Tempt. Torment. Tease. Obviously she wasn’t going to answer him directly. He met her gaze, and realized she’d caught him staring. He wouldn’t apologize. For one thing he wasn’t sorry. And for another, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink beneath the artificial color, telling him he affected her, too.
Jack refused to give up what little power he possessed in this game she’d set up. “Everyone and everything in life has two faces, two sides. Not all of them pleasant.”
He’d learned early on that his loving mother, his father’s devoted wife in public, was a cold, uncaring, cheating female in private. As time marched on, she didn’t care who knew the truth and the dichotomy she’d presented merged into a singular unhappy woman. Since then, Jack had become an expert on the two faces of human nature.
Mallory’s eyes narrowed, as if she realized his words revealed a part of his soul. He silently cursed. How could he forget this seductive female had a brain like a steel trap and the instincts of a killer shark? That dichotomy she’d mentioned. The one he’d always looked for in others. Why did he find it so easy to forget Mallory possessed another colder, more calculating side?
Which Mallory was real, which was the impostor?
“So you’re already attuned to the subtleties of human nature. That’s good since it makes my job that much easier.” She smiled, a sexy smile meant to disarm and make him wonder what she planned next.
He could only wait and see. Despite the danger—to the private emotions she effortlessly tapped into and to the career he’d built and had no business risking for a fling with a colleague—the anticipation stoked a fire of burning need deep inside him. One he didn’t fully understand.
Obviously he’d sensed there was more to his repressed colleague than met the eye or he wouldn’t have had those occasional bouts of arousal—when he’d heard her husky voice, or inhaled her luscious scent on the plane. The same scent, he now realized, he smelled on the invitation this afternoon. His mind hadn’t been ready then to grasp the possibilities. He was ready now. More than ready if the blood pumping through his veins was any indication. She was playing a game and he intended to draw out the intensity and the pleasure.
He had no doubt she’d back off first. The no-office-romance policy would weigh more heavily on her mind since she had a partnership at stake and knew his vote could destroy her chances and all she’d worked for. Not that he’d ever jeopardize her career over this invitation to seduction. He had too much respect for her as a lawyer and too much admiration for the woman who’d lured him here to teach him a well-deserved lesson.
But he could enjoy the steps along the way. “I obviously spoke out of turn this morning by using the word frigid. But the word façade—now that was right on target.”
A wide smile touched her face and radiance glowed from the porcelain skin on her cheeks. “You’re a smart man, Jack. Façade. Defined it means a false, superficial or artificial appearance or effect.”
“And that’s what this is?” His hand swept the air around her before he laid his arm back on the couch. Mere inches
from the silken bare flesh revealed by the matching camisole she wore.
Though her daily suits did little to reveal womanly curves, Jack saw plenty now. She had full breasts, fuller than he’d imagined and creamy white skin peeked through the deep vee of her top.
“You’re wondering which is the real Mallory?” Her sultry laugh lit the night air. “That’s for you to find out.”
She teased him with what-if’s and myriad other sensual possibilities.
“Are you ready to eat?” she asked.
The question led to thoughts of decadent delights, feasting on her glistening lips and tasting her hidden feminine secrets. But he doubted that was what she had in mind.
At least not yet. A wicked voice in his head taunted him, just as her nearness teased him. He wanted to close the distance, to sweep his hand over the expanse of skin on her neck and shoulders, to bring her close enough for him to devour with his mouth.
“I’m hungry,” he replied. And if she looked down, she’d see exactly how ravenous he was. He tried to swallow but his throat had grown dry. “But how about a drink first?”
She rose from the couch with fluid grace and walked over to the minibar. “Vodka on the rocks, yes?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You remember?”
Mallory nodded. “I pay attention.” To everything about you, she thought.
She drank in his charcoal-gray eyes, lit by anticipation and awareness. She took notice of his jet-black hair, combed and sexy despite—or was it because of—its perfection? Her gaze dipped lower. The intriguing bit of chest hair visible from his now open collar was seared into her memory.
Jack Latham was a potent masculine package. And that was the problem. Her mental obsession with him and what he thought of her had brought her to a dangerous precipice. He’d challenged her femininity and she’d responded, putting her career and her future on the line. She could not believe she’d taken her humiliation over his insulting comment this far. But now that she had, Mallory had no choice but to follow through with her plan to show Jack the woman behind the façade.
“I pay attention, too. Your reputation for thoroughness and your expertise is unrivaled among the firm’s associates.”
She warmed at his compliment, knowing she’d transformed herself into the frigid Mallory for that very purpose. “Thank you.”
After pouring his vodka and her wine for much needed courage, she returned to the sofa. With any luck she could remain in control of herself and her reactions at the same time she tested his.
She handed him his glass and their hands touched. Brief and accidental, yet a tremor of awareness ricocheted throughout her body. So much for control, Mallory thought. Since he was here in response to her invitation and he didn’t seem inclined to bolt now that he realized she was the invitee, she willed herself to remain calm, forget business and concentrate on Jack.
By the time the evening was over, Jack would have no doubts regarding Mallory’s womanly attributes and feminine wiles. Point made, things between them then could return to normal. As if anything could ever be normal again now that she’d come this close to her fantasy.