Edge of Danger by Cherry Adair Page B

hadn’t ever touched her. Eden almost smiled. Imagination was an amazing thing.
     
      As pleasant as the kiss was, she wondered, not for the first time, why she felt not even a spark of sexual interest in Jason. And, just as puzzling considering his amorous and frequent attempts to get her into his bed, she suspected he felt none for her.
     
      Whatever the motivation, this was neither the time nor the place. He wore some sort of necklace or medallion beneath his shirt that always jabbed into her chest when he embraced her, as it did now. She didn’t like jewelry of any kind on a man so that was a demerit—a small one, but a demerit anyway.
     
      Gently she extricated herself from his arms and smiled. “Good morning.”
     
      Jason had a lean, clever face, with laugh lines beside his attractive blue eyes, although he wasn’t laughing now. He looked serious and intense. His hair was dark blond, thick and expertly cut and styled. He dressed well. Always wore very nice suits, silk shirts, expensive shoes.
     
      He ran his multibillion-dollar R&D company like a well-oiled machine. And he looked like exactly what he was: wealthy, handsome, used to having his own way, and as though he’d stepped straight from the pages of a magazine.
     
      Which was only slightly problematic for Eden. She usually looked as though she’d gotten dressed in the dark. And the only time she combed her hair was when she got out of the shower. It curled and waved no matter what she did to it, and since doing anything to it took far too much time, she left it alone to do whatever it wanted to do.
     
      Her two concessions to fashion were killer shoes and great perfume. The best she could say about her clothing was that it was—usually—clean. Today she’d tossed on her usual uniform of jeans and T-shirt, and wore her favorite FM scarlet Jimmy Choos in an attempt to lighten her mood. The only jewelry she ever wore was Grandma Rose’s lucky ring on her baby toe.
     
      “What’s up?” she asked her boss. Not elegantly put, but it saved time.
     
      “Special Agent Dixon from Homeland Security is here again.” Jason started walking around the lab. Observing, but not touching. She wondered if he was thinking as he looked around the lab, “This is mine. This is mine. This is mine.”
     
      And did he think the same thing when he put his hands on her? This is mine?
     
      The thought annoyed her a little. Which didn’t bode well, she supposed, for their budding relationship.
     
      Jason glanced over at Marshall, who was watching the two of them like an attendee at a tennis match. “They’re waiting for you in conference room seven. Go ahead.”
     
      Marshall blinked several times as if getting his bearings. “Oh, but—Eden—She needs me to—” Jason gave him an uncompromising look. Marshall turned scarlet. His Adam’s apple rose and fell in his throat as he swallowed. “Okay. Sorry. I’ll go now.”
     
      Eden waited until the door closed behind her assistant. “You intimidate him.”
     
      “I barely spoke to the man.”
     
      “My point exactly. You make him feel worthless.”
     
      “He is worthless,” Jason said, standing a little too close for Eden’s comfort level. His eyes held hers. His breath smelled faintly of licorice from the Sen-Sen he was always eating. “I’ve been aware of the inequity in this department for years,” he told her gently. “We all know who generates the most products for the company. And Kirchner and Davis aren’t two of them.”
     
      “Oh. Please! That is absolutely not true.” She and Marshall had worked on dozens of Verdine Industries’ top-selling AI products together.
     
      Jason brushed her lower lip with his fingertip. She shifted her face out of reach.
     
      “I don’t want to argue with you, babe.”
     
      Oh, yeah? Then why did you malign both my friend and my mentor? And don’t call me babe in that annoying, condescending way either.