CHAPTER FOUR

      Damian

      I WAS SURE the little gate-crasher-waitress-thief wouldn’t take up my challenge. Not only was I a complete stranger to her, but I was also the one who’d interrupted her in the middle of whatever she was doing in my office.

      And, despite the fire flickering in her dark eyes, I was pretty confident she’d stop short of actually giving me a goddamn blow job.

      A pity. Because, despite how pissed off I was at the way she kept lying to me, the moment she’d pushed me up against the windows, her delicate hands on my hips, every rational fucking thought vanished from my brain.

      I hadn’t felt chemistry this strong in for ever.

      There had always been women in my life and some I’d been really attracted to. But not like this.

      I wasn’t sure what it was, whether it was her lush figure and unconventional beauty, or whether it was more about that watchful stillness she had to her. That cool, quiet lake, tempting me to dive in as if it was a hot summer’s day.

      Or maybe it was just because I had no idea who she was or what she was doing here, and she wasn’t giving anything away.

      Possibly it was all three.

      Whatever, I was fascinated. Absolutely bloody riveted.

      I hadn’t thought I liked complicated women, but apparently I was wrong, since I was certainly intrigued by this one.

      I wanted to know who she was and why she was here. Why she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t and why she’d been hiding under my desk in the first place.

      I wanted to know what was going on behind those lovely, unreadable black eyes, because the glimpses I’d got so far had been of heat and, yeah, I was pretty fucking interested in that.

      Then she dropped to her knees in front of me and every other thought vanished from my brain.

      Okay, so I was wrong. She would take up my challenge.

      My heart kicked, my dick hardening.

      Her hands slid slowly from my hips to my thighs, and I could feel the heat of her palms through the wool of my suit trousers.

      Holy shit.

      I caught my breath. This was a problem.

      Of course, I shouldn’t have been baiting her the way I had, but hell, I hadn’t been able to resist it. There was undeniable physical chemistry between us like a slow-burning fire, banked embers smouldering away, getting hotter the nearer she got to me. Until one breath of wind and the whole thing would go up in flames.

      Fucking hot.

      I liked the hungry way she looked at me and, unlike her nervous waitress and breathless fan acts, I was pretty sure that was real.

      But what I didn’t like was the fact that she probably wouldn’t be getting ready to suck my dick right now if I hadn’t caught her hiding out under my desk.

      ‘Do this a lot, hmm?’ I asked. ‘Suck off complete strangers?’

      Colour tinged her cheekbones, making her pretty eyes glow. Her ivory skin had the most incredible lustre, like the finest, most expensive of pearls. Did that go all the way down? If I took off that cheap uniform, uncovered the rest of her, would I find that lustre all over her lush little body?

      My cock was all in, the dirty bastard.

      ‘Oh, all the time.’ She lifted her hands to the button of my trousers and they were trembling slightly.

      So that was a fucking lie. She did not do this all the time. Which, sadly for me and my cock, meant I had to put a stop to it. Because I wasn’t going to take advantage of some pretty little thing, no matter what she was doing in my office.

      I reached down and put a hand over hers.

      She blinked, genuine surprise flickering in her eyes, which was satisfying. Clearly she’d been expecting me to settle back and enjoy the ride, no questions asked.

      ‘What?’ Her surprise morphed into uncertainty.

      I shook my head, keeping her hands trapped. ‘Not tonight, Josephine.’

      ‘What do you mean, not tonight?’ She blinked. ‘I thought you said—’

      ‘I did. But I changed my mind.’

      She didn’t move, kneeling at my feet and studying me. Her hands were warm beneath my palms, the slight pressure of them against my stomach making me aware that my dick was not happy with me stopping her.

      Too bad. It would live.

      ‘Just to be clear,’ she said, ‘So we don’t have any “misunderstandings”. You don’t want me to give you a blow job?’

      ‘No. Like I said, I changed my mind.’

      ‘Why?’

      ‘I’m a lot of things, Sugar. But I’m not a man who takes advantage of women.’ I gave the back of her hand a reassuring stroke with my thumb. ‘Even women who break into my office and lie straight to my face.’

      Another flicker in her eyes, and this time it was definitely fear.

      It wasn’t an emotion I liked to see in a woman’s face.

      ‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ I said before she could reply, giving her another stroke to calm her. ‘But you broke in here. And I can’t have—’

      She pulled one hand out from under mine and without hesitation laid her warm palm directly over my fly and squeezed.

      I jerked as lightning shot through me in response, jagged and sharp, igniting sparks in my blood and making my stupid dick very happy indeed.

      Fucking hell.

      ‘Naughty girl,’ I said roughly. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

      Her lashes fluttered, thick, black and silky.