Page 29 of Cole

She swallowed so hard her entire throat bobbed, and I had a sudden, carnal image of that same tanned column bulging around my cock. I’d bet she would choke so prettily.

I pushed off the doorway and into the office to distract myself from my rapidly rising hard-on.

“I-I got lost,” she stammered out. Her cheeks were glowing red. She was a terrible liar.

“Lost? What could you possibly have been looking for if you thought you could find it in my office?” I asked, walking slowly and deliberately toward her. “And why were you touching things on my desk instead of looking for the fucking door?”

For every step I took, she retreated a step. We danced that way around my desk until the chair blocked her exit and she was stuck. I advanced anyway, until her ass came to rest on my desk. Lucky fucker. I’d never been jealous of an inanimate object before, but here we were. Maybe I really did need to get laid, as Maddox had suggested. I was fucking losing it over a mysterious, troublemaking stranger.

“I brought my car in for service,” she blurted out.

I actually laughed. “At midnight? Try again.”

“I…” She stopped and thought furiously, her eyes darting around my office before returning to me. “…you.”

“Me?”

She nodded quickly and took a deep breath. Crossing her arms over her chest, she cocked her chin, tilted her head to the side, and grinned.

“Yeah, you. Ash suggested you might be through here, and I thought… why not go for it, shoot my shot, and see if I get anywhere? I heard women do it all the time,” she said, arching an eyebrow at me. “Mr. Popular.”

Whatever I had expected from this woman, this wasn’t it. She’d been too wary, too watchful and smart. No, she wasn’t here to hook up. She was here for something else, and she was just counting on the fact that I didn’t hook up at my places of business. Or maybe she thought I wouldn’t be interested in her. Pretty little fool.

She was playing a dangerous little game, and suddenly, there was nothing I wanted more than to play back. She wanted me to believe that she’d come here twice now, angling to hook up with the Pres of the Hounds? It was time to put that claim to the test. Nothing else was getting through her stubborn head. She was cosplaying as one of the ambitious women who came in here to snag a hookup with a Hound, as high up as they could manage. She had no idea how badly she fit that role.

“Hmm, they do,” I admitted. It was already the fourth time this week that some woman, dressed to the nines, had tried to corner me alone, but this time wouldn’t be like those. “If you’ve heard that, then you’ve also probably heard that I don’t fuck where I work.”

She shrugged and pushed off the table, bringing her closer to me. “Well, that’s disappointing.” Her lack of disappointment was impossible to hide. I fought the urge to smile. One thing about my little mystery woman: She wasn’t boring.

She gave me a smile. “I’m sorry. I’ll get out of your hair,” she said brightly, and made a move to step past me.

I closed a hand loosely around her upper arm to stop her.

“That’s it? You’ve given up on your seduction plan so easily? I’m almost offended. Unless you’re lying.”

She flushed even brighter. This close, I could see the constellations of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were hazel, light golden brown with flecks of green. Her lips parted and her breath slid out, sending heat down my spine.

She was beautiful, and she was lying, and looking me right in the eye while she was doing it.

She wet her lips, pink tongue darting over red lipstick. I followed the movement, only getting harder.

“I’m just gracious about admitting defeat,” she murmured. Her voice had dropped to a low, throaty tone, and I knew right then that if I slid my hand into her panties, she’d be wet.

“Well, let’s not jump the gun. I’d hate to send you away disappointed,” I murmured, and took a few steps over to reach my office chair. It groaned as I settled myself into it. I still had my little spy in my grip, and I tugged her in front of me, trapping her with my legs between my chair and the desk.

“You got all dolled up, and came all the way out here, after I told you not to. The least I can do is let you do your thing,” I announced, enjoying myself for the first time tonight. I let my eyes run down her body, lingering on the hem of her short skirt. “I suppose you have a need that only I can help you with… and I’d hate for you to suffer.”

She blinked down at me. I could practically feel her thoughts racing. She was a smart cookie; I could tell by her eyes. She was trying to figure a way around her lie, and I wasn’t planning on letting her.

“Meaning?” she squeaked out a second later.

“Meaning—seduce me… give it your all… who knows, maybe it’ll work. Maybe you’ll be my exception,” I murmured and looked my fill. She had a partially unbuttoned shirt on, and a black lacy bra was winking at me from the gap. I’d seen similar outfits on half a dozen women at the bar lately, but now, on this woman, it seemed scandalous.

“You’re already doing a good job,” I told her.

She frowned at me. “What do you mean?” she wondered, but then her eyes dipped to my crotch and the hard-on pushing my jeans out, and she blushed.

“You’re beautiful… but you already know that, don’t you?” I mused.