“It’s just so surreal. You’re an Olympic champion. An X Games champion. You’re-”
“I’ve read my bio, thanks.”
He didn’t like to talk about it, which was hard for her because she wanted to talk about it. “Okay, well, we could pretend we’re meeting for the first time.”
“And that I didn’t find you in my bed?”
“Yes, that would be really great, actually.”
He gave a slow shake of his head, his gaze filled with a good amount of trouble. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because every time I close my eyes, I see you there.” The glint in them turned positively wicked now. “Naked.”
She nearly choked on her shocked laugh as he effectively did what nothing else had been able to-make her forget. She looked at him and realized that he wasn’t just being crude for the fun of it, he really was trying to take her mind off whatever had gotten to her.
And it was that, that right there, which opened her heart to him just a little.
But only a little, because hot or not, he was still quite contrary.
And hot, and oh good Lord, there went her glasses again, completely fogging over. She ripped them from her face. “You know I wasn’t naked.”
“That part must have been my dream then.”
“You dreamed about me being naked?”
He shot her a crooked smile filled with both shameless admittance and a wry humor, and she had to laugh. “That’s a guy thing, right?”
“So I take it you didn’t dream about me naked.”
“No.” And yet she knew she would tonight. “But we irritate each other. Don’t we?”
“Yes, but see, irritation originates in the brain. That’s not the part of me that was dreaming about you.”
“I work for you.”
Some of his good humor left. “No, you work for Stone.”
That was quite a distinction, one that she wasn’t sure she understood. “Are you not a part of Wilder Adventures?”
“I am now. Apparently I’ll be planning expeditions and doing some of the leading.”
“And sign the paychecks?”
He stared at her for a moment, then let out a breath. “Maybe. Probably. Stone handles most of that, though; he loves paperwork. I think he has a screw loose somewhere.”
“I used to love paperwork.”
“Used to?”
“Not so much anymore.” She broke the disconcerting eye contact because it seemed like he could see inside her. “So. Month end.”
“Not my area of expertise.”
“What is?”
He merely smiled again, naughty to the bone. Her knees wobbled, and it had nothing at all to do with the big, bad, scary Sno-Cat. “Okay,” she said on a laugh. “Never mind. How about this. If you could just tell me what reports Stone wants to see…”
“I’ve been gone all year. I have no idea.” But instead of escaping, he leaned back, feet and arms casually crossed, still very much at ease. She had a feeling he was pretty much always at ease.
“You’ve been gone a year?”
“Give or take.” He picked up a file from her pile and opened it. “Interesting.”
“What?”
“It’s the application you filled out, and a copy of your driver’s license, and-Huh.”
“What?” She stood up, trying to see what he saw.
He tipped the file and revealed the picture on her license. It’d been taken last year, and showed her with her hair neatly up, glasses on.
The old her.
Cam eyed it, then swiveled his gaze to her.
“It’s not my best picture,” she said a little defensively. “But it does reveal that I’m responsible and-”
“Not an ax murderer?” She caught the quick flash of humor in his eyes as he took in her fuzzy sweater, wool trousers, and high-heeled boots. “I don’t think you have to worry, Goldilocks. I don’t think cute office managers from LA who wear high-heeled boots can be ax murderers. There’s a code or something.”
She stretched her legs so they slid beneath the desk, hiding her feet. “Okay, so I’m a little overdressed, but that’s just me wanting to make a good impression. It doesn’t necessarily say I’m from LA. I mean, maybe I just like high fashion.” Or Target sales…“You shouldn’t assume-”
“Your application says you’re from LA.”
“Oh, right.” Her curiosity won over her embarrassment. “What else are you learning about me?”
He lifted the paperwork out of her view, not hard since he was so tall. “That you went to college at USC for accounting but didn’t take your CPA because you weren’t sure you’d stick in accounting. You have a good head on your shoulders, though you’re a little uptight and cautious.”
She blinked. “My file says I’m uptight and cautious?”
“No, that part was me.”
When she looked into his green eyes this time, they were definitely smiling, accompanied by a quick quirk of his mouth.
Oh boy. If she’d thought him attractive when he was all edgy and badass, it was nothing compared to how he looked when he smiled.
Note to self: Don’t make him smile again.
“I’m not uptight and cautious.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really?”
She deflated like a popped balloon. “Okay, so maybe I’ve been uptight and cautious, but that’s in my past.”
At that, he out and out chuckled, and every single inch of her reacted.
Amendment of note to self: And don’t even think about making him laugh.
“Give me that.” She tried to snatch the file from him, but he simply used his superior height to his advantage, still reading as he held the papers out of her reach. Not for lack of trying, though. Her hands were back on his chest now. Such a hardship, once again soaking up the heat and strength coming through. And something else. The beat of his heart. It was steady as a rock.
Like the man.
A little surprised at the depth of her reaction, she pulled her hands free and stepped back.
Oblivious, he was still reading. “Your reference said you’re conscientious, tidy, and a hard worker.”
“That’s true.” To give herself a minute, she turned away. She’d never combined a panic attack with annoyance and lust before. It left her a little quivery, from the inside out.
“It doesn’t say anything about being adventurous.”
She turned back.
Tossing the file aside, he leaned back against the desk again, all casual as he gripped the wood at his hips and looked at her. “Do you have a sense of adventure, Katie?”
“I slept with you, didn’t I?”
His mouth twitched. “It only counts as adventurous if it was without clothes.”
The image of just that left her a little breathless, as if she didn’t already have enough problems. And she couldn’t have explained her odd reaction to him if she’d tried. In her life, men were aloof, quite preoccupied, and hard to get. Her father. Her last boyfriend, who’d been so laid-back about their relationship he’d had to be checked for a pulse. Of course, as it had turned out, he’d already been married to someone else.
Cam didn’t seem aloof or particularly hard to get. And she’d bet her last dollar that there was far more to him than what he revealed. She didn’t know what exactly made her so sure of it but knew it had something to do with the hollowness she kept catching glimpses of. “I have plenty of adventure in me.” It was a daring statement, but she was feeling pretty damn daring. And she had no idea what made her say what came out of her mouth next. “I was on the Santa Monica bridge.”
“Me too,” he said. “Though it’s been a while.”
“No, I mean I was on it when it collapsed.”
He went completely still, staring at her over the file. “Jesus. Really?”
“Really.”
“How did you-” He shook his head in disbelief. “My God. There was only one survivor, a woman. That was you? How did you make it?”