Page 13 of Adam’s Obsession

Every atom in her being simultaneously cringed. “No.” She cutan unequivocal negatory slash with her hand. “No date.”

“Oh come on, Katherine!” His whine was high-pitched, like amosquito. She was overcome with the urge to swat him. “Just one lousy date.”

“Nope.” She headed for the door. She was not—repeat, not—goingon a date with Jack Maris. She’d get the damn software at the frickin’ softwarestore. Wherever the heck that was. Damn it all. She’d be late for her dateagain tonight, assuming she could even find the program. Assuming she couldfigure out how to install the thing, but still…

“Okay. Okay.” The capitulation in his tone slowed herretreat. “Hows about this. You dance with me at the company dinner next month.”

“Dance with you?” The thought made all the little hairs onher arm stand on end.

“Just one dance.” He ogled the general direction of herchest.

Ewww.

But still, balanced against the potential bliss she couldexperience with Savage tonight, the sacrifice of one short dance with Jackdidn’t seem so steep a price to pay.

Did it?

Katherine crossed her arms, you know, over her chest,and blew out a sigh. “All right.”

“Yee-haw!” he bellowed. He actually bellowed.

“Keep it down, will you?”

“Oh, I dunno.” Jack waggled his brows seductively—well, in amanner he clearly thought was seductive. “It’s hard to keep a good mandown.” He chortled at his own pathetic joke but the laughter petered away whenhe noticed Katherine’s expression. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you get it?”

“Yes, Jack. I got it.”

“See, ‘cause that was a reference to my sexual virility.”

“Yes, Jack. I see that.”

He studied her for a minute, his eyes magnified by the thickglass of his spectacles. Then he grunted. “Are you trying to say that ‘youcan’t keep a good man down’ isn’t a good pick-up line?”

“That’s exactly what I am trying to say.” Gadzooks, he wasclueless when it came to women. Like, really clueless.

“Huh.” He pulled a crumpled memo pad from the back pocket ofhis jeans and a pen from his pocket protector. He riffled the mangled pagesuntil he found a scribbled list and drew a line through one of the items,muttering to himself.

“Jack.” Ruthlessly, she dragged him back to theconversation. Well, the one between the two of them. He could finish hisconversation with himself later. She had things to do and was on a short clock.“Can you install it now?”

“As soon as I’m done with my dinner.”

And on that note, the microwave dinged.

Dinner, such as it was, was served.

Chapter Four

To her delight, Katherine made it home in time for her datewith Savage, the VoIP software installed on her laptop. She kicked off hershoes, poured herself a glass of wine and slipped into her teddy, all the whiletrying to quell the butterflies in her stomach.

Only a few of the butterflies were due to her promise todance with Jack at the company banquet—and they were all a little nauseated.The rest of them were for Savage. She’d done a fair job of ignoring hertrepidation as Jack installed the software and tested it and she’d managed todistract herself during the ride home by singing all the songs on the radio atthe top of her lungs. But now she was here, nestled all snug in her bed, in herteddy, with her wine in hand…

Now it was time.

The moment of truth.

Now she could no longer ignore the niggling of panic in hergut.

She was going to hear his voice tonight. Tonight he wouldwhisper sweet nothings and groan his delight. What would he sound like?