Then silence enveloped the room.
“He’s… interesting,” Kat said after a minute. One fingertip traced the smooth grain of the wood of the conference table. “Friend of yours? Or just business partner?”
“Both.”
“Interesting.”
He wanted to know what that single word meant, but he wouldn’t ask.
“Did you really like the idea, or were you just doing that to make me think you liked it?” she asked on a rush of words. They flew out of her as if she’d been damming them up all day, and the dam couldn’t hold them back any longer.
“It’s perfect. Needs some tweaks, but I needed the outside perspective, and you provided it. Thank you.”
Kat’s smile turned satisfied. “Well. You brought me all the way here. I figured I should help.”
“Come here.”
She blinked at that. “What?”
“Come over here.” He motioned to the chair Teddy had vacated, which sat closest to him.
She hesitated, then walked over and sat primly down, hands folded in her lap. Not at all like the loose-limbed, relaxed Kat he’d hoped for.
“Your business partner slash friend didn’t seem to like me being here too much.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
He didn’t curse often, especially out loud, so he wasn’t surprised when Kat’s head snapped up at his sharp retort.
“You should care. If you’re working with him, and you want this camp up and running, then you should be working in harmony.”
“Maybe I care about what’s best for the camp more than hurting his feelings.” He held out his hands and was pleased when she automatically reached hers out to place in his. He let his thumbs and fingers roam over her wrists, the palms of her hands, lacing and unlacing with her own fingers. “How did that feel?”
Her pulse leapt under his fingertips, and her hands stiffened.
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “I meant the meeting. Is this the same sort of thing you do normally when you do volunteer work?”
“I don’t… no.” She shook her head. “I do volunteer, but something of this magnitude… no, I’ve never been in a meeting where they’re taking an idea from the ground floor up.” Her eyes looked a little dazed. “It’s a bit exhilarating, isn’t it?”
He leaned over and kissed her then. Because he couldn’t seem to stop himself. Kat yielded immediately to his touch, his embrace, leaning into his body and wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. This time the kiss spun into something deeper. Their breathing synced, their mouths met at the perfect angle, and when he wrapped his hands around her waist to pull her over him, she came without resistance. Snuggled on his lap, her core meeting his growing erection, she pressed into him like she could melt over his body.
He let his hands skim up and under her stiff blouse, crinkling the fabric as they explored the smooth, tight skin of her stomach. She was lean but strong. And with every breath she took, every little twist, he reveled in feeling the muscles and tendons of her body lengthen and move under his hands. But he didn’t dare go higher than the bottom of her ribcage. Not now. Not like this. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—tempt himself further.
Finally, sanity returned, and Michael remembered they weren’t in his apartment with all the privacy in the world but in his lawyer’s conference room, with only a closed—but unlocked—door separating them from the rest of the world. And while Michael wasn’t a prude, he also didn’t consider getting caught making out with the athlete he was supposed to be mentoring a great way to set an example of propriety.
With reluctance, he drew back, taking in Kat’s sleepy, satisfied look and small noise of protest. God, what he wouldn’t give to blink and transport them to his bedroom. Where he could see that look over and over again. In bed. Naked. After an even more satisfying encounter where they’d let more than their mouths meet.
“Shh,” he said, kissing her once more before she came back to her senses and yelled at him. Or tried to lunge for him again. He had no clue which way she would swing, and that only made it all the more damn exciting. “Let’s table this for right now. I have to finish the meeting, clarify a few more things with Martin, and then run some errands. Can you wait on me to finish up this meeting?”
“I…” Kat sat back so she was perched at the edge of his knees. It made him nervous, but her core was strong enough to keep her balanced. “Actually, I think I’ll take a walk.”
A walk? He waited while she stood and fixed her shirt, pulling it down in short, aggravated jerks. “A walk where? We’re downtown. There are no trails or anything nearby.”
“Not a hike. Just… a walk. Clear my head. I’ll be fine.” She gifted him with a sunny smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Kat—”