Truth of Fire by Abby Wood Page A

Paul motioned her over.
    Owner? This is Mr. Cortega? Neither of them had ever met the person who owned the company. In her mind, she’d pictured someone old, rich, and vacationing in Mexico—not this hunk of goodness.
    The man flashed a smile and dipped his dimpled chin in her direction. A surge of confidence came over her, and she glided over with her hand held out. “I-It’s nice to meet you, Mr.—”
    “Please, call me Max.” His hand swallowed her much smaller one. “What lovely hair you have. I don’t believe I have ever seen curls quite that long before.” He held her hand up above her head, and without letting go, strolled all the way around her. “I think you must be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
    Carly tittered. “Oh, well…th-thank you.”
    “Mr. Cortega, Carly is our floral designer. She’s made quite a name for herself in Lindbergh for creating wedding and event arrangements.” Paul rocked back on his heels. “In fact, she’s got a big order for this Halloween that we—”
    “Paul, I’d like to give you the day off. I’ll handle the orders today. I’d like to get behind the scenes and find out for myself how efficiently things are run here.” Max might have spoken to her manager, but his gaze never left her face.
    “But, Mr.—”
    “Go ahead, Paul. You deserve some R and R. If I have any problems, I’m sure Carly is quite capable of helping me.” Max’s thumb strummed the top of her hand. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
    She nodded. “I’ll help him, Paul. You can go ahead and take the day off.”
    Paul cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
    The bell on the door jingled and then fell silent. She licked her lips. Max’s dark brown shoulder-length hair begged her to run her hands through it and bring his lips down to her level. Where are all these thoughts coming from?
    “W-well, I better get busy. The black carnations came in yesterday afternoon. I need to cut and have them ready by the weekend.” She stepped around him, paused, and frowned. An incredible urge to turn around and stay beside him came out of nowhere.
    Forcing her feet to move across the floor, she pushed through the swinging door into the back workroom. She reached out and grabbed on to the table to steady herself. Her whole body shook with uncontrolled lust for her boss. What is going on?
    “Carly?”
    She whirled around. “Y-yes?” Oh sweetness…it’s him! What is he doing to me?
    Max stepped closer. She inhaled a long, slow breath. Even through the floral scents permeating the room, the musky aroma coming from him floated across to her and caused her stomach to flip-flop.
    “You are unbelievably gorgeous.” He ran his hand down her cheek.
    She tilted her head into his touch. Oh Goddess, you did it. You brought me someone who cannot deny me and will love me forever.
    “S-so are y-you.” She squeezed her eyes shut, opened them, and wrinkled her nose. “I-I mean…”
    “Sh. I know. You have been here the whole time working in my shop, and I had no idea…” He brought his other hand up and cupped her cheeks. “I’ve never had anything like this come over me, but I can’t seem to fight it.”
    She swallowed. “I know.”
    He placed feather-soft kisses on her forehead. She shivered despite the way her body warmed under his attention. Any attempt to slow down and try to comprehend what was happening fled her mind the second he lowered his head for a kiss.
    Softly he explored her mouth. Brushing his lips against hers, he coaxed her body into submitting. She mewed. The thought of his weight on top of her, his body pleasuring, consuming her, drove her wild. She wanted to experience it all.
    He tasted, teased, and nibbled. She dug her fingers into the long strands of hair at his nape. Her pussy dampened, and she held him tighter to her, urging him for more.
    Max pulled back without letting her go. “I want you. I need to feel your body against me.”
    Her hand slipped