the man worked, and the fact she and Liz were the only women she’d seen in the house since she’d started working for him, she highly doubted it.

The sound of the doorbell startled her, and she nearly dropped the box. Sheesh. She quickly tucked it out of sight and went down to direct the delivery.

Almost an hour later, all the new furniture was in place, including a slate-tiled table, leather couch, and recliner near the fireplace. The delivery guys had left with a nice tip, and Liz decided to head for home, too. That left Gina alone to grab the new sheets she’d asked his assistant to wash earlier, and carry them upstairs to make the king-sized bed.

As she walked into the room, her cell phone rang and she dumped the sheets on the mattress. A warm rush of heat spread through her when she saw Dean’s name on the ID.

“Hello.”

“Hey,” he greeted.

Just the one word stirred the butterflies in her stomach. She drew up one leg and half-sat on the edge of the bed. Then he was talking again, the low tone of his voice making dozens of wings flutter with excitement.

“We’re in the middle of a quick break, but I wanted to make sure you’re heading back to the ranch soon. I don’t want you out on the roads later.”

“I’m leaving by one,” she assured him, touched by his concern. “Liz left a few minutes ago.”

“Okay, good. Turns out I’ll be stuck into the afternoon, so I’m going to stay at Mike’s here in town. Can you arm the security system there when you leave?”

“Sure.” She hesitated, then added, “It would’ve been nice to see you today.”

“I know,” he agreed.

She could tell her admission made him smile even though he sounded as disappointed as she felt.

“So, what have you been working on?” he asked.

“You really want to know?”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t. What room are you in so I can picture it in my head.”

“Yours.” The weighted silence told her she had his complete attention, and being that he was safely in Boulder, she dared to be a little sassy. Payback for the past couple days. “I’m…sitting on your new bed right now. It’s very big.”

His indrawn breath reached across the line. “Damn, Gina, that’s not fair.”

“It’s also very comfortable.” She lowered her voice a notch. “Mmm. In fact, I might just lay down…stretch out…and…”

“And what?” The question was a rough demand.

“Take a nap.”

This time she was rewarded with a low groan, then he spoke in a velvet soft voice. “Gina?”

“Yes, Dean?” she asked, a bit breathless as her heart pounded in her chest.

“You’re going to pay for that.”

The husky promise stole what was left of her breath. He hung up, and she flopped back onto the bed with a grin.

A moment later, her phone chimed for an incoming text: Sonofabitching meetings.

That made her laugh. Unable to wipe the smile from her face, she worked on getting everything just right so that when he came home, his first night in the refurnished room would be perfect. She put all his clothes back in his new dresser and the condoms in his new nightstand. Then she collected the remainder of her purchases for his room from where she’d stashed them down the hall.

Lamps, the curtain rods, drapes with minimal fabric so as not to block the view of the lake and rugged Rocky Mountains. Just like she’d described to him that night in the furniture store, only by the time she was done, it came out twice as beautiful as she’d pictured.

The pièce de résistance was the now-framed cougar painting centered above the iron-accented headboard. As she stepped back to admire the finished product, she couldn’t help but think of how the mountain lion reminded her of the man who would sleep in the bed below.

Powerful. Graceful. Predatory.

She’d love to run her hands over all that sleek, solid muscle.

Letting out a wistful sigh instead, she smoothed out the dents in the comforter where she’d stepped on the bed while hanging the artwork. Then her sass returned, and she hurried downstairs to grab the sample bottle of perfume from her purse. If she was going to pay for her teasing, she might as well make it worth the punishment.

She’d just dented and lightly spritzed one of the pillows when she noticed she needed to plug his alarm clock back in. The numbers flashed at her, so she checked her phone to set the time.

2:41.

Her eyes widened and her stomach dropped. Oh, wow, time had flown by and she hadn’t even realized it. Her gaze shifted to the windows to see that while it was definitely gray and a bit foggy outside, it didn’t appear to be raining yet. She took one more moment to make sure the room was just right, then went down to Dean’s office to collect her laptop and purse.

A cold wind blew though her spring jacket as she opened the door after activating the security alarm. Little tiny beads of moisture wet her face, and she realized the foggy mist was as bad as the rain. She caught the door before it shut and peered at her car. It must’ve started a while ago because a thin layer of ice covered the windshield, and the driveway was a shiny sheet that stretched as far as she could see.

The highway was likely salted, but it was doubtful she’d even make it that far. Figuring she’d be far safer staying put, she backed into the house and shut the door before the alarm went off. She had no problem activating it, but didn’t know the code to shut it off.

Putting her things in the spare bedroom closest to the door, she called Britt so she wouldn’t worry, then texted Dean that she’d be staying the night.