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Was he really ready for a serious commitment?

Was he ready for marriage and kids?

Was he ready to put someone before the company his father had built from the ground up, the company that he had sworn to make the most successful in the world?

Florence stepped out of the building, and he was shoving the door open and stepping out in seconds like he was a magnet drawn to her by the universe.

Just as he was crossing the street, she turned. When she noticed him, her eyes grew wide before her brow scrunched, it seemed she was not happy to see him.

Eli put on his most charming smile and was about to make a witty comment when a man stepped out from behind Florence.

A man.

A ridiculously good looking man with wavy black hair and piercing green eyes. The guy was taller than he was and was built like a rock.

A jealous haze descended on him.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice a deep growl. Did Florence have a boyfriend she had failed to mention? Was that why she had been so reluctant to agree to go on a date with him?

The idea that Florence belonged to another man left him feeling bereft.

“This is Jake,” Florence told him. “Jake, this is Eli Lennox. You know the guy from the other night who pushed me out of the way of the car.”

So she’d told this Jake man about him, but hadn't said a word to him about Jake, for some reason that infuriated him.

“Nice to meet you,” Jake said, holding out a hand, a friendly smile on his face.

Eli ignored the other man’s hand. “Are you dating her?” he demanded, pleased to hear that he sounded as ferocious as he felt.

Jake laughed, and even Florence was smirking.

That only served to add further fuel to his anger.

He had no idea why he was acting like a possessive jerk, he’d only known Florence for a couple of days, and he hadn't even been able to convince her to go out with him yet, if she was involved with this man then he should turn and leave before he made a fool out of himself.

His feet didn't get that memo though, so he stood there and glowered.

“Something amusing?” he ground out.

“Kind of,” Jake said.

“Jake and I aren’t a couple so you can tamper down that caveman act before you make even more of a fool out of yourself,” Florence informed him. “Jake is my partner. My married with a four-month-old baby at home partner.”

At her words, he relaxed. “Nice to meet you then, Jake.” He held out his hand, and the other man shook it with another laugh.

“I’d ask what the caveman act was about, but I was there when Florence got the flowers the other day and managed to pry out of her that you were the one who saved her life and that you asked her out. I told her to go for it by the way,” Jake added with a wink.

“See,” he turned to Florence, “even your partner thinks you should go out with me.”

“Yeah, well, he’s been trying to marry me off for at least a year now, ever since his wife got pregnant.”

That Florence hadn't gone out with anyone else made him exceedingly pleased. “Don’t worry, I’ll wear her down sooner or later.”

“I'm counting on it,” Jake told him. “I better get going, I have to pick up diapers and formula on the way home. See you in the morning, Florence. Nice to meet you, Eli, and good luck, this one is stubborn.”

Florence rolled her eyes at her partner’s retreating back, then asked him, “What are you doing here?”

“You really have to ask that? Are you obtuse as well as stubborn?” he teased.

“I’ve already said no a million times,” she reminded him like he could forget.

“I know, but I came all the way here, and I thought that since I made two gestures today you might feel disposed to reward me.”

“Reward you for stalking me and finding out where I lived then showing up at my work?”

“Reward me for my thoughtfulness in offering you a ride,” he corrected. “You can keep saying no, Florence, you can keep pretending that you don’t feel what I feel, you can keep pretending that there isn’t something between us, but it won't change the facts. I feel it, and I know you do too.”

Taking a chance, Eli stepped closer, curling an arm around her waist, he drew her up against his body.

She didn't fight him, but he felt her sharp intake of air, and he knew that what she was feeling scared her just like it scared him.

The only difference was he was willing to embrace it, and she wanted to fight it.

“You’re beautiful, smart, strong, and ridiculously sexy. I can't stay away from you, and I don’t want to. I'm going to kiss you now so you better stop me if you don’t want it to happen.”

He gave her a moment to back out, and although he could feel her nervousness, her fingers curled into his shirt, and her lips parted, the tip of her pink tongue darting out.

Taking that as his cue, Eli dipped his head and feathered his lips across hers. The moment they touched heat exploded between them, it was like a fire ignited, searing every inch of his body.

Since they were standing in the middle of a busy street he couldn’t do what he wanted, which was to throw her down, rip off her clothes and taste every inch of her to see if she tasted as delicious as her mouth did, reluctantly he ended the kiss.

He only possessed so much self-control, and he was already reaching the end of it, dragging her to his car, and acting out his fantasy was not going to win Florence over.

“You tell me that kiss didn't make you feel things you’ve never felt before, and I’ll walk away right now and never turn back,” he challenged her.

Florence blinked slowly, her big blue eyes giving away what she was feeling without her having to say a word. “I've had good kisses before …”

Eli touched a finger to her lips. “Not only do I not want to hear about you kissing other men, I don’t want to hear you lie.

” He moved his finger to her neck where her pulse was fluttering wildly, then to her chest where her heart was thumping.

“Your body gives you away. You felt it. Florence, tell me you felt it too.” He needed to know he wasn't crazy, that this thing between them was real.

“I felt it,” she said softly. “I just don’t know what to do about it.”

Brushing his knuckles across her cheek, enjoying the feel of her soft, smooth skin, he smiled. “That’s okay. I do.” Tilting her face up, he kissed her again.