"Consider this your break and off company time. Hit the timer and let me call your cell. I want to say this outside of work."
Ah, hell, had she pushed too hard? He'd call and reprimand her, reminding her they were just friends and to cease and desist. Heart thumping, she pressed the little timer beside her to count down thirty minutes and dug her cell phone from her purse. "We're off the clock, so to speak. What's wrong?"
He flipped a similar timer without taking his gaze from hers. "Give me a second." The computer screen went blank as he broke the connection. Her cell rang moments later. "So, Ms. Independent, how confident are you?"
Not a reprimand or a reminder. Christine breathed again. Just more flirting to see how far she'd go, like she'd challenged him. Fine, she'd flirt back and watch him back down this time. "I'm a mature, responsible woman. I'm not a clueless teenager."
"No, you're not." His voice held a touch of amusement. "Not even your children are teenagers any longer."
His comment irked her. She may be older, but not ancient as his words implied. Besides, he had more years than she did. Why did men get better with age and women simply get old? Damn him. She could flirt and be sexy. "Neither are you. Isn't it a glorious thing I prefer mature men?"
"I'm mature enough to be aware what I want and how to get it." Charlie sighed long and low. "Except, apparently, when it comes to getting you."
Christine all but choked. "Whoa, an innuendo. I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack, but I'm not the dimmest either."
"I would never call you dim. You shine brighter than any star in the sky."
So much for flirting. She stank at it obviously. One little whisper and she fell apart. Okay, time to laugh this off and take it back to friendly banter. She laughed. "What a line. Does it work all the time?"
"It's not a line. Come to Hawaii, Christine." His murmur was smooth and rich like melted chocolate drizzled over strawberries making her shiver. "Let me add to your experiences."
She cleared her throat. If he used this intense voice all the time, no wonder women fell at his feet. But he remained way out of her league. She cleared her throat a second time. The direct approach seemed best. Force his hand, have a good laugh, and then end as friends. "My experiences in travel or in sex and pleasure?"
"Are we talking about sex and pleasure?" The way Charlie said the words 'sex' and 'pleasure' like some pagan promise proved hot enough to make her panties go up in flames. Damn him. The deep husky sound washed over her like a sensual wave. "Christine, you delight me."
"Perhaps one day I truly will, in every way you can image." Ha, take that lust inducer. He didn't reply, and she wanted to kick herself. Obviously her flirting fell flat because she'd pushed their friendship past boundaries. Now he'd try to gently let her down.
"I'll take your offer. Are you finally ready for me, Christine?"
No. Oh hell no, she couldn't handle this without exploding. She shouldn't have started this. Stupid, Christine, stupid, stupid, stupid. "I think the question should be, are you ready for me?"
His next words had her squirming. "If you stop in Hawaii, I'll show you. It could be an interesting lay over for you."
"But more so for you." She switched off the timer. He had plenty of opportunities in the last few months to make a move and not taken any of them. "Okay, enough silliness. I need to get back to work. I'll email photos and updates from the trip."
He didn't answer for a long moment. Then he coughed and followed it with a sigh. "Have you had any more night terrors?"
Talk about subject shift. Geez, how could she ever possibly keep up with him? She almost answered no, but he knew she couldn't lie to him or be some sophisticated sexpot flirt. "I've had a few. It's nothing to worry about. You've helped." Each night, he'd send an IM or text to talk to her about fun things and put her into what he'd call 'peaceful repose'. This made her begin to fall in—no, she wouldn't even consider such an impossible thing, however tempting it might be. Some dreams weren't meant to come true.
"Come here and I'll show you ways to chase those nasty dreams away forever." He emphasized the word 'come'.
Damn him and his flirting. Christine re-crossed her legs. Nothing like wanting a man you couldn't have. "Just being in Hawaii could chase any bad dream away. I have to get these other invoices finished. Laci is handling my accounts while I'm gone and I want to leave everything in perfect order."
"Laci?" He sounded like he had no idea who she meant.
"Laci Souter, the blonde, figure-like-a-model, rep you took to dinner last time you were here." Did she sound envious? Probably, since Laci wasted no time the next day at the office telling everyone Charlie behaved like a marathon man in bed. Their supervisor, Jim, had pouted for a week, since rumors also placed Laci very close to him. "Y'all went to a club after, I heard." Then back to her apartment and bed.