Conflicted by Lisa Suzanne Page A

biceps, as if I might fall should I let go.
    I felt movement, but I was so caught up in the kiss that I didn’t realize he was moving us toward the bedroom.
    Toward the bed.
    I couldn’t wait to get that navy blue shirt off of him, to run my fingertips along the smooth muscles I’d had the pleasure of seeing in the flesh that very morning.
    As if he was reading my mind, he pulled away and started working the buttons on his shirt. His hooded eyes gazed at me just the way I’d dreamed they would, full of passion and lust.
    He was on the third button and my stomach clenched with excitement when a knock at our door interrupted us.
    “Fuck,” Cole muttered, glancing at the door before looking at me again. His eyes rounded as if he’d just realized what we’d done.
    “Fuck,” he repeated, running a hand through his hair.
    I’d never seen him so flustered. It might’ve been comical if I could get over the fact that I’d just kissed my boss.
    The knocking became louder and more persistent. He buttoned his shirt hastily on his way to the door while I smoothed a hand through my hair, trying my best to appear like I hadn’t been brought to my knees by that kiss.
    I’d already started daydreaming about sex on my desk at the office. Or sex on his desk. Going out on a date with him. Holding hands in public. Being a couple. Leaving John.
    John.
    Oh my God.
    What the hell was I doing?
    Cole looked through the peephole and then glanced at me to make sure I was decent before opening the door.
    “Hey, Nicki,” he greeted the leggy blonde who he sat next to at lunch. Her eyes zeroed in on me.
    “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”
    Cole glanced over at me. “She’s not company. She’s just my assistant.”
    Just my assistant.
    Just my assistant .
    I thought about his words with disappointment.
    Just when I started to think that there could be something between us, I was put back in my place. Shoved back into place, really. I’d gotten carried away with the kiss, that was all. It hadn’t meant to him what it might’ve meant to me.
    I was relegated back to his assistant. Not the woman he kissed and would’ve taken to bed had we not been interrupted.
    “Is now a good time?” Nicki asked.
    “Let’s chat in the hall.”
    He followed her out, closing the door behind him.
    Guilt washed over me.
    I’d been ready to do so much more than kiss Cole.
    It wasn’t fair to John, and it wasn’t fair to me. But life wasn’t fair, and I could stand in place all day thinking about how wrong it was or I could do something about it.
    I wasn’t sure exactly what to do about it, but the walls of the huge hotel suite were suddenly suffocating me. I needed to get out.
    I grabbed my purse and my phone, made sure I had my key, and walked out the door.
    Cole was standing too close to Nicki—or maybe Nicki was standing too close to Cole—but it wasn’t my business. I was just his assistant. I brushed past the two of them, my legs carrying me toward the elevator as I struggled to catch my breath.
    Maybe his eyes were on me, and maybe they weren’t—but I didn’t check to see. Either way, it didn’t matter. Because I was just his assistant.
    I was married, and I’d just kissed another man.
    When the elevator doors opened, I practically ran through the lobby toward the hotel exit. “Lucy!” I heard a voice calling me. I stopped with my hand on the door.
    “Is everything okay?” Luke asked, rushing through the lobby to get to me.
    I shook my head. “No. Nothing is okay.”
    I pushed open the door, and Luke followed me out. I’d expected a breath of fresh air by stepping outside, and instead I was hit with humidity as I inhaled car exhaust.
    I missed home. I missed California and balmy temperatures and warm breezes and fresh ocean air.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” Luke asked, falling into step beside me.
    “I really don’t.”
    “Do you want a friend?”
    I just wanted to be alone, but he seemed like he cared about my