MadetoOrder by L.A. Day Page A

on end. Any form of intimacy with Rebecca would be a huge problem but he wasn’t about to tell Maverick that. “I’ll meet with her later.” He intended to review the file first. He needed to know what he was getting into before he approached Rebecca.
    Holt stood and exited Mav’s office. Rebecca sat in front of a vid -screen, typing away. She didn’t look up at him. Tendrils of her curly, red hair had escaped the clip she used to hold it in place, giving her a sexy, tousled look. He knew without looking that her computer glasses would have slipped halfway down her nose. It was disturbing that she was so appealing without even trying. He wondered what she knew about the assignment. Did she want to take this assignment with him? His thoughts turned to a conversation he’d witnessed a few weeks ago between Rebecca and Maverick’s woman. He had replayed the scene in his head countless times, usually at night while he was struggling to find a peaceful night’s rest. Rebecca was attracted to him. Actually, if her words were factual, she wanted to suck and fuck him. A shiver of awareness rode down his spine. The feeling was mutual but he couldn’t let her know. She couldn’t fit into his life.
    Clenching his jaw, he fought his reaction. The office was not the place to confront her. Forcing himself to move, he started toward his cubicle just as Johnson approached Rebecca’s desk. Johnson perpetually hovered around Rebecca and Holt was getting tired of it. That was another situation he would deal with.
    He placed his hand on the digiscan , which opened the door to his cubicle. It was a compact space containing little more than a desk but it was all he needed. He stayed out of the office as much as possible. Crossing to his desk, he took a seat and picked up his digireader . Inserting the file into the palm-sized device, he leaned back in his chair as he absorbed the information.
    A disclaimer and introduction rolled across the screen before the main pitch began. Holt blinked rapidly as a man explained techniques as what amounted to a pornographic digivid played in the background. What in Jesper’s Galaxy was Maverick thinking? He couldn’t go undercover at Sexual Healing with Rebecca! Just thinking about it made his skin feel too tight for his frame. Standing, Holt paced inside the small room.
    Sexual Healing was an interactive “sexual healing” facility. They would want to guide them through every step of their sexual problem. There was no way he could endure that. He would have to convince Rebecca that she didn’t want to go with him or Johnson. That was the only way to keep her safe from Johnson and himself. Maverick wouldn’t force Rebecca into this type of assignment if she didn’t want to participate.
    * * * * *
    The door to Rebecca’s high-rise box slid open with a low hiss. “I knew you’d eventually come begging at my door.” She gave Holt an exaggerated wink. To fit into the male dominant workforce of the Federation, Rebecca had created and donned a fake persona—a confident, forceful personality. Everyone bought the ruse, possibly too well. Rebecca joked and cursed with the best of them. At times, she was an outrageous flirt but she used the ban against inner-office relations as an excuse to keep most men at bay. Unfortunately, her make-believe persona didn’t seem to appeal to Holt and he was the only one she cared to impress. From time to time, she had considered letting him see the real Rebecca but the thought alone left her vulnerable. If he wasn’t such a man whore, she might have considered it seriously.
    “May I come in?”
    Moving back, she waved her arm. “Of course. I don’t expect you to seduce me in the hall.” A blond eyebrow twitched but that was all she got. She’d been digging at him for the last year but she had yet to get a reaction. Holt was closed off emotionally. She’d seen him laugh and joke with Mav and the guys but he always exuded an air of control. The aloof