Stefanie London - A Dangerously Sexy Secret

“I thought Owen was in the office today.”

She shook her head. “He got an emergency call out to that private client we signed—the crazy stockbroker guy. He’s paranoid. I told Owen as much.”

“It comes with the territory. Doesn’t mean we can ignore the client’s needs.” Rhys tapped his fingers against the surface of his desk. “And Jin is still out sick?”

“Yep. Aiden’s around but he’s scheduled to do a visit to the data warehouse with Logan.” Quinn’s cheeks colored slightly despite the neutral expression on her face. She and Aiden had only told the team they were dating a few weeks back, and every time his name came up in conversation she blushed like a schoolgirl.

Rhys thought it was cute, but Quinn would probably throw something at him for saying so. “Okay, well, I guess it’ll have to be me, then.”

Perhaps a trip away from the office would do him good. He’d been staring at the same email for the last ten minutes and his lack of progress was starting to grate on his nerves. Fresh air and something to focus on might help him to get into the zone again.

“You never do site visits.” Quinn cocked her head. “Ever.”

“You seem to think I never do a lot of things.”

God, did everyone really believe he was that dull? Sure, he liked to follow the rules. He was a “by the book” kind of guy. What was so bad about that?

She shrugged, seemingly unaware of the questions her words had stirred. “Whatever works. I’d rather get out there today and keep this guy onside. He sounds like a bit of a control freak.”

“Let’s keep our insults about the client to a minimum, shall we?” Rhys pushed up from his chair and stuck his phone into his back pocket.

“Sure thing, boss. Whatever you say.” Quinn grinned at him as they fell into step.

After a quick pause at her desk so she could collect her things and confirm with the client that they would now be coming to complete the site visit, they were off.

“This will be fun. We haven’t had an excursion together in ages.” Quinn had a spring in her step as they walked through the office.

“That’s because you’re annoying.”

He didn’t mean it, but he and Quinn had that kind of relationship. There were no filters, no walking on eggshells. She was one of the first people he’d hired when he’d started as IT manager four years ago. They’d developed a deep mutual respect. She was whip smart and loyal to the bone, two qualities that were sorely lacking in the world.

“I’m annoying?” She pressed her hand to her chest and he noticed a small, heart-shaped ring on her finger. “Those are mighty words coming from Mr. Spreadsheet himself.”

He ignored the dig. “What’s with the ring? I’ve never seen you wear anything that didn’t have a skull on it.”

Her cheeks turned hot pink. “It was a gift.”

“Are you engaged?”

“No.” She laughed as if that were a ridiculous notion, but her voice sounded tight and a little strange. “It’s just a ring.”

“A ring from your boyfriend.” He nudged her with his elbow and she immediately swatted him. “Hey, I’m not judging. I’m happy you’ve found someone who puts up with you.”

“He’s man enough to handle me.” Her expression turned serious as they entered the elevator. “I know you two didn’t get off on the right foot, but he’s it for me. I love him.”

Rhys had been forced to hire Aiden because he was friends with the boss, Logan Dane. Given Rhys’s feelings about hard work and the need to prove oneself, it hadn’t been a great start to their working relationship.

“You’re getting all mushy on me, Dellinger,” he joked.

“It’s true. He’s a good guy, Rhys. I want you to respect him.”

Rhys didn’t point out that respect had to be earned instead of given out like candy. But Quinn was practically family to him, so he would keep his feelings to himself and take the high road. He always took the high road.

“I do respect him. He’s on my team now so I’ll treat him the same as I treat any other employee.”

She grinned. “Tough, but fair.”

“That’s my motto.”

“I appreciate it.” She laid a hand on his arm, the pink stone in her ring glimmering. “Honestly.”

He cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, you deserve to be happy.”

“So do you, boss. Why don’t you ever seem to have any ladies hanging around?”

Probably because Rhys kept his work life and his love life totally separate. He’d never believed in mixing the two, though he accepted that not everyone agreed with him on that.

But that didn’t mean he could avoid the little stabs of envy he got watching his friends pair up and find happiness. Maybe it was old-fashioned, but he wanted that stability. He wanted a woman to come home to, wake up next to. To make him feel like he was valued. Needed.

“This is not appropriate conversation for a manager and his employee,” he said, reminding himself that the goal right now was to have fun with a woman and not worry about the future.

“Stick-in-the-mud,” she grumbled.

She might be right, but right now Rhys didn’t have anything that he wanted to share. Especially not with being so occupied by Wren and her painting. His whole body hummed as she drifted back into his mind. There was no way he’d be able to forget what he’d seen, so he’d just have to stage a meeting with her to clear the air. And maybe fulfill a few fantasies...

4

“YOU’RE AVOIDING SOMETHING, WREN.” Sean Ainslie’s voice cut into Wren’s thought process.

Her brush hovered over the same patch of blank canvas that she’d been attempting to start work on for the last half hour.

“Avoiding something?” She put the brush down onto her workstation and looked up. “What makes you say that?”

His eyes swept over the lackluster canvas. A few strokes of color decorated one of the bottom corners but it was clear she had no direction. She hadn’t sketched anything out, hadn’t planned what the painting would look like. Hell, she couldn’t even legitimately claim that she was too swept away by her Muse to do any of the preparatory work.

She had nothing, and as a result, the painting was nothing.

Oh, it’s something all right. It’s a hot freaking mess, is what it is.

“I saw so much inspiration in your portfolio, Wren. So much...” His hands fluttered in the air in front of him. “Passion. Creativity. Your paintings were bold and vibrant. This...” His hands dropped down to his sides. “I don’t know what this is. Do you?”

“I’m a little blocked,” she admitted.

Every time she tried to touch the paintbrush to the canvas she pictured Rhys’s expression when he’d looked at that painting. The memory filled her with a strange mélange of excitement and shame, anticipation and disgust. Part of her wished that she’d let him stay. If for nothing more than to see where they would have ended up. Visions of his deep brown skin and warm eyes filled her mind.

“Just paint whatever pops into your head right now.” Sean touched her shoulder and she jumped, startled as she reached for her brush almost involuntarily. “Whatever image is in your mind now, paint it. I want you to get over this hurdle, Wren.”

Biting down on her lip she shut her eyes and let the memory of Rhys gazing at the painting wash over her. His full lips, the wicked way they’d parted as his eyes had widened. The slight flare of his nostrils.

She started mixing paint as she let her mind wander. His pupils had grown as he’d looked at her canvas, his breath stalling in his throat. Her life had contained few moments as electric as that, as intensely intimate and vulnerable. Wasn’t that the purpose of art? Laying yourself bare?