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washed. I wondered if he had noticed
the state of my panties after we’d been alone together? I hadn’t
been able to fight the warm wetness from growing between my legs as
he tended to my cuts and scrapes the night before. Even his first
aid ministrations had turned me on immediately. Something about the
power contained within his gentle touch was irresistible. I
couldn’t keep from wondering what it would feel like to have those
hands all over my body, administering a very different kind of
TLC.
    I shook my dirty thoughts from my head and
went back out to the kitchen. Anderson was dressed and waiting for
me, looking heartbreakingly gorgeous in a pair of faded jeans and a
black tee shirt. I spotted sleeves of tattoos on his arms that had
been hidden the night before. Intricate patterns and designs vied
for attention all across his cut muscles, only adding to the rough,
edgy allure of him. Anderson looked like he had stepped out of a
comic book—even magazine models couldn’t compare to him, the
complete perfection of his form. He looked like someone had carved
him out of marble, from his cropped chestnut curls all the way down
to his perfect calves.
    “Shall we?” he said, leading the way to the
elevator.
    I nodded soundlessly, too engrossed by his
beautiful physique to formulate words. His sex appeal was
absolutely hypnotic. I followed him as though in a trance, down
through the floors of the building and across the front lobby. A
new doorman nodded to us happily as we took our leave, and I
wondered if Anderson made a routine of having young women up to his
apartment for sleepovers. Someone as gorgeous as him probably
didn’t have any shortage of girlfriends. If we had met under
different circumstances, maybe I would have joined the ranks of his
bedpost notches. But the evening we’d shared, all the confessions
and fears that had passed between us, made me almost glad that I
had been out of commission. Almost.
    We made our way out into the city, walking
side by side. As we walked, every eye that crossed our path
lingered on my handsome companion. Women and men alike couldn’t
tear their eyes from Anderson, and I didn’t blame them. I tried to
ignore the fiery protective reaction I felt building within me. I
had no right to be territorial about a man I’d just met, yet for
some reason the wandering eyes that fell upon him were making me
furious. Simmer down , I chided myself, You’re just
friends, after all, you barely know this guy .
    In no time, we were closing in on Joe’s. My
stomach began to churn as I thought about the unpleasant task of
confronting my boss. Joe was awful on the best of days, but given
an excuse to act like an asshole, he would go hog wild.
    “Wait,” I said, grabbing onto Anderson’s arm.
We were a few steps away from the coffee house; the exact place
where I’d been attacked was just a few yards away.
    “Are you OK?” Anderson asked.
    “Yeah, yeah,” I said, “I just think that,
maybe, you shouldn’t come in with me.”
    “Why not?” Anderson asked.
    “I just feel like my boss is going to be a
bigger asshole if I bring backup,” I explained.
    “Why do you care what your boss thinks?”
Anderson pressed.
    “Well,” I said, “Cause I need this job, I
guess.”
    Anderson looked genuinely surprised. “You’re
not still thinking of working here, after what happened last
night?”
    I shrugged. “Don’t have much of a choice,” I
said plainly, “Have to pay the bills somehow.”
    Anderson looked at me long and hard, and I
felt myself turning to jelly under his gaze. He looked hot and
bothered, his jaw set tight. “Kaela,” he said, “I have a few words
for your boss myself. I’m going in there.”
    I didn’t dare argue with him. A steely,
authoritative tone had crept into his voice that was at once
intimidating and sexy as hell. He pulled open the door of the
coffee shop and let me step in before him. The door slammed shut
behind us, and the bleary-eyed regulars