Page 6 of Naughty or Nice

If I could melt to the floor I would. No one calls me Evangeline—no one. Unless they’re my parents. I am Eva—strong, dependable, Eva. A woman who has proved her worth a hundred times over.

But when he says it, the way he says it, it’s not like Mum and Dad do it. It doesn’t make me feel like a girl, weak and vulnerable. I feel empowered, worthy of so much, catapulted onto a pedestal and ready to be worshipped.

By him. At my feet.

Oh, yes.

I swallow, the bolt through my body jolting me straight.

It scares me. He scares me. And I know I need him gone—that no matter what I said to Dad I don’t dare to entertain him for longer than is necessary.

‘Cat got your tongue?’

‘No,’ I blurt.

‘So?’

I can see a pulse working in his jaw, and his eyes are intense as they watch and wait for my response.

‘Is it you or your family telling me I’m not welcome, Evangeline?’

‘Both.’ I say it and immediately regret it. It’s too personal, too unprofessional, but I can’t think clearly. Not with him so close.

‘Is that your way of asking me to leave?’

I sense nearby heads turning, ears tuning in.

Careful, Eva...

* * *

I’m losing myself in the fierce glint of her blue gaze, almost daring her to throw me out. There’s something about the fight in her that I want to provoke.

It’s so much easier than dealing with all the shit buried ten years deep.

‘No, Lucas, I’m not asking you to leave.’

She wets her lips. Again. And the red shines ever deeper, the carnal colour driving a string of sinful thoughts—none of which have a place in this room, with this audience.

Or fit with the reason you’re here.

It’s about business.

Not her.

Not...

A pulse flutters in her throat and she raises her hand, her red-tipped fingers circling over the delicate ripple. Christ, I want to do that—be the person with his fingers over that creamy skin.

I tighten my hold on the stem of the glass, slipping my other hand inside my pocket. Out of trouble.

‘Good.’ I tear my eyes away, looking towards the grand Christmas tree and the big screen that stands proud alongside it, streaming highlights of the product I’m here to secure. ‘Because I think we have a future together...in business.’

I suck the inside of my cheek.

In business? What the actual fuck? Do you want to make it any more obvious you want her in your bed too?

I hear her laugh, and the sound is as surprising as its effect, rippling through my body like an aftershock. I’d forgotten how she can do that—be it with a laugh, a smile or a song when she thinks no one’s listening.