Excerpt from TAKEN:
“Going somewhere?”
Seline froze at the sound of Ryder’s voice. Somewhere in the back of her mind she gave herself a pat on the back for not having jumped. Even if his sudden presence was definitely of the jump variety.
Not that she hadn’t half expected him to show up at her office, despite his request through official channels that he wanted to see her in his. Mostly because of that connection she’d shared with him.
She’d instantly read that – not unlike herself – he was someone used to getting what he wanted. And he wanted her.
And it was her that he wanted. The woman in the car who’d challenged him to a race. Not Carol Lambert. Although she had to remind herself that he didn’t know there was difference. A vast and damaging difference.
She had two weaknesses: one was for a good, clean, risky con; the other was proving to a powerful bachelor like Ryder Blackwell how powerless he truly was when it came to a woman like her.
And while she should pass on this one personal challenge, she found she didn’t want to.
All cons came with their risks. And so far this one had run like clockwork. Boringly like clockwork. Maybe a tryst with Ryder was just what was needed to spice this one up a little bit.
“Was there something you needed to discuss with me?” she asked, getting up from her desk and coming to stand in front of him.
She watched him watch her approach. His black pupils dilated slightly as his gaze dropped first to her baggy blouse as if searching for the lacy bra underneath, then her legs, which she knew were killer despite the low-heeled, unappealing shoes she wore.
She leaned forward, brushing her breasts against his chest. She had to give him credit for standing still, not giving anything away with a blink or an intake of breath that her actions surprised him. She picked up a file on the side table behind him, then broke contact as she put the file into her bag.
“There are several things I’d like to discuss with you, Ms Lambert.”
She put her bag on the table then reached for her suit jacket hanging on the back of the door. He took it from her and she easily turned so he could help her into it. If his movements were a little more languid than the occasion called for, if his fingers lingered a little too long at the collar, against the burning skin of her neck, she wasn’t going to let him see it. Even though she sensed that he knew. Just as she knew that he wanted to touch her in far more intimate ways.
“I only have a few minutes,” she said, turning back to face him. “I have a meeting to get to.”
His gaze swept up from her neck over her chin to her lips. “Cancel it.”
She smiled in a way designed to transmit that he’d just tipped his hand. “Surely whatever is on your mind can wait until morning.”
Until she was long gone and he would begin the process of discovering exactly what she’d done while she’d been there. And it had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with money.
“Actually, it can’t. Have dinner with me.”
She picked up her bag and edged the handle up to rest over her shoulder. “Dinner? Sounds personal. Doesn’t that violate the company’s no fraternization rule?”
The right side of his mouth budged upward, revealing the single dimple that made her tongue tingle with the desire to taste it. “I’ll put it on my agenda to change that rule first thing in the morning. One of the benefits of being the boss.”
Seline couldn’t resist leaning closer to him, dropping her attention to the shoulder of his expensive suit even as she tucked her chin toward her chest. The new proximity filled her senses with the scent of lime that made her mouth water further. She dropped her voice to a provocative whisper. “Yes, but that still leaves the rule in effect for tonight. And seeing as I’m a new employ, I wouldn’t want to do anything to endanger my position. You know, like having sex with the boss.”
“Who said anything about sex?”
She tilted her head so that she was looking into his eyes. “You did. And do. Every time you look at me.”
“Astute woman.”
“Shameless man.”
His chuckle sent a shiver skidding over her hypersensitive nerve endings. It had been a long, long time since mere conversation with a man had made her wet. But if the dampness between her thighs was anything to go by, Ryder had accomplished exactly that.
“Look, Mr. Blackwell—”
“Ryder.”
“No matter what guarantees you make, the truth is that sleeping with the boss is never a good idea. Chances are you’ll come in tomorrow morning having regretted our…intimacy,” she watched as he swallowed thickly. “And then where would I be? Aside from sharing the title of one-night stand with no doubt countless other women in the company?”
“I don’t sleep with employees.”
“But isn’t that what you’re proposing now?”
His grin widened. “No. I’m offering dinner.”
Seline shivered again and clamped her thighs tightly together, reveling in the luscious sensations rolling through her. “Nothing more?”
“Let’s just say that the rest…well, I’ll be offering. It’s up to you whether or not you take me up on them.”
She blinked slowly then smiled. “Your car or mine?”
TAKEN
STRIPPED
OVEREXPOSED
