Perfect Partners

sound and then she was cradling him in her palm. Her fingers were full of the fierce, hard length of him, and she was no longer poised on the brink of laughter.
    “You really are beautiful,” Letty whispered as she leaned forward to touch him with the tip of her tongue.
    Joel sucked in his breath. His fingers tightened in her hair. “God, Letty, that feels so good. Yes, baby. Just like that.
Yes
.”
    Growing bolder by the second, Letty leaned closer, tasting the essence of him. She could feel Joel’s intense reaction and the knowledge thrilled her.
    Joel made her feel like the most sensual woman on the face of the earth.
    Joel made her feel beautiful.
    With Joel she had learned the extent of her power as a woman, and the feeling was glorious.
    She leaned closer to him, determined to give him the kind of pleasure he had so often given her.
    At that moment the office door swung open without warning. Letty froze. She knew with sudden icy clarity that she was fully visible from the doorway.
    “Oh, there you are, Blackstone,” Philip said. “Your secretary isn’t at her desk, but I thought I’d pop in anyway. I’ve got a couple of things to discuss.” There was a brief, shocked pause. When Philip spoke again he sounded as if he was strangling. “My God.
Letty
.”
    Joel’s fingers stayed clenched in Letty’s hair. “Good news, Dixon,” he said thickly. “She doesn’t need therapy.”

18

    Y ou know something?” Letty asked as she methodically worked her way through a pile of spicy rice noodles with peanuts and chili peppers, “I have decided that if I can survive what happened today in your office, I can survive anything.”
    It was the first time she had mentioned the incident.
    Joel grinned. He could not help it. Every time he thought of the expression on Philip Dixon’s face that afternoon, he wanted to laugh. He knew he would still be chuckling about it forty years from now.
    Basic male instinct assured Joel that there probably would not be a whole lot of trouble from Dixon in the future. In fact, Joel fully expected the man to be on the next plane back to Indiana.
    Good riddance.
    Dixon had fled the scene in ignominious retreat the moment he had fully grasped just what was going on before his very eyes. Joel had felt a satisfying surge of triumph as he had watched his thoroughly vanquished rival make a chaotic withdrawal from the scene.
    The rush he had gotten from knowing he no longer had to worry about Philip Dixon had been almost as good as the feel of Letty’s mouth on him.
    Unfortunately, he had not been able to continue savoring either the victory or Letty’s gentle tongue. Letty had promptly succumbed to shock.
    Regretfully Joel had zipped his jeans and assisted his boss back to her own office. There he had explained in grave tones to an extremely concerned Arthur Bigley that the president of Thornquist Gear was not feeling well that afternoon.
    Arthur had immediately started fixing a pot of tea. Joel left him to the task of reviving Letty and sauntered back down the hall feeling more cheerful than he had in some time.
    At five-thirty when Joel went back down the hall a second time to see if Letty had recovered, he found her hard at work on the new ad campaign. She had refused to meet his eye, studiously not mentioned the incident, and appeared oblivious of the fact that it was time to go home.
    Joel had guided her out of the building and into the din of a nearby after-work bar where he had ordered a glass of white wine for her. He had specified the inexpensive bar wine because there was obviously no sense wasting money on a respectable label. Letty was in no condition to appreciate it.
    After the drink he had shepherded her into the Thai restaurant next door for dinner. She seemed unaware that he had ordered her Phud Thai four-star hot.
    “Next time remember to lock the door before you seduce me in my office,” Joel advised.
    “There definitely will not be a next time in your office.” Letty adjusted her glasses and gave him a disapproving look. “However, I am beginning to believe that, having gotten through the experience of being discovered in a compromising position, I can now cope a little better with the idea of having an affair.”
    Joel scowled at her, not liking the expression of thoughtful speculation in her eyes. “Is that right? I got the impression earlier today that you were starting to have problems with the idea of a long-term affair. You were starting to use the