"Yeah." I slide my chair back and stand up, adjusting my black Peplum top. It's creased where I've been sitting so long, but there's nothing I can do about that now. There's nothing I can do about the fact that I'm wearing minimal makeup and faded jeans with strategically placed holes either. I wasn't expecting to meet with anyone today, so I dressed down. Hopefully, the potential client won't hold it against us.
Summer ducks out of my office and goes right. I take a left, headed toward Dom's office in the back corner. Most of the developers and engineers are on the second floor, but he moved me down to the first floor when Summer started. At first, I thought it was because I'm the youngest developer here and the only female of the bunch, but now I think he did it so she'd have a friend close. I think it's cute how he's always looked for little ways to make her happy, even before he found out that she loved him too.
He's so good to her.
"You needed to see me?" I say, poking my head inside Dom's office to find him ensconced behind his antique desk, his sleeves rolled up his forearms and his dark head bent while he jots notes on his tablet.
Whoa. I blink when I catch sight of the man sitting across the desk from him. The sun shining in through the windows hits him like a halo, making him look like an avenging angel come down to earth to mete out justice in the name of God. He's…massive. And entirely too handsome. His dark hair is crewcut, his eyes crystalline blue. His features are sharp, masculine. Not even the little lines around his eyes and mouth, the scruff on his jaw, or the wicked scar that bisects his right cheek detract from how gorgeous he is. If anything, they add to the appeal, giving him a dangerous, warrior vibe.
He flicks his gaze in my direction almost dismissively, and then he freezes. His brows climb, something dark flaring in those crystalline depths. I feel his gaze like a touch as it climbs up my body. I grip onto the doorjamb like that's going to keep me from fidgeting as desire shoots through me.
His gaze comes to rest on my breasts, his expression turning almost ravenous. Part of me wants to cross my arms and hide them like I have so many times in the past. He's not the first man to stare blatantly at my boobs. I wear an H cup, making them impossible to miss. But he is the first man to make me wonder what it would feel like for him to play with them or sink his teeth into them.
I've been a big girl my entire life. There aren't a lot of men out there who have shown an interest in me, and none of them ever caught my eye. I've been on two dates in my life, and neither was great. This man seems interested though.
He slowly lifts his gaze to mine, command crackling in his expression. There's something hard in his eyes, some small glint that tells me he's hiding entire volumes behind them. Even from across the room, I can tell he's used to being in charge, to being obeyed. He's king alpha and he knows it.
He practically commands me to look away first, to lower my gaze and accept his rule…but I don't. Seeing that look on his face sends some undiscovered urge soaring through me hot and fast. Challenge. I want to rattle that authority, rattle him. I don't even know why, but something in me demands it.
So I hold his gaze, not backing down.
The man's upper lip twitches into the tiniest of smiles, pulling the scar on his cheek taut. He lifts his chin the slightest bit, silently telling me he knows what I'm doing and why. That he likes it. That little hint of a smile completely changes his carved-from-granite features, eradicating what composure I have. He's gorgeous in the same way a wolf is, fearsome and powerful.
Dom clears his throat and I jump, losing eye contact.
Dammit.
My gaze flies back to the mystery man, but it's too late. He's already won. The dark glint in his eyes tells me that he knows it too.
"Liberty, this is Killian Thorne," Dom says, motioning for me to come in. "Killian, this is Liberty Connor, the software engineer I was telling you about."
"She's hired," Killian says, his gravelly voice a sharp crack of sound. "But she'll be working out of my office for the duration of the project."
Hired? Working out of his office?
Yeah, no.
I don't care how hot he is, no one but me decides where I work.
"She is standing right here," I tell him, standing up straight and squaring my shoulders. "And she will decide whether or not she wants to work with you and where she'll do that work."
A flash of…something crosses Killian's face, there and gone so quickly I almost miss it. It's dark and wicked, making him look more like a predator staring at his prey than a man offering me a job. Before I can even process that or what it means, the moment is gone.
"My apologies, Ms. Connor," he grits out. "Of course the choice is yours."
"Now that we're all on the same page," Dom says, his tone wry and slightly amused, "why don't you have a seat, Liberty? I think you'll be interested in the project Killian has for you."
I hesitate a split second before curiosity wins out. Dom knows me almost as well as Summer does. He knows the kind of projects I jump at and why. If he thinks hearing Killian out is worth my time, I should probably listen.
Killian watches me like a hawk as I cross Dom's office and take the only remaining seat, which is right beside Dom's desk. Killian grunts, a hint of irritation flitting through his expression before he schools it. That little flicker confuses me. Is he annoyed that I'm sitting beside Dom?
He keeps his eyes glued to me, assessing and considering, the entire time I get comfortable. Jeez, he's intense. And even hotter up close. There are flecks of gray in his eyes and the lines around his eyes are deeper than I first thought. He's maybe thirty-five or forty. The scar on his cheek looks old, but I can't help but wonder what happened to him.
I'm guessing he's military or law enforcement, someone used to barking orders and being obeyed without question. It would explain his curt demeanor, that scar, and the way he watches me like he sees more than everyone else.
I've never been a rule breaker, but a little part of me thrills at the thought of breaking his rules just to see how he reacts. Just to see him discomposed, that iron will of his eradicated. I can almost imagine those big hands clamped around my hips while he drives into me…almost feel the weight of them coming down across my ass as he punishes me with pleasure for some misdeed.
I clear my throat, trying to dislodge that image and the breathlessness it leaves behind. What am I even thinking? I'm a virgin. I wouldn't even know what to do with a man like him. He's gruff, rude…way too hot. I don't know what to do with any of that.
Part of me wishes I did.