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I hadn’t even seen her face, this bold woman who spoke to me like I was Joe Blow off the street, and I wanted her.
I turned slowly, the anticipation gripping me tight. Hardening a part of me to stone. When I met her gaze, the other part of me that was used to being as callous as rock, my heart, did the most bizarre thing.
It jerked to my throat.
She was beautiful.
I started with her eyes, deep brown and widening with surprise when she realized who I was. The curve of her nose, the
thick suppleness of her lips as she tried to backtrack when I moved closer...and her hair. Glossy brown curls were trying to escape the confines of the bun she wore. I wanted to see them wild and free. I wanted to learn every inch of her beautiful face so I could map out every twitch, every sigh when I found out where to touch her and make her melt.
I’d used the word ‘beautiful’ before to describe women that had graced covers of magazines, glittered in the society pages, and lit up movie screens. But their beauty was flat and predictable. This woman had a glow that came from inside and streamed from her like rays of sunlight.
I wanted to bask in it.
I wanted to know her.
I wanted to fuck her.
That thought made heat rush to my groin, relief flooding me like a sip of good bourbon. I could axe that silly romantic stuff about the sun. This attraction was closer to the things that happened when the sun went down. When the lights dimmed, thighs parted, and lips uttered the most delicious sounds of pain and pleasure.
I smirked when her lips started uttering sounds of embarrassment.
“I, er, I’m, it’s-”
I boldly moved even closer, the heat of desire fanning her cheeks. If she bit her lip, all hell would break loose, right here in the lobby. I forced my naughty thoughts to the back of mind. Maybe I should learn her name before I started planning to discipline her, here and now.
“What’s your name?” I barked.
“M-my name?” she eked out.
I couldn’t resist lifting an eyebrow. There was a very thin line between endearingly nervous and weak. “Yes. Those things one is given at birth?”
A rumbling sound echoed from her throat and raised her chin. Good girl.
“Leila,” she answered, setting those brown eyes on me.
“New hire?” It was rhetorical. I never forgot a face...and I certainly wouldn’t have forgotten hers. But as quickly as her spunk had flickered to life, it was snuffed out when she shrunk a few feet and shook her head no.
Disappointment pulled the sides of my mouth into a frown. “Then what brings you to my building?”
“Interview,” she said, her voice barely audible. “Research aide.”
“Huh.” So that was way she was so hot and cold. She was used to flying under the radar. “I suppose that makes sense.”
As if she’d read my mind and did not like what was written on the page, she scowled at me. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“That research seems a suitable fit for you,” I answered simply.
She rose to every inch of her height, confirming that nothing about this woman was simple. “Somewhere tucked in a dark cubicle where cameras wouldn’t dare venture?”
Well then. I had enough self control to keep my surprise isolated to my gaze, but my body was alight with excitement. That stubbornness and defiance, mixed with adorable nerves that made her slap her hand over her mouth like she was about to be punished, made me throw caution to the wind.
She was about to be punished.
I reached for her forearm, her skin soft and welcoming. “You’re coming with me.”
I held her tight, my common sense, hell, my lawyer’s voice flitting through my mind. What was I doing? She hasn’t been vetted. She hasn’t signed a contract. Yet, she let me lead her through the crowd of Whitmore and Creighton employees. I told myself I’d let her go if we turned down the corridor and she yanked from my grasp. Come up with some excuse for my behavior. The truth was, I had no excuse.
