His Challenging Lover by Elizabeth Lennox Page B

We’ll meet her in the lobby.”
    Autumn didn’t like this one little bit. She didn’t want to leave the office with him. She felt safer here, more secure and able to keep her mind on business. Going out of the office meant dangerous territory. Unknown territory. She didn’t like unknown and dangerous. And Xander scared her on so many levels. So much more now than before she’d been in his house and in his bed.
    “You really don’t…”
    “I really do,” he countered and put a hand to the small of her back, nudging her out of his area.
    The ever efficient Mary was already standing in the lobby with Autumn’s coat and purse. Xander handed Mary the notebook and pen Autumn had been holding, then held her coat up for her.
    Autumn stared up at him, her stomach clenching at the idea of putting her arms into her coat because then his hands would be on her shoulders. It would almost feel like he was hugging her. Her knees started wobbling at that idea and she took a deep, painful breath. There was nothing to do but put her coat on, and move out of the way as quickly as possible. Her hands dove into the sleeves but the rest was a blur. She felt his hands on her shoulders and froze. Then he did something equally crazy. His fingers moved carefully under her hair, sliding against her neck and sparking more shivers to shoot down her spine.
    She had no idea what he was doing. All she knew was that his hands were touching her. She’d dreamed about him doing this again so often over the past few days and now it was happening. His fingers tangled in her hair, running through the tresses. To a casual observer, it probably looked like he was just pulling her hair out from under her coat, but it was so much more than that. It was a caress. A sensual, titillating touch of his fingers that almost knocked her flat.
    Their eyes met. She looked over her shoulder at his handsome face and time froze. She could smell his aftershave, feel the heat of his body against her back which had nothing to do with the light wool of her fall coat. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t hear anything but the racing of her heart.
    And then the sound of the elevator chimed, bringing her back from the fantasy she was having about him turning her around and kissing her. Voices broke through and the almost constantly ringing phones started to come back. She jerked away, taking several steps to put some distance between them. She looked at the floor as her trembling fingers buttoned up her coat.
    “Thank you,” she whispered, taking her purse from his hands as well.
    “My pleasure,” he came right back.
    Then that hand was back! Right there in the center of her back. She thought that perhaps her entire nervous system started and ended in that exact spot where his hand was resting on her back because every cell in her body tingled, acutely aware of his touch.
    “Where are we going?” she asked when they were out of the building and in the October sunshine. It was warmer than expected so she slipped her coat off of her shoulders, turning her face up to the sun.
    “Would you rather eat at Antoine’s or Durango’s?” he asked, watching her as she absorbed the heat on her lovely face. “Or we could just jet off to Aruba so you could get more sunshine,” he teased.
    Autumn’s eyes popped open and she looked up into his amused face. “Sorry,” she blushed. “I love October and the cooler temperatures but it’s still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.”
    “What’s your favorite season?” he asked, putting a hand on her back to guide her towards Antoine’s, one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants.
    She realized immediately where they were heading and pulled back. “Would you mind if we went to Durango’s instead?”
    “Sure. Why?” he asked, but they headed in the opposite direction for the more casual restaurant.
    She bit her lip and admitted, “I’ve just wanted a burger for a long time.”
    He laughed but they went inside the darker bar