Читать книгу The Dare Collection January 2020 - Lauren Hawkeye, A.C. Arthur - Страница 14

SUGAR. HE’D CALLED me Sugar. As if that wasn’t patronising at all.

Him calling you Sugar is the least of your problems right now.

Controlling my instinctive bristle, I tried to slow the fight-or-flight adrenaline rush that had burst through my veins the minute I’d heard his deep voice tell me that he could see me as I hid under his desk.

I took a silent breath to get control of the anger and spike of fear, forcing my emotions down the way Mr Chen had taught me.

I’d never been caught, not once in all the years I’d been working with Mr Chen, and it was a point of pride. My ability to slip into a place unnoticed and slip out again, shadowy as a ghost, was what made me so good at what I did.

Getting caught so pathetically easily was a rookie mistake and I should be ashamed of myself. I just hadn’t expected him to come in here. I’d thought he’d stay out on the terrace, entertaining his glorious public.

An error of judgment, clearly. I needed to be on my guard.

‘Try again?’ I repeated, attempting to sound like a confused member of staff who didn’t realise what she’d done wrong. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

He was standing not far away, his back to the windows and the magnificent view out over Hong Kong’s financial district, neon outlining his tall, broad silhouette to perfection.

Damn him. Why had he come in here? I’d only just started to look for the safe before I’d heard the sounds of someone coming into the room. There hadn’t been time for me to find somewhere decent to hide or check if there was another exit. The only place I’d been able to see had been under his desk, so that was where I’d bolted.

Not at all what I’d planned.

I struggled to pull myself together. Getting caught would put Mr Chen’s whole business at risk, not to mention destroying the reputation for complete discretion he’d built over the years, and it would be all my fault. Which meant I had to fix it and fast.

‘I think you do.’ Blackwood tilted his head towards the light, neon sliding over his perfect features. ‘And don’t give me any more of that trying to find the kitchen bullshit.’

Damn. Damn. Damn.

There was no trace of his charming smile now, only the hard gleam in his eyes. With the silver ring in his eyebrow and the tantalising glimpse of his tattoos from beneath his black shirt, he looked...dangerous as hell.

And sexier than the devil himself.

Even more irritated at myself, I shoved away that particular thought and reached into the pocket of my uniform, bringing out the staff ID I’d forged and waving it in the air. ‘But I’m with the company. Check my ID.’

He didn’t even look at it. ‘I vet all the staff who come to these parties personally and you’re not on the staff list.’

Shit. I hadn’t known he was so hands-on with his ridiculous parties. I’d imagined he’d hire some kind of party planner.

‘Who are you?’ His voice had lost the lazy warmth I’d heard out on the terrace while he’d been telling his story. Now it had an edge creeping into it. ‘You’re not a reporter, not given how you managed to pick my lock. How did you do that, by the way?’

Quickly, I sorted through my options. I could brazen it out and insist on being with the company, but since he personally vetted his staff that probably wouldn’t work. And, given the lock situation, as he’d already said, I couldn’t pretend to be a reporter. Not when the lock had been heavy duty and somewhat difficult to open even for a person of my skills.

The only option I had left was...stalker fan desperate to catch a glimpse of her idol. Did billionaires have stalker fans? I guess there was only one way to find out.

I let out a breath, as if I was disappointed. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘You win. I’m not actually with the catering company. But I’m not a reporter either.’

The gleam in his silver eyes was like a blade and something twisted deep inside me. This man was a different beast from the charming playboy out on the terrace. Honed and sharp as a dagger, and just as lethal.

It seemed at odds with the faint hint of his expensive, subtle cologne I could scent in the air, all warm spice and sunshine.

My heartbeat tripled, my breath catching. And it wasn’t with fear.

There was something incredibly exciting about this—about him. About how different he was right now from the man I’d seen on the terrace, and I wasn’t sure why I liked that. I just did.

Maybe it was the danger factor. It had been a while since I’d had a job quite as challenging as this one was turning out to be. Still, I couldn’t afford to get too carried away. If I didn’t get it together he’d go straight to the police and there would go Mr Chen’s business. The business I’d promised him I’d take care of before he died.

‘I’m waiting, Sugar.’ Blackwood didn’t sound impatient and yet that edge was sharpening in the air around him by the second.

I twisted my hands in front of me, trying to project nervousness, and to be honest I didn’t have to try all that hard.

‘Okay, so this is really embarrassing.’ I shifted on my feet. ‘I’m here because I... I wanted to see you.’

He lifted his pierced brow, the ring in it glinting. ‘See me?’

Maybe billionaires didn’t have stalker fans. Surely he would know what I was talking about?

‘Yeah.’ I cleared my throat, pushing on regardless. ‘I...just think you’re so amazing. I read everything about you, see all the interviews you’ve given. I mean, that interview you gave for Vanity Fair was just...’ I injected as much breathlessness into my voice as I could, which for some reason didn’t seem difficult. ‘Anyway, my cousin was sick of hearing about it. She bet me a hundred bucks I couldn’t get into your party and so I... Well...’ I gave a nervous laugh and waved towards the door.

His expression didn’t change, his silver gaze sliding over me, the pressure cool as metal on my skin. ‘Is that a fact? And I suppose you just happened to be an excellent forger, not to mention an expert in breaking and entering?’

Oh, crap.

He’s called you. Time for plan B.

That was plan B. I didn’t have any other plans. Not when I hadn’t expected to get caught.

Fear twisted inside me, but I fought it as I sorted through more options, forcing myself not to panic.

Hadn’t Mr Chen always said to use anything and everything to your advantage when it came to difficult situations? Because there was one option I hadn’t considered yet: using my femininity. Blackwood was, after all, a playboy who’d apparently never met a woman he didn’t want to take to bed. And I’d done it before, with the security guy and the whole undoing the top button routine, and it had worked.

Yes, but he’s not your standard security guy. He’s a connoisseur and you’re not exactly Scarlett Johansson.

This was sadly true. But I didn’t have a choice. It was either try it or it was a jail cell for me.

So I took a couple of slow steps towards him, allowing my hips to sway, ‘Does it matter?’ Much to my annoyance, I didn’t have to fake the husky sound in my voice as much as I’d thought I would. ‘I’m an expert in other things too. Would you like to know what they are?’

He didn’t move, watching me come closer. ‘I feel certain you’re about to tell me.’

I stopped inches away from him, my heart hammering in my chest. He was so very tall, that big, muscular body oh, so close. The black cotton of his shirt gave a hint at the hard musculature of his chest and I found my attention wandering, staring at him. He’d left the top couple of buttons undone, giving me a close-up glimpse of those tattoos, the colours bright reds, golds and blues.

Apparently that trick works on women too.

I gritted my teeth and tipped my head back to look up at him, making myself hold his gaze, listening to the beat of my heart get louder and louder in my ears.

I wasn’t used to people looking at me. I wasn’t used to people noticing I even existed. Yet now Damian Blackwood hadn’t just noticed me; he was looking right at me with so much intense focus I could hardly breathe.

Being unseen and unnoticed had never bothered me before—at least, I hadn’t let it bother me. But it wasn’t until now, with the gaze of the world’s most beautiful man on me, that I realised actually I was bothered by it.

It made me feel cold. Because it was cold being a shadow. Cold and lonely. And he was like...the sun. Like summer. The promise of light, warmth and everything I hadn’t known I was missing.

You’re insane. Remember who he is and don’t get carried away.

‘Are you going to seduce me, Sugar?’ His voice was soft and deep, and I could feel that heat in it now, the cold edge fading, leaving behind it something that sounded a hell of a lot like amusement. ‘I mean, I assume that’s why you’re looking at me like that.’

Damn it. The bastard was seeing every play I made.

Shoving away my weird emotional reaction to him, I lifted a brow, consciously copying him, dropping the ‘stalker fan’ nonsense. ‘I’m looking at you like what? You’ll have to be clear, Mr Blackwood.’

And strangely, as if he’d simply been waiting for me to drop the act all along, he smiled that wonderful smile, slow and devastating. ‘Oh, I can be clear, Sugar. I can be very clear. You want to give me a blow job. Or maybe a quick fuck on my desk. Anything to distract me, right?’

Electricity fizzed in my blood. I hadn’t expected him to see through me. I hadn’t expected any kind of challenge at all and I...liked it. But I had to be careful. He could steal control of the situation away from me so easily and I couldn’t let him do that.

I took the last step so I was almost touching him, looking up from underneath my lashes. ‘I could do any and all of those things,’ I said huskily. ‘If you think it’ll work?’

That blinding, wicked smile deepened. ‘It might. I guess the only way you’ll know is to give it a try.’

He was goading me, I was certain of it, because that beautiful smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. That hard gleam was still there. A challenge. And I knew I shouldn’t respond to it, but what else could I do? My only other option was to turn and run, and I didn’t think he’d let me get far.

If you play your cards right, you might have some time to search for the necklace later.

Good point. I could seduce him and that would at least mean he’d forget about calling security and throwing me out, wouldn’t it? And, if I was very good, maybe I could even convince him to let me stay the night, which would then give me time to find and take that damn necklace.

You’d have to be very good, though. He’s used to experience.

Which I didn’t have. Then again, I was a quick learner. And I’d done my share of looking at sexy videos on the Internet when Mr Chen hadn’t been around. I had some idea of what to do.

Blackwood’s scent filled the air, the heat of his body so close, and my palms itched with a very real desire to touch him.

It wouldn’t be a hardship to seduce him. He was beautiful and, according to all the gossip columns, extraordinarily good in bed.

An unremarkable virgin seducing the billionaire playboy? Since when does that happen?

Cold fingers of doubt caught at me, but I forced them away. I couldn’t hesitate—that was when mistakes were made, as Mr Chen used to say. Once you’d made a decision you had to fully commit to it.

So I took that final step, holding his gaze with mine. ‘Let’s find out, then, shall we?’ I said and, putting my hands on his lean hips, I pushed him up against the windows.

I could feel his heat through the wool of his suit trousers and hard muscle too, a tensile strength that made my mouth go dry.

A silver flame burned bright in his eyes.

We stared at each other, the atmosphere around us getting denser and denser, more electric with every second that passed. As if a storm was gathering around us, full of lightning and thunder.

A storm about to break.

This is a mistake.

The thought was fleeting, but I ignored it. I was committed now, and the way he was looking at me, as if he really saw me, with that wicked smile and the gleam in his eyes...

It was addictive. It made me feel like I wasn’t a ghost. That I was real.

‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’ he drawled, the dark, hot thread winding through his voice making me shiver. ‘Because it looks like you do. And I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings.’

He was so hot. His heat glowed against my palms like the embers of a fire and suddenly, desperately, I wanted to press myself against him, have him warm me up.

‘What kind of misunderstandings?’ I tried to sound cool, but knew I was failing. ‘I don’t think blow jobs are all that confusing. At least not to a man like you.’

His laugh was a soft, deep rumble in his chest, as wicked as his smile. ‘A man like me,’ he echoed. ‘And you know what that is?’

Of course I knew. He was a womaniser. A playboy. A party animal. He threw money around like it meant nothing at all and probably treated people the same way. Which was fine. In fact, it was perfect.

I could seduce him, spend the night with him. Get the necklace and then go. Besides, he must do this all the time. I would be just another woman to him; he probably wouldn’t even remember my face come morning.

He smelled like heaven and the glitter in his eyes was making my mind go blank, a low throb starting up between my thighs.

My hands tightened on his hips as I leaned in close, meeting the challenge in his stare full on. ‘Of course I know,’ I murmured. ‘But I’m always happy to have a few pointers.’

‘Sugar, if you know already then what are you waiting for?’ His smile set fire to something inside me, making it burst into flames. ‘Get down on your knees and show me what you’ve got.’