Page 14 of Naughty or Nice

Her brow lifts into an elegant arch—I can’t tell if it’s in disbelief or challenge—and she closes the door in my face, the lock twisting into place.

It’s a first for me. I should feel humiliated, cheapened—used, even. But I’m feeling none of those things.

Fire burns i

n my veins—fire for the chase, the thrill of the conquest. She will be mine. My groin pulses and I adjust myself, lifting my hand to sweep it over my face as determination settles in.

When I’m buried deep inside her—then we’ll be even.

I turn and head for the door. I should clean up, but the lingering taste of her keeps me hungry. If I get my way, I’ll have what I crave before the night is out.

And I always get my way.

CHAPTER THREE

I FEEL LIKE JELLY. It’s the only way to describe how my insides tremble and my legs are weak.

Two orgasms.

Two.

I would have been content with one.

Whatever. You want more already—more a thousand times over.

And even then I know I’d still be wanting.

Because it could never just be about sex with him.

He’s dangerous. To my senses, my sanity—and, if I really dwell on it, my heart. All over again.

I was foolish to even go there.

I circle the room, talking with prospective partners, my business persona enough to hide my distraction.

Him.

I feel his presence with every word I say, every breath I take, every clip of my heel against the gleaming floor as I walk. I can feel his eyes following me and I purposefully evade him. My schedule for the next two weeks is filling up and I know he’ll be wanting his share. Perhaps that’s why I leave him until last. Because I’m goading him. Not because I still want him.

He’s at the bar now. I know it without looking. I’ve been aware of his movements ever since he appeared.

‘Your feet aren’t going to touch the ground over the next fortnight,’ Clare tells me as she scans her tablet. ‘And we still have those few that weren’t able to make it tonight...’

He’s moving. I can feel it.

Don’t turn.

‘I can offer them Friday,’ she says, ‘or later the following week. Of course, we still need to schedule in Waring Holdings, but if—’

‘Good to see I’m on the radar.’

Shit. He’s right behind me already.

I don’t want him to know how I feel, and I don’t want Clare to read it. So I school my expression, turning to face him with a polite smile that I hope masks a multitude of sins. I took what I wanted earlier to get him out of my system. I need him to see that. To hell with what my body is still saying.

‘Of course you are, Lucas.’ I gesture to Clare. ‘My PA will arrange a convenient time for us to meet the week after next.’ I add the timing for my own benefit, I need those days to get myself straightened out. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me...?’

I move to leave but he steps in front of me, his frown so genuine I’m momentarily struck still.