Читать книгу Mills & Boon Stars Collection: Seductive Nights - Maya Blake - Страница 15
ОглавлениеALEJANDRO READ THE message on his phone for the fifth time as he stood before his window on Monday morning. For the umpteenth time, he wondered if he’d been right in contacting Gael in the first place. What had seemed like a sound idea—calling his brother to warn him he didn’t intend to lose—in the early hours of Sunday morning coated his mouth with distaste a few short hours later.
He hadn’t expected Gael’s quick response, nor had he expected the request contained within his brother’s email.
Gael wanted a meeting.
The stark request sounded more like an order. Clearly, his estranged brother hadn’t lost his renowned arrogant swagger. As for the caveat that the meeting take no longer than fifteen minutes...
Pursing his lips, he dialled the number attached to the email. It was just after 6:30 a.m. on the east coast, which meant the middle of the night in California. With an unhealthy amount of relish, he pressed the phone to his ear.
It was answered on the fourth ring. ‘Aguilar.’
His name on another’s lips threatened an influx of memories. Memories that revolved around why his brother existed in the first place. Ruthlessly, he pushed them back.
‘If I’ve disturbed your beauty sleep, just say the word and I’ll call back at a more appropriate time,’ he said.
He received a scoffing grunt in return. ‘The only thing you’ve interrupted is a hearty breakfast, followed by a proper greeting of the woman currently warming my bed, both of which I intend to get back to in less than sixty seconds since I don’t anticipate this call lasting any longer.’
‘You make a habit of eating breakfast in the middle of the night?’
‘The great thing about not having to answer to anyone is that I can do whatever the hell I want, when I want. But as it so happens, we’re in the same time zone, mi hermano, so your concern about my digestive system is touching, but unwarranted.’
Alejandro gritted his teeth at the familial term, wondering why Gael insisted on taunting him with a past he was sure they both wanted to forget. He’d never bothered to confirm the rumours behind Gael also leaving his childhood home in Spain the moment he’d reached adulthood, but they’d involved their father.
And yet, Gael never missed the chance to remind him they were related.
Dismissing the baited response, he carried on. ‘About this meeting tomorrow—’
‘I’ll stretch it to half an hour if you wish. But no longer than that. I have back-to-back meetings in New York in the afternoon that I need to fly straight back for.’
Alejandro’s mouth twisted. ‘A face-to-face meeting needn’t take place at all if you see reason and back off. Now.’
Terse silence greeted him. He knew the line hadn’t dropped because he could hear Gael’s steady breathing.
‘Need I remind you that you contacted me?’ his brother eventually snapped, a throb of annoyance in his voice.
Alejandro started to shrug, then stopped at the futile action. Unbidden, Elise’s voice sliced across his mind.
The looking-into-the-whites-of-their-eyes approach...
It annoyed him greatly that snippets of their conversation darted into his thoughts when he least expected it. Even greater was the despised thought that perhaps one of those snippets was what had fed his desire to contact Gael. A decision he regretted with each passing second. ‘I was mistaken to think you would pay better attention if we were face to face. But that would be disrespecting you. You can hear me just as succinctly over the phone. This has gone on for long enough.’
‘And it will keep going until I win the merger. I’ll be at your offices tomorrow as scheduled. I advise you to be there.’
‘You’ll do well not to issue threats, Gael.’
‘Or what? You’ll up sticks and relocate again?’ There was a gruff note in his brother’s voice that made Alejandro’s brow twinge in a brief frown.
‘I have no intention of going anywhere. What I’ll do is pull out all the stops to end this if you don’t back off.’
Gael laughed. ‘I look forward to hearing all about it when I arrive in Chicago tomorrow. And don’t bother sending your jet for me. I have one of my own.’
Alejandro braced one hand on the window, welcoming the cold glass’s fractional calming of his turbulent emotions. Slowly he breathed out. ‘Gael, I don’t wish to go to war with you.’
Another pulse of silence ensued. ‘This only ends one way, brother. With one of us walking away. And I don’t intend it to be me.’
Alejandro closed his eyes against the morning sun’s glare. Behind him he heard the door open. He didn’t need to turn around to know Elise had arrived, at precisely 6:45, as she’d done all last week. He also knew that he’d spend the day with his senses attuned to her every movement in her office, although his interactions with her would be clinically brief because those charged ten minutes last Tuesday morning had deeply unsettled him. To the point where he had still remained perplexed at his own behaviour hours later. To the point where he’d questioned his own sanity.
He’d almost kissed her.
Had almost dared her to kiss him in payment for obtaining her services. Even more deplorable, for those insane minutes, he hadn’t cared about the potential damage he risked with his actions. Hadn’t cared about the ‘once bitten, twice shy’ warning that had been the dogma of his professional relationships for a decade.
The need to taste her had been unrelenting. Consuming. He remained disconcerted that just beneath the surface of his interactions with her, the need still fiercely burned.
‘Do you wish me to repeat that in Spanish, hermano?’ Gael’s voice brought him back to earth. To the room. To the click of heels drawing closer.
‘Muy bien, if this is the route you wish to take, then so be it.’
He ended the call and turned around.
Elise eyed him from her position before his desk. ‘Good morning.’
He nodded tersely, then made a concerted effort to shake off the barrage of unwanted sensations evoked by his brother and Elise. ‘Buenos días. I trust you had a good weekend?’
Her eyes widened, no doubt because his cordial tone was unexpected. ‘It was okay, nothing life-changing.’
‘How unfortunate. Weekends that aren’t life-changing ought to be stripped of their title and renamed Pointless Days.’
Her head tilted to one side. ‘Is that your attempt at a joke, Alejandro?’
‘Since you’re not laughing, I must respond firmly in the negative,’ he replied, his tone bone-dry.
Her mouth twitched, then she smiled. It was transformative enough to deliver a punch to his solar plexus, causing his breath to snag and the hairs on his arms to rise in near alarm.
Alejandro had dated women who could command the covers of fashion magazines with a snap of their fingers. And yet he was certain none of them could hold a candle to Elise’s smile.
All the same, he shouldn’t be this enthralled.
And yet...
‘Are you okay?’
‘Of course. Why should I not be?’ he quipped.
Her smile dimmed. ‘No reason. I just...overheard a little of your conversation. Something about not wishing to go to war?’
Any trace of mirth disappeared. ‘Eavesdropping, Elise?’
‘Not intentionally.’ She glanced at his phone. ‘Was that your brother?’
Her lack of fear when it came to him should’ve aggravated him. Sure, he tolerated the underlings who challenged him, but it was what he paid them to do.
Elise challenged him because she couldn’t help herself. When she wasn’t irritating him, Alejandro had found himself almost...refreshed by her.
But not right now.
‘Yes,’ he replied, paradoxically going against his better judgment of telling himself he owed her no answers.
A soft look entered her eyes. ‘And?’
His mouth twisted. ‘As predicted, he refuses to listen to reason.’
‘So he’s just like you, then?’
Alejandro stiffened. ‘Excuse me?’
She shrugged. ‘You’re both determined to win.’
‘You say that as if there’s something wrong with winning.’
‘What’s wrong is you gripping that phone as if you’re about to crush it. You want to win, yes, but I’m guessing not if it’s costing you this much.’
He glanced down and visibly unclenched his fingers from the handset. ‘You guess wrong. Pain and the cost of winning only affect you if you give them the power to,’ he replied, then froze at the words that had left his lips without permission.
Elise’s eyes rounded. ‘Unless there’s a mind trick you picked up along the way to dull it, no one is immune from pain.’
A note in her voice tweaked his flaring senses. ‘When have you known pain?’ he asked, then realised he was holding his breath for her answer.
Her gaze flicked away from him. ‘I’m human. I feel pain.’
The thought that she’d been hurt shouldn’t have abraded his equilibrium. And yet it did.
‘You seek specifics from me, yet generalise about yourself.’
‘I was just pointing out you’re not the only one with issues, professionally or personally.’ She jerked towards the drinks trolley and picked up a bottle of water.
Alejandro frowned. ‘You have a professional issue with me?’
She looked up from toying with the lid. ‘What? No. I mean... I like to think our differences have been aired successfully.’
The slow drag in his groin as his gaze landed on her lips informed him his success in that department was distinctly lacking.
‘Then what do you mean?’
Nerves clearly fuelled her sudden twitchiness. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
An answer that birthed further burning questions. ‘Did something happen to you?’
Her cheeks lost a little colour, but her face closed mutinously. ‘Nothing I want to reprise. What’s on the agenda today?’ she hurriedly asked.
It took a huge dose of the willpower he was renowned for to step back from demanding answers from her. Even then, he needed a minute before he tracked properly.
‘Since we’re biding our time till our next call with the Ishikawa brothers, I’d like your help on another matter. Are you free this evening to accompany me to a client dinner?’
She blinked. ‘Uh...yes.’
‘Good. Reservations are for seven. Feel free to leave early today if you need to. I’ll pick you up from your apartment just before seven.’
‘Okay. Will the purpose of the dinner be damage limitation or image enhancement?’
‘A little bit of both. I’m meeting a client and his wife for dinner. She’s taken to overt displays of affection whenever I’m in her company. He’s chosen to encourage it in the hope that I’ll do business with him. My patience is wearing thin but I’d like to put a stop to both without jeopardising our business relationship. You think you can handle that?’
Her relief at the changed subject turned to shock, but she rallied after a few seconds. ‘Sure. Of course.’
Alejandro nodded briskly, despite his continued mental state of flux. He needed to emulate her, and regroup quickly. Gael’s imminent arrival should be what commanded his entire focus, not the banked anguish still shadowing Elise’s eyes.
Heading for his desk, he provided her with the client names and watched her walk away. The suit she wore today was feminine and stylish. Beneath the edge of her jacket, the trousers cradled her pert backside and emphasised her curvy hips. When she shed the jacket upon reaching her desk, he caught a glimpse of her trim waist and the full swell of her breasts.
A sound, rough and unwelcome, punched up from his throat.
She started to look his way.
He dragged his gaze away and focused on the pile of work on his desk. She was off limits. And even outside the scope of their professional relationship were he to consider her for an affair, he would still reject the idea.
Because Elise Jameson exhibited signs he’d hitherto not encountered in a woman before—she had the potential to get under his skin.
He reminded himself of that fact as his chauffeured limo pulled up to her apartment building that evening, an irritably large proportion of him anticipating her presence.
Her smile...
He shook himself free of the low sizzle in his stomach and stepped out. Seeing the unlatched main doors, a different type of irritation surged. He pressed her buzzer none too gently.
‘I’ll be right down.’
Since he wasn’t sure whether the lift functioned with any efficiency tonight, he kept his attention between it and the stairs, flatly refusing to acknowledge the rising thrum in his blood.
Heels on the stairs alerted him to her mode of descent. She arrived at the top of the last flight of stairs and his heart rate increased.
She wasn’t smiling.
In fact she appeared distinctly nervous.
Yet, she was captivatingly breathtaking.
Her chocolate-brown hair was swept to one side of her face and pinned at the back in a loose style that left several tresses falling free to caress her neck. Her knee-length dress, made of dark green material, skimmed her hips but hugged her breasts and left her shoulders bare. A simple necklace drew attention to her slim neck. In one hand she held a wrap and purse, her other hand clinging to the rail as she came down. He wasn’t aware he’d moved until she paused on the stairs. Her gaze met his as she slid her hand into the one he held out.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured.
‘De nada. Breaking your neck before the first course is served would be extremely bad form.’
A hint of a smile appeared. ‘Wow. Two jokes in one day. Do we need to notify record keepers in some obscure office?’
He found his mouth curving. ‘Best not. We wouldn’t want to incite any unnatural disasters.’
A full-blown smile appeared. Something vibrated in the region of his chest. Keeping her hand in his, he led her to his car, choosing not to mention the state of her lobby security. Or lack thereof.
And if a part of him suddenly wished their dinner involved two less people, he brushed it away under the guise of it being a temporary aberration.
* * *
They arrived at Millennia, one of Chicago’s most lauded restaurants, ahead of Jeff and Mindy Stoneley, for which Elise was just a tiny bit grateful. It gave her a chance to gather herself. To deliver a much-needed pep talk that involved not getting carried away with what was happening tonight.
This wasn’t a date.
It was business.
She was doing work for which she was being paid.
PR work held many facets. Fact. When she was a newly employed member of Jameson, her parents had inundated her at all hours with absurd requests before she’d finally put her foot down.
‘You’re frowning. Is the venue not to your liking?’
‘What? Oh, no. It’s not that. This is great!’ She noted the gushiness in her voice and dialled it down. ‘I’m sure your clients will appreciate it.’
Alejandro’s narrow-eyed speculation didn’t abate. ‘But something disturbed you just then.’
She tried to wave it away. ‘I was just remembering some of the things I had to do when I started working at Jameson.’
‘Are you referring to the incident you didn’t wish to speak of before?’ he asked, still narrow-eyed.
Her heart missed a beat, the thought that she’d nearly spilled her guts to Alejandro earlier today stabbing discomfort through her. Determinedly, she pushed it away. ‘No. I meant something else,’ she murmured, fervently hoping he’d let the matter drop.
‘Something that doesn’t compare favourably to this?’
‘Are you kidding? Dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant beats getting up at two a.m. to go rescue a client’s dog from the airport because our paparazzi-fleeing client had left it behind.’
He frowned. ‘You’re serious.’
‘As frostbite.’
‘Isn’t that more of a minder’s job?’
She shrugged. ‘It is. I found out later.’
‘How?’ he asked.
Her mood dimmed further at the recollection. ‘My parents were trying to teach me a lesson.’
‘A lesson? Or punishment?’ He cut through the excuse.
‘Does it matter?’
‘Sí. It does. And I’m guessing this wasn’t a one-off event?’
She shook her head.
‘Why did they do that?’
‘They found out that I had graduated with two degrees, not one.’
‘Surely that’s a cause for celebration?’
Her heart lurched. ‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’ she muttered. Realising they’d arrived at another subject she didn’t relish probing too deeply, she cleared her throat, intending to steer him away from the testy issue of her parents, but Alejandro beat her to the punch.
‘You only list one degree on your résumé.’
‘Because it’s the only one that’s relevant to my present job.’
‘Or it’s the one that invites the least scrutiny?’
Her gaze rose from where she’d feigned interest in the place setting and met shrewd green eyes. ‘You’re digging, Alejandro. I may be tempted to dig back.’
‘Will you be divulging anything that isn’t already public knowledge?’
‘No...but that’s not what I meant.’
One shoulder lifted. ‘You can tell me or I can unearth the truth myself.’
‘Okay, it was an art degree.’ Elise wasn’t sure why admitting that stirred a deeply buried hurt. Probably because a once-precious dream had been desiccated while she’d been scrambling to be done with her current reality.
‘Impressive. And do you use it—’
‘There you are. Apologies for being late, bello! Please say you’ll forgive me? The car service was atrocious. I’m never using that firm again. Oh...I didn’t realise this would be a foursome.’
Alejandro rose, albeit with minimal enthusiasm, as Mindy Stoneley paused dramatically at the table, her wide grey eyes assessing Elise.
Behind her, her husband, a giant of a man with thinning hair and a face that leant towards excess, cracked out a forced laugh.
‘Careful, Mindy. You might give the impression we live a risqué lifestyle.’
Mindy ignored him and held out both hands to Alejandro. When he bent towards her, she pressed her lips to his.
The sharp dart of disquiet that went through Elise held her in place for several paralysing heartbeats, only easing when Alejandro stepped back from Mindy’s embrace.
‘Jeff, Mindy, allow me to introduce you to Elise Jameson.’
Mindy sniffed, the skintight sequinned dress that stopped a good foot above her knees rising even further as she leaned over and offered her hand to Elise. ‘And what exactly is your connection to Alejandro?’
Elise cringed at the forced eroticism of Alejandro’s name. ‘I’m afraid that’s confidential. But I hope you don’t mind me joining you tonight. I’ve been dying to try the food here and Alejandro kindly offered to bring me along.’
‘The offer wasn’t generated by kindness, querida,’ Alejandro drawled, his gaze lingering suggestively on her as he sat back down.
Her pulse leapt wildly, despite the clear evidence that his words were only for show.
Mindy’s gaze swung to Alejandro as she and Jeff took their seats across from them. ‘Alejandro is generous like that, isn’t he? He’s personally opened so many doors for us. I don’t know how on earth we’ll ever be able to thank him.’ Her hand found Alejandro’s on the table, her ‘gratitude’ lingering a touch too long before Alejandro removed his own hand.
The knot in his jaw equalled that in Elise’s throat. She looked up in relief as the head waiter approached.
The first course of Cajun fusion food arrived. Alejandro directed the conversation towards business as often as Mindy tried to direct it to the personal.
Jeff drank more and the atmosphere grew tense.
Cognisant of the extent of Alejandro’s temper, Elise racked her brain for something to alleviate the tension. When Mindy invited Alejandro to come and inspect her newly built steam room for the third time, Elise shifted her seat closer and placed her hand on Alejandro’s arm, his earlier statement lending her the bravery to risk the move.
Gleaming green eyes darted to her. Mindy stopped speaking. Jeff rushed in to fill the taut silence.
Elise leaned in, her mouth a whisper from his ear. ‘I’m sorry. I’m doing my best to steer her away from you,’ she murmured, ‘but short of crawling into your lap and performing a lewd act on you, this is the only way I can think of to get her to back off. Do me a favour and pretend you’re enjoying the sweet nothings I’m whispering in your ear?’
He didn’t move. Or respond. Horror dredged through her, colour surging up her cheeks as seconds stretched.
Beneath her hold, his muscles flexed. Then he turned and aligned his face with hers. His breath washed over her neck as his neat stubble brushed her cheek. Strong fingers found hers on his arm, strangling her breath as he murmured, ‘Crawling into my lap isn’t the worst idea I’ve heard, but perhaps the timing isn’t quite right for that. And these aren’t sweet nothings. They’re extremely useful somethings that could do the trick.’
Her breath caught. She started to move away. He held her still.
‘No. Stay. And don’t look now, guapa. You’ll ruin the effect.’ Slowly, his mouth drifted light kisses along her jaw to the corner of her mouth, then returned along the same trail to the pulse beating beneath her ear.
Elise, not having taken a breath in almost a minute, felt her heart hammering against her ribs as she held still and let him deliver his message. The drugging excitement that launched through her veins was a mere by-product of this act, she assured herself. Once Alejandro was done, sanity would be restored.
After an interminable age, where Mindy cleared her throat more than a few times, Alejandro finally pulled back.
‘I didn’t realise you two were a thing,’ Mindy said after a brief moment of sullen silence.
Alejandro, his hand still locking hers into place, replied, ‘We aren’t just a thing, Mindy. We’re exclusive.’ He sent Elise a heat-filled glance.
The Stoneleys departed shortly after that. When Elise refused coffee, Alejandro requested the bill. Elise excused herself to visit the ladies’ room and was returning when a shadow fell across her path.
‘I see you’re practising your moves on another chump.’ The statement was delivered with a sinister laugh she’d hoped to never hear again. ‘I’m surprised, though. I credited Aguilar with more sense.’
Ice filled her veins as her gaze snapped up to meet Brian Grey’s. A part of her urged a swift retreat back into the ladies’ room. Or a quick dive past the heavyset man back to the safety of the restaurant and Alejandro.
But she’d stood up to him once, had fought tooth and nail to prevent a life-altering assault. And though her insides shook alarmingly, Elise didn’t back down.
‘Your self-esteem must be at an all-time low if you’re referring to yourself as a chump. Just proves money can’t buy you everything, huh, Brian?’
Arctic-blue eyes that gleamed a little too brightly snapped pure hatred at her. ‘I see you still haven’t learnt your lesson. Maybe I should’ve put more effort into teaching it to you last year.’
Anger and pain fought for supremacy within her. Cold anger won. ‘And I should’ve delivered two knee-to-groin responses instead of one?’
His face reddened. His shadow loomed larger as he reached for her.
Fighting panic, she stepped back. Into strong, solid arms.
‘Everything okay, Elise?’ Alejandro drawled.
Relief punched through her despite the latent danger she heard in his voice. Whirling, she looked up into his rigid face. ‘Can we go now?’
He didn’t answer. His gaze remained pinned on Brian, his eyes coldly assessing.
‘Alejandro, please?’
His glance shifted to her. Elise knew her emotions were displayed clearly for him to see, but she just wanted to leave Brian’s unpleasant presence.
After a beat, Alejandro nodded and settled his hand in the small of her back.
The walk through the restaurant and into the back of the limo was conducted in silence. As were the first ten minutes of the journey.
But tacit questions churned through the air. When he finally turned to her, her stomach dipped.
‘Grey was the professional issue you spoke of.’
It was a question disguised as a statement. But she didn’t want to answer. ‘Please, can you let it be?’
‘No.’ He caught her chin between his fingers. ‘Answer me, por favor.’
She grimaced at the politely couched command. When she shook her head, his face hardened. ‘You can tell me or we can return to the restaurant and I can ask him myself.’
‘Alejandro...’ She stopped at the intractable expression on his face.
‘Now, Elise.’
She sucked in a steadying breath. ‘You mentioned him by name so you know who he is and what he does?’
He nodded. ‘He runs nightclubs but recently added a clothes line to his business, is that correct?’
She nodded. ‘Mostly lingerie. He contracted Jameson to help launch his lingerie line last year.’
He released her chin, but his gaze didn’t waver from her face. ‘And?’
‘My father and I worked on the campaign for the first month. Then Brian requested that I take over. I didn’t think anything of it.’
Alejandro’s jaw clenched. ‘Go on.’
She stopped when she realised they’d pulled up in front of her building. Alejandro noticed, too, and made a rough sound of impatience.
‘We’ll continue this inside,’ he snapped.
The walk to her apartment was rushed and silent. He requested her keys and unlocked her door. ‘Invite me in,’ he muttered, his low voice tight.
Tension gripped Elise, but, because she didn’t want to conduct the rest of the traumatic tale on her doorstep, she cleared her throat and stepped into her apartment. ‘Come in.’
He followed, kicking the door shut.
Her one-bedroom apartment was compact, decorated with whatever money she could spare after rent and loan payments. The living room held a single faux-velvet sofa, matching armchair and floor rugs. The pale walls were brightened with cheap landscapes, and floor and table lamps softened the starkness of the battered cabinet on which perched her TV and MP3 player.
Alejandro didn’t spare the room a single glance. His gaze remained fixed on her, tweaking her already frazzled nerves.
‘Would you...umm...like a drink?’
‘No.’ He came forward, took her wrap and purse from her nerveless fingers. ‘Sit down, Elise.’
He was ordering her around in her own home. Part of her wanted to stomp on his autocracy. A greater part wanted this over with.
She sat. He shrugged off his coat, draped it over the armchair, leaving on the bespoke dinner suit. She dragged her gaze from his intrinsically masculine form as he sat down next to her. ‘Finish.’
A knot twisted inside her as unpleasant memories flooded her. ‘He wanted to hold the launch at one of his nightclubs. I went there to take pictures for the press packets. He suggested I’d get a better sense of his style if I tried on some of his lingerie. I refused.’
She ventured a glance at Alejandro.
His face was a rigid mask of fury. ‘And?’
‘He...insisted.’
‘How?’ he rasped.
Elise shivered. ‘He...restrained me. Said he wouldn’t let me leave until I gave him what he wanted.’
Alejandro surged to his feet. ‘Madre de Dios!’ He paced her living room in a tight circle, one hand slashing through his hair. Mid-pace, he jolted to a stop. ‘Did he...?’
Elise shook her head. ‘I... It didn’t get that far.’
‘Did you report him to the authorities?’ he jerked out.
Pain lanced her. ‘Yes. But he wasn’t charged.’
Darkness clouded his eyes. ‘Why the hell not?’
‘He had cameras in his nightclub, but he knew how to position himself so his actions seemed benign. And the parts where I fought back were out of shot. Also...’ She stopped.
‘What?’
‘He encouraged my parents it would be in Jameson’s interest if they convinced me to drop the allegations.’
‘Your parents? And did they?’
‘They didn’t have to. The case fell apart on its own.’
‘Dios mio,’ he breathed.
Elise had no idea tears had slipped free until he sat back down and cradled her face in his hands.
His thumbs dried her tears as he regarded her. ‘You’re strong and intelligent. You will not let this damage you,’ he declared.
She sniffed. ‘Aren’t we all damaged in some way?’
A solemn look entered his eyes. ‘Sí, we are. But yours shouldn’t centre on this. The bastard shouldn’t even cross your thoughts, never mind reduce you to tears.’
She blinked rapidly, unwilling to show how his words affected her. ‘I told you I didn’t want to talk about it,’ she murmured.
A hint of regret washed over his face. ‘Lo siento, but you intrigue me in many ways, Elise. I couldn’t help myself.’
She didn’t have a response for that because his expression was changing, morphing from anger into something equally powerful. Something that caused her breath to shorten, then hitch in her throat.
His hand slid to her nape.
‘Elise.’ Her name was a deep intonation that drew a shudder from her.
She met his fiery green gaze. Her mouth parted on a needy little whimper. His eyes latched on her lips and the air thickened with sensual promise.
He was going to kiss her. She wasn’t going to stop him.
Because...because...
Reason dissolved into mist the moment his mouth seared hers. Firm, chiselled and lush. His kiss went from exploratory to demanding in a flash. He groaned when her head fell back and she let him in.
One hand captured her waist, pulled her in closer, until she was plastered against him.
The elevated beat of his heart echoed against her chest.
Elise squirmed as she drowned in the power and magic of Alejandro’s kiss. She wriggled closer, moaning when his tongue stroked hers with an urgent expertise that arrowed pleasure straight between her thighs. Growing more desperate by the minute for an unattainable pleasure, she slipped her hands beneath his jacket. His warm cotton-covered flesh was hers to explore.
And explore she did, until the need for air forced them apart.
Alejandro stared down at her with drugged, fierce eyes. ‘Dios, you taste incredible.’
Another blush, hotter and faster, surged into her cheeks.
He laughed low and deep, passing his thumbs over her cheeks. ‘And you blush like an innocent. A seriously lethal innocent.’
Before she could respond, he was kissing her again, bearing her back on the seat. She gave herself over, happily swapping unwanted memories in favour of this. Kissing Alejandro brought no pain. Touching him filled her with excitement. Joy.
Her hands slid up to his broad shoulders. His hair. Spiking her fingers through it, she let out a little cry as his hand cupped her breast. Somewhere along the line, her dress had shifted, her strapless bra exposed to his clever fingers. Alejandro’s mouth left hers, and she stared, dazed and engrossed, as he slowly moved back one lace cup to expose a budded pink nipple.
Her breath strangled as he caught the peak between his fingers. Need arrowed straight to the apex of her thighs. Then he lowered his head and, eyes riveted on hers, took her nipple in his mouth.
Sensation exploded through her, arching her in a tight bow, and feeding him more of herself.
Alejandro uttered a pained groan as he suckled her. One hand slid beneath her to hold her to his rapt attention, while the other wandered feverishly down her body. His fingers trailed fire over her bare thighs as his mouth drifted across the slope of one breast to capture the peak of the other.
Desire throbbed at her core, drowning her in rabid need.
From one frantic heartbeat to the next, his fingers slipped beneath her panties to graze her damp flesh.
Elise cried out, a fever like she’d never known flooding her.
‘Dios mio, bella dama, you intoxicate me.’
One finger breached her core. Elise tensed, a different sensation racing down her spine. She wanted to block it out, but the flashing sign in her brain wouldn’t let her.
...you blush like an innocent...
Except she wasn’t like one. Her virginity was something she’d guarded with almost zealous care before the incident with Brian. Not because she was hung up on giving it to the right man, but because it was the one thing, besides her art, that affirmed to her that she was nothing like her parents. After Brian, she was even more wary about her sexuality. She would never succumb to casual pleasures.
Not even with the most charismatic man she’d ever met.
She pushed at his shoulders. ‘No. Stop!’ When he stared at her with a puzzled frown, she shook her head. ‘I can’t do this.’
His eyes slowly cleared. When his fingers left her core and he sat back in the seat, Elise bit her lip to stop from protesting.
‘Sí, I know. I’m breaking my own rules.’
He believed she’d called a halt because of her contract with SNV.
Elise shakily exhaled. ‘You misunderstand. I wouldn’t sleep with you even without your rules. This shouldn’t have happened. And it won’t happen again...ever.’
Every last trace of lust left his face and with each passing second, a greater part of her mourned. He stood, shoved his hands deep in his pockets and stared down at her as she scrambled up and righted her clothes.
‘Explain.’
‘Do I need to? You caught me at a low moment—’
Tension clamped his frame. ‘Perdón? Are you suggesting I took advantage of you?’ His voice was clipped with ice. ‘If so, let me remind you that you were with me every step of the way, guapa.’
A hint of shame slammed her. ‘I think it’s time we brought the evening to an end. I’ve gone above and beyond my duties for one day, I believe.’
‘If this is a taster of what your duties could be, perhaps we should renegotiate your contract. I’m sure we can agree to a mutually benefitting addendum.’
She gasped, ice dredging through her insides. ‘You didn’t just say that to me.’
His eyes gleamed, an unfathomable emotion flickering in his eyes. ‘We’re laying our cards on the table. I want you. I believe the feeling is mutual. We can wait until the merger is over. Or we can agree to terms now.’
‘I don’t want to agree to any further terms with you. And I’m sorry if your ego doesn’t like hearing no from a nobody like me.’
Impossibly, he stiffened further. ‘You wouldn’t be making the mistake of likening me to that bastard, would you, Elise?’ he murmured with deathly calm.
The smooth lethality of it froze her vocal cords for a few seconds too long. His face lost a shade of colour and his jaw clenched tight.
‘Alejandro, I’m—’
‘Save your breath. You can deny it all you want, but you took as much as you gave tonight. And you knew the precise moment to call a halt to achieve maximum effect.’ His mouth twisted in a cruel smile. ‘That skill has to come from somewhere, right?’
She hadn’t thought hearing the words she’d dreaded most and had heard whispered about her would hurt coming from Alejandro. But it stung deeper than it ever had.
She rose, willing her legs not to give way, and walked to the door. Turning the handle, she threw it open. ‘And here I thought you were enlightened enough to realise that sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree. How disappointing. I’m glad I could be of extra-curricular service to you tonight. Do me a favour and let’s keep things strictly business from now on, shall we?’
He didn’t deign to utter a response. Cold eyes raked her from head to toe. Then he strode out with arrogant indifference.
Elise slammed the door hard. And even before she turned the key, she was cursing the hot scald of tears choking her.
