Bachelor's Special by Christine Warner Page A

entire being into slush weren’t her type?
    Not when they’re your boss.
    “Tell yourself another one.”
    The smile in Mel’s voice shot a web of unease up Jill’s spine.

Chapter Ten
    An hour later, after a shower that didn’t ease any of her tense muscles, Jill left her room. She’d talked herself in and out of searching for Chet, but she couldn’t turn chicken now.
    With a little more than six weeks to go, they needed to talk this out so things between them wouldn’t be awkward. There were so many reasons that neither of them should act on their attraction. Chet made it clear he didn’t want a relationship with any woman, and although she’d never broached the subject, marriage and children were definitely something she wanted in her future. And she refused to date someone she worked with—or worse yet—someone she worked for.
    Damn Jared and Mel and their matchmaker ways. Just because their working relationship blossomed and bloomed didn’t mean everyone who worked together would be so lucky.
    Jill didn’t have sex for the sake of having sex—except when it came to jumping Chet Castle’s bones in the pool. What was happening to her? Was she morphing into a different person? Maybe the old Jill and the new Jill were in combat. She refused to entertain the possibility sex with her boss would happen again. She needed to get the kinks in her suddenly insatiable libido worked out, at least where he was concerned.
    He was her boss—her friend—and that line shouldn’t be crossed. Ever.
    Her skin prickled with nervous energy as she bounded up the steps toward Chet’s suite on the second floor. She rounded the turn to discover Chet standing at the top landing, his hand resting on the ornate banister. Funny, she had sensed him before she’d seen him.
    He’d changed into beige cargo shorts but remained shirtless.
    So much for working out the kinks.
    In an instant, her heart fluttered as memories of their water aerobics flooded her mind. The way his muscles bunched beneath her palms, how his nipples hardened as her fingertips brushed across them, his lips crushing hers, tasting of passion and promises. But her sweetest remembrance sent a quiver over her flesh. She’d never forget the way his…
    Stop it! Pull yourself together.
    “Chet. Can we talk?” She cleared her throat. Her mouth dried up along with the rehearsed conversation she’d played out in her mind. He came down the steps until he stood two stairs above her.
    “Perfect plan. I was just on my way to ask you the same thing.”
    His smile shot fire to her core, but she managed to relax her death grip on the railing. Chet settled on the step and pulled her down to sit beside him. Coarse hairs from his bare legs brushed against hers, and she regretted wearing the light cotton sundress instead of jeans. She stretched the hem down to put a barrier between their skin. Within seconds the material snapped back into place.
    “We’re adults,” she said.
    He chuckled. “Agreed.”
    She dared a sideways peek at him and licked her lips. She started again. “What happened in the pool shouldn’t have. I find you sexy—”
    “Right back at you.”
    Her knees wobbled and she held them in place with the heels of her palms, trying to make the sway look natural. “But what happened isn’t how I normally act.”
    “I know.”
    His hand covered hers and stopped the momentum of her knees. The warmth of his touch sent her pulse soaring but also calmed her.
    “What I mean is we can’t let that happen again. I’m not someone that, well…”
    “I know, Jill. You don’t sleep around.”
    Was I that inexperienced?
    His smile softened and a rush of heat infused her face. His fingers pressed into the sides of her knee as he squeezed, and she bit her bottom lip. She might not be one to sleep around, but whenever he looked at her or touched her, thoughts immediately turned to sex. With him.
    As if he could read her thoughts—and wanted nothing to do with