Office Hours (5 page)

They walked in companionable silence until they hit the forest. At the edge they stopped for Nathan to have a quick look at the map. Anya put away her torch as the first rays of sunlight hit the horizon, beginning to light up their day. With each breath, steam erupted from their mouths. Nathan saw her watching the sunrise, peaceful, tranquil.

“Beautiful, don’t you think?” he enquired, curious about her thoughts.

She nodded, not moving or turning away, simply enjoying the carefree moment.

“Breathtaking.”

He came to stand beside her, his body close to hers so she would not feel the chill of the morning. Her slight body seemed so vulnerable in the cold, he wanted to enfold her in his arms, protect her from everything.

“Do you have that feeling, like it’s going to snow?” Her frown betrayed her concern.

“I don’t think it’s going to snow. In fact I’m one hundred percent certain it’s not.” The moment the words had left his lips, Nathan wished with all of his might he could take them back.

He saw her shake her head.

“Right. Where to next, sir?” She saluted him with a smile.

Laughing at her joke, Nathan took her hand, leading the way through the forest.

“It’s dark in here,” She mumbled to herself.

“I’ll keep all the big, bad creatures away from you,” he teased.

They concentrated on the path in front of them, avoiding the old rabbit holes, puddles and fallen trees on the ground before them, being extra careful to take only small steps so neither of them got hurt.

When the path cleared for a few feet, Anya began talking. “So, do we win anything?”

“What?”

“Just wondered if we’ll win anything for being the first couple back?”

“I believe, Miss King, that what we’ll win will be the experience.”

“Call me Anya.”

“Sorry?”

“You can call me Anya. We’re not in office hours.”

“Anya.” He tested her name, loving the way it moved off his tongue, teasing his lips.

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Sam Crescent

30

“See, not so hard.”

He chuckled.

“You know, you should do that more often.” Anya bent down to pick up a twig, swinging it in front of her.

“Do what?”

“Smile, laugh. It suits you,” she complimented, moving in front of him.

He chuckled again. She truly was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

A few yards further down, they hit a mud path. Nathan went first to see how bad it was.

“Seems all right, just take it slow.”

He could hear her grumbling, but the little firecracker took her first step into the mud.

She squealed as she almost slipped, her arms flailing, her legs wobbling. With luck, though she managed to stay upright and he, though he did not know how, managed to keep a straight face.

“Eww, I’m going to mess up my new boots.” Anya tiptoed along the dirt path, trying to avoid the thickest parts of the gooey mud.

“Anya, the point of boots is for them to get dirty and worn. You’re going to break your ankle, or even worse your neck. Just walk properly,” he demanded, the sophisticated boss back.

“Do you have any idea how hard it was to find a decent pair of walking boots in pink?

And how much they cost?” Hands on hips, eyebrow raised, she stayed stubbornly on tiptoes.

Nathan thought she looked incredibly cute. He wouldn’t tell her his thoughts, though, and instead he stood there waiting for her. A nice blush spread along her cheeks, the colour illuminating her pale skin. He imagined she would look like this during sex—hot, sweaty, approaching orgasm. Anya was blowing all his past assumptions about her to pieces. He rather liked this side of her, the woman rather than the bossy personal assistant. The two pigtails suited her much better than the matronly bun.

“I thought you’d have had enough pink not to need it in the shoes.” Nathan bit his lip, containing his smile.

“What the hell is
that
supposed to mean?” Her body tensed, her eyes narrowed. He was a goner.

“Your hair…”

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“Is
red
,” she snapped.

“Pink,” he teased.

“Red—whoa.” Arms wide, trying to steady herself, her concentration lost to the argument about her hair colour.

Too late, the mud turning into a skidding pit, she landed on her arse in a big humpf.

Nathan laughed a deep, throaty laugh. She went from cute to absolutely gorgeous!

“Oh, yuck, this will stain,” she groaned, trying to stand. “Disgusting.” The complaints kept on coming.

Nathan couldn’t stop laughing.

“Stop being a know-it-all-jerk and come and help me.” A fierce finger pointed at him and then at herself.

Still chuckling, Nathan came, taking hold of her hand—soft, delicate hands, he noticed—his fingers involuntarily caressing hers as he pulled, lifting her up out of the dirt.

Unstable, he went to hold her but lost his footing, falling onto his back as she landed on top of him.

Frozen in time, their eyes met, everything fading away. The cold was replaced by the heat created by their bodies. He cupped her hips through her jacket. Anya could feel his growing erection nudging her belly, begging for attention.

“My hands are dirty,” she whispered.

The tension evaporated. Nathan nodded, waiting for her to get off him.

Anya delicately moved away from him, trying not to knee him in the balls. She moved over to the stream, washing her hands in the freezing water.

“Do you want me to call us in, stop this exercise?” He pulled the mobile they’d been given out of his pocket.

She shook her head. “It’s no problem. A bit of mud is nothing.”

“When you’re ready, we’ll move on.”

She took a few moments getting her bearings and slowing her pounding heart. His cock had been poking her belly. She shivered, the butterfly clips she wore on her nipples tightening as they grew, filling with blood, her arousal running hotter than ever. She could feel the aroused flush spreading through her cheeks. Jumping up and down, she tried with all of her might to cover up her reactions to him. It wouldn’t do for her to become intimately involved with her boss, no matter how much she wanted to.

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“Right, dirt mostly gone. I’m ready to win this race, sir.” Using humour to cover up her nervousness, she saluted him again.

They followed the path at Nathan’s instruction, climbing over fallen branches and tiptoeing over protruding rocks, working together as a team to get back to base—or get back to the pub. For several hours Anya followed him, wondering where they were going.

“Look, I’m all for the wilderness and finding nature, but if we don’t stop and eat soon, I’m going to pass out from starvation. These curves didn’t appear by themselves, you know.” She panted, her poor tummy growling for food. Even the rocks were starting to look edible—

all she could see was southern-fried chicken with mounds of crispy golden fries. Yum.

Nathan looked around, nodding. “Okay. We’ll eat.” Finding a space close to their path, they settled down, Anya rummaging around her sack.

“Sandwiches?” Disgust filled her voice.

“It is not some military experiment. A two-day kind-of-hike.” He smiled, taking one of the sandwiches from her. “Um, egg mayonnaise, delicious.” It may not be southern-fried chicken, but right now she was starving. She took a huge bite, devouring the bread. Wow, egg mayonnaise had suddenly become a delicacy. “Man, that tastes so good.” She munched through her next couple of sandwiches in no time.

“Right, save some. We’ve possibly got two more days of walking to get through.” Nathan shook the crumbs from his clothes and stretched.

Grumbling but silently agreeing, she packed away the food, not bothering to see what other sandwiches they had left.

She copied Nathan, stretching her limbs, content that the ache in her joints was taking away the ache in more personal regions.

Smiling, she followed his path humming to herself as she did.

“So, how far away are we from our destination?” Anya asked to fill the silence.

“About nine miles,” he said, feeling confident, not even looking at his map to confirm.

“Cool. Would you be running if we were in a competition?” Curiosity was biting at her again. She wanted to know more about the man she worked for.

“What do you mean?”

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33

“Well, you’re a very competitive person. I’ve seen you inside the office over a challenge or anything against the clock—you’re always the first one there.” She waited for him to respond.

He turned to speak to her. “Put it this way. If we were in a competition, I’d be carrying you on my back and I’d be running. No second place for us.” He raised an eyebrow with a sexy, cocky smile, “Because I’m a winner!” Thumping his chest in a Tarzan-like motion, he burst out laughing.

Anya patted him on the back, giggling. “Do you have a loin cloth to match your attitude? That could improve my weekend.” Her voice was deep, sensual, filled with promise.

“You’re quite a free spirit.”

“Coming from a man acting like an ape, and who may possibly wear loin cloths, I’ll take that as a compliment.” She smiled, swinging her arms around, enjoying the fresh air, the space, despite the change in her plans for the weekend. Nathan Banks, her formidable boss, was turning out to be exceedingly good company. Maybe there was something else behind all of those appalling rumours. Anya was shocked by the sexual intrigue her body began to feel towards her boss.

Bad Anya! Very, very bad Anya!

She scolded herself over and over again. ‘Disaster’ was the only word to describe what would happen if she was to allow her hormone riddled-body to take control and sleep with Nathan this weekend.

She watched his tight arse swaying in front of her, moving, tempting her, making her wonder what he would look like in a tiger-skin loin cloth. She shook her head as her eyes followed his movements and looked away.

She looked above her at the beauty of the blue sky. A classic winter morning. Anya was sure she could sense snow coming, but Tarzan knew best.

“Where did you get your boots from?” Nathan asked her.

“The Internet.”

“Get me a receipt and I’ll pay you back for the damage.”
Aww, so sweet.
“Don’t be bloody stupid. I was only teasing. I can afford new ones, and anyway I bought them to get dirty, silly.” She punched him lightly on the shoulder, playfully, giggling.

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34

“Hey, you.” He cupped her waist, holding her to him, ruffling her hair.

“Oi, leave the hair. You called it pink earlier.”

“But a lovely pink.”

Anya sent him a glare.

“Okay—hot, sexy pink.”

She elbowed him in the stomach, playfully.

He squeezed her waist, holding her against him. Her body fitted perfectly.

The moment, so innocent, turned swiftly heat-filled. His hand caressed her hip. His other hand, thumb running along her collar bone, created oodles of sensation, making her shiver and gasp, wanting to feel more of him against her.

They both paused, their breath mingling in the cold air. The air ruffled the hair escaping from her ponytails.

For the first time, Anya felt uncomfortable, not because she was having personal feelings for a man, or because the man in question was her boss, but because she could feel that her reaction to him was different, more intense, the feelings devouring her emotions.

The hardness around her heart was melting to make way for the man to sneak past her defences. “We really should move on.” Whispering, she moved away from him. Away from the possibility of feeling. Away from love.

Nathan watched her move forwards, holding onto a log as she climbed over a rotting tree root. She looked delicate but earthy among all the natural browns and greens and the wholesome smell of dirt. A natural at everything she did. The pale winter sky highlighted the deep red tones of her hair, making her stand out like an exploding sunrise, a multitude of colours combined together in a beautiful scenic view.

Soon he would be writing poetry about the colours of her hair
, he mocked himself.

He was amazed by his recent openness, the way his humour had shone through. Never before could he have imagined beating his chest like an ape to impress a woman, to earn a smile.

How could he have been working with this woman and not seen the natural grace, elegance and beauty shining deep within her? The coldness was a defence against everyone so she wouldn’t get hurt. His eyes had been opened wide to everything she’d been trying to hide, simply by being with her. He began to wonder what had made her the woman she was OFFICE HOURS

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today? Who’d hurt her? Hurt from a past lover, or just the hardness of the world? Either one was as bad as the other. He wanted to soothe the hurt, protect her from the pain and the struggle.

Shaking his head he dismissed his thoughts as they moved on together, covering a good portion of the walk.

“When we get back, I’m going to have a huge steak and chips, the lot,” Nathan said aloud. Thoughts of food were easier to deal with than the complications of this woman.

“We’re in a pub that serves Italian food. I think I’ll either have linguine alla carbonara or pollo alla cacciatore.” She rubbed her stomach, her mouth watering just thinking about it.

“You’re having what?” Nathan raised an eyebrow.

“Well, the first is linguine, a kind of pasta with a creamy-eggy-smoky-bacon type sauce.

I have burned off the calories for the calories of thick, heavy cream—yum. The other dish is chicken with wine, tomatoes and other stuff—yummy and delicious and my taste buds are tingling, I saw them on the menu last night, but I wasn’t hungry then. Now I’m
starving
.” Her mouth was watering, her belly grumbling. “Can we please get back?” Nathan nodded and they both picked up their pace, moving faster. Working as a team, helping each other, sharing water, sharing
everything
together. The intimacy did not escape either of them. Neither did the way they thought, their minds attuned to each other. Working as one.