Her bottom lip pouts out. “Don’t play hard to get, Decker.”
I don’t have the energy for this. As I turn to walk out, she cups me between the legs and purrs.
My muscles tense, and before I can stop myself, I grab her neck and slam her against the office wall.
“Touch me again,” I seethe past clenched teeth, “and I’ll file a sexual harassment charge.”
“Do it.” She claws at my hand around her throat, her eyes glistening with fear. “The camera in the ceiling will back up my assault charge against you.”
Goddammit. I release her and glare at the lens in the upper corner of the room. “What the fuck do you want?”
She rubs the fingerprint marks on her neck. “You fuck every woman I hire.” Her shoulders curl forward, and she shoves them back. “I’ve been more than patient. It’s my turn.”
Jesus fucking Christ, she’s clueless. But I spare her the hurtful words and give her the full force of my glare.
She stands taller. “I’ll make it good for you.”
I shake my head, repulsed. “You’re standing at the starting line, holding on to an abstract notion. Call it gratification, victory, whatever—that’s the finish line. What you don’t see is the race, the intensity in the pursuit, the competition. And the male ego’s huge fucking hard-on when he wins the prize.”
Her face contorts. “I see everything, dammit. I’ve spent six months watching you chase every woman but me!”
She’s been throwing herself at me since the day she hired me. She doesn’t get it, and at this point, she never will. Cruelty is the only way she’ll leave me the fuck alone.
“Give me a raise.” I flick my gaze up and down her anorexic body. “Put on some weight, lose ten years, show some fucking dignity, and I might consider a hand job.”
Her breath catches, and she stabs a blood-red fingernail at the open door. “Get out!”
“Gladly.” I stride toward the hall.
“Don’t come back.” Tears thicken her voice. “You’re fired, asshole.”
I stop just outside the office, ears ringing and insides exploding.
Fired?
She fucking fired me. Now would be a good time to seduce her. I could do it with a flick of my tongue. One kiss and she’d melt against me. Followed by her mouth around my cock, my job reinstated with a pay raise, and probably the night off. In her bed.
I shudder. That would be a new low, even for me.
My breath quickens. Rent’s overdue. Electricity’s already shut off. Forget the astronomical attorney fees I’ll never catch up on. What about food? Do I have enough tip money to eat for a couple days?
I’m so fucked.
Fury and dread coalesces into a vicious tyrant beneath my skin. My arm swings out, and my fist collides with the hollow door, splintering the wood, shooting pain up my arm, and leaving a satisfying hole.
“That’ll come out of your wages,” she shrieks.
“Fuck you.” I storm down the hall, hands shaking and pulse hammering.
Grabbing my leather jacket from the break room, I slow my gait through the maze of high-top tables and target the brunette at the bar. A younger man sits beside her with an arm around the back of her seat. Perfect distraction for my rage. I shrug on my jacket and prowl toward them.
The thing about the chase is I don’t care if it’s quick or slow, as long as there’s an effort. A conquest. A victorious win. Fuck participation trophies. I want the gold fucking medal.
I step behind her and swivel the stool to position her toward me and away from the man tickling her hair with his mustache.
Keeping my hands on the armrests, I lean in and touch her with only my voice. “I’m in a mood, gorgeous. The kind of mood that guarantees hours of hard…focused…pleasure.” I breathe each word at her ear, low and full of heat. “You can try your luck with the mustache or you can follow me out.”
“That man just assaulted me,” Shelby screeches across the bar. “Get the hell out, Decker, or I’m calling the cops.”
I step back, and the brunette clutches the front of her blouse, lips parted, breaths shallow, and eyes dazed.
I could convince her to follow me with just a few more words, but something inside me pulls back. I can’t be gentle tonight, and this woman is sweet and delicate. She deserves better.
Without taking her eyes off me, she blindly reaches for her purse and shifts toward the edge of the seat, trembling with uncertainty yet gravitating. Toward me. She’s a breath away from surrender, and I’m tempted. So fucking tempted.
“Another night, sweetheart.” I brush a thumb across her bottom lip and head toward the front door.
In my periphery, Evan throws a wad of bills on the counter and chases after me. A chase I’m not interested in.
I don’t slow as I hit the sidewalk and stride toward the subway, my exhales steaming in the chilly air.