Women had tried their little tricks on him before, never succeeding. If he was interested, he would allow a woman to lure him into her arms. If he wasn’t interested, he would walk away.
So why was this woman’s seemingly unconscious gesture making his body harden with a desire that almost doubled him over with need?
Perhaps it was that unconscious defiance tied to the sexual come-on. He wasn’t sure, but it was powerful.
The shaking of her hands as she smoothed her skirt down over her knees was his first clue that she wasn’t doing this to him on purpose. Every gesture, every covert glance through those thick lashes was…genuine? Impossible!
So why was she pushing the hemline of her skirt down lower? If she were trying to play him, she’d be sliding that hemline higher, trying to give him a glimpse of what was on offer.
“So…?” she prompted.
Viktor looked at the nervous beauty standing so primly on the other side of his desk. He’d done his research on this woman. She ran one of the best plant nurseries in that area. Her plants were healthier than anyone else’s and she had a larger, more diversified stock. But as much as the woman knew about plants and growing things, she knew nothing about business. She was in debt up to her pretty, blue eyes, underpriced her products, had no ongoing collections efforts and allowed her customers to walk all over her, falling for every sob story.
A month ago, he’d told himself he was getting information in order to put her out of business. He needed her land in order to start development in that area. As his research team pulled more and more information together on this woman, the only hindrance left to the bigger picture of developing the land out her way, he’d thought of about twenty different ways to pressure her into selling him her land.
But he hadn’t implemented any of them.
And now she was sitting here, looking shockingly beautiful and still defiant, yet ready to sell him the land he needed without any effort on his part.
“No,” he told her, unaware of the intensity of his look as his mind worked through his next move.
When her eyes dropped, he could have sworn that he saw a hint of a tear. Damn it, tears had never bothered him before. Why did the glisten of her eyes make him want to lift her up into his arms and tell her that he’d make everything okay?
“I see,” she was saying. Her fingers were trembling in earnest now as she picked up her purse. Holding that ragged accessory against her stomach, he suspected that she was having trouble absorbing his answer and his gut churned with acid. “I’m so sorry to have wasted your time.”
He saw her prepare to leave and everything inside of him wanted her to stay. He didn’t examine his motives too closely as he quickly made up his mind. “But I’ll save your business.”
Those crystal blue eyes looked up at him, surprised, but not nearly as surprised as he was. Just two days ago, he’d had a meeting to determine how and when to put her out of business. Now he was saying he would save it? It was her eyes, he thought as the startling blue looked across his desk at him. He felt like he’d just been punched in the gut. How could a pair of pretty eyes have such an impact?
“I’m sorry?”
Viktor stood up and came around to the other side of his desk. Leaning against the steel and glass, he looked down at her, wanting to banish the fear and worry in those lovely eyes. “Marry me and I’ll save your business.”