Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
He glanced over to her and saw her smile. Nora was a special kind of woman. There was a lot more to her than met the eye.
Parking outside her apartment, he knew this was not the place Milly’s dad had gotten for her. After getting a job at his company, she was able to upgrade to a nicer neighborhood with more security.
He climbed out of his car, locked it, and escorted her upstairs.
“You don’t have to see me to my door,” she said.
“I insist.” He loved that she didn’t argue.
He saw the code she needed to get inside her building, and he followed her up to the third floor.
She put the key in the lock and smiled at him. “I had a lovely night.”
And he wanted to kiss her.
Closing the distance between them, Gabriel reached out, cupped her cheek, and kissed her good night.
Chapter Four
Nora didn’t dare look at the clock. She knew it was already past quitting time, as she was alone in the mail room. So far, none of the staff seemed to have a problem with her promotion, which was a good thing. Not that she thought there would be. Several of the previous employees had already quit.
From the gossip she heard, it was because they were not happy with how slow promotion was moving. They didn’t like being stuck in the mail room, and wanted out, quickly.
She liked working in the mail room. Sure, she had a plan to one day be promoted to an assistant, and to learn everything about this company as a way of securing her future, but right now, the mail room was all right.
Okay, she was stalling. Even in her own mind, she wasn’t trying to think about that kiss last night. A very good kiss.
Who was she kidding, it was incredible. She’d never been kissed like that, and the truth was, it had blown her freaking mind. It had been out of this world. She wanted to scream just how good it was, but there was no one to talk to. Also, the tiniest detail—the person she happened to kiss was in fact her boss, which was just so wrong.
She dropped her head and closed her eyes, as she was alone, and there was no one to question what she was doing. Her first true kiss was with a man she couldn’t have. There were rules, right? Rules about not dating within the office. She was sure that was a thing, as Gabriel felt internal relationships got messy, or maybe she was making that up.
“You’re avoiding me,” Gabriel said.
Nora tensed up.
Thinking about him had made him appear out of thin air. No, what she should have done was leave at five-thirty, quitting time. If she had done that, all of this wouldn’t be happening.
“I’m not avoiding you,” she said.
“No, then why did someone else deliver my mail?”
All her life, her parents had taught her good manners. Keeping her back to him was just plain rude. If she turned around, she didn’t know what was going to happen.
Nora took a deep breath, and sent a prayer up toward her parents that if they were looking down on her, to help prevent her from making bad decisions.
She turned toward him, and so far, so good, but he did look so good. Why did he have to look so good in a suit? This was so unfair.
“I’ve been busy and I didn’t want you to have to wait for your mail. I know how important it is for you to get it in a timely fashion.”
“Cut the crap, Nora. You’ve been avoiding me because I kissed you last night.”
It wasn’t exactly the kind of kiss you brush on the cheek. This had started out as a brush of the lips, but then his fingers had sunk into her hair and held her in place. Not in a bad way, but in such a good way. Her lips had tingled from the contact. So much of her body had tingled.
She couldn’t deny how desperate she was for him. And this terrified her. Gabriel was her boss. He was out of her league. She needed to get her brain back on track, and having dirty, sexual thoughts about her boss was not a good idea.
“You shouldn’t have kissed me last night,” she said, finally admitting it.
“Why not?” he asked.
This took her by surprise. She figured the whole boss and employee relationship was obvious, but if he needed her to spell it out for him, she was going to have to do that.
“You’re my boss,” she said. “You and I can’t happen.”
“Why?” he asked, folding his arms, and it was then she realized he wasn’t wearing a jacket and the sleeves of his shirt had rolled up.
She had noticed his thick arms before, but had they really been that big? They looked so good. For a split-second, or perhaps even longer, she thought about how good it would feel to be in those arms. Gabriel was strong. Nothing could break him down.