He knew she wanted him. Maybe not as much as he wanted her, but she was curious about him. Curious about how it would be with him. He could smell it on her. The curiosity. It was that curiosity that would give him the opening he needed. He just had to make it happen. It was a sad fact that she couldn't keep her job. He knew he was a ruthless bastard, but he would get his way. And soon, he would set the pieces into motion.
****
Monday afternoon, Renee was in the archive room looking through dusty blueprints when she heard the door slam.
Her body jolted and twin feelings of panic and excitement slid down her spine when she saw him leaning against the closed door. "What are you doing in here?" His voice lacerated her.
"Mrs. Argenot needs the prints from the Belle Chase project." Her nerves were stretched but luckily her voice didn't shake.
He stood, arms crossed, staring at her. Dear God, he was handsome. Renee cataloged his features one by one. He had dark hair with snippets of gray running through it. Gorgeous brown eyes with slashing brows. His lips were full and his skin was a dark, swarthy color. His nose was too large and slightly off-center, where it looked like it had been broken at one time. It turned what would have been true beauty into a masculine, blatantly male countenance.
Her heart started beating faster.
"I want you to quit. This isn't working out." It was an order.
Shock slid through her and caught her off guard. She played for time. "Why?" Her voice was soft.
"Why? Are you kidding?" He pushed off the door and took a predatory step toward her.
Renee dropped the papers in her hands and backed up a step. She held out one slim hand to ward him off.
It was enough to stall him a moment.
"So you'll hand in your resignation?"
Disappointment and an arrow of pain slid through her. "Are you firing me?"
"No. I want you to quit." The lines of his mouth flattened.
"I don't want to quit." More than anything she was beginning to need to know where this would lead.
"Goddammnit, Renee. Quit being so bull headed. You know this is going to end bad for you." His voice became biting.
She lifted her chin and hit back, challenging him. "Maybe it's going to end bad for you. Maybe you're scared of me."
He laughed. "Kudos for trying, baby. It ain't going to happen. This is going to end one place and one place only."
She shook her head back and forth. Her hair moved in a shimmering display around her shoulders. "I'm not going to quit. Are you going to fire me?"
"No. You're going to quit." His words were adamant, irrefutable.
She continued to shake her head.
His eyes narrowed on her. "Maybe you'd like a sample? A demonstration of what you can expect if you don't give up?" He started coming toward her again.
Renee watched him as if in a trance. She backed up until she hit the wall. He followed. Her eyes were huge when he stopped in front of her. He reached out and took a lock of her hair and wrapped it around his fist. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing became palpable.
"You've put up a good fight. You're a worthy opponent. But guess what, baby? Check and mate."
His mouth covered hers.
A heated jolt hit her system. Even though she had expected it, she was still shocked by the intensity. He plastered himself against her and all she could do was hang against the wall as his tongue delved deep at the same time he pushed his lower torso into her. He was blatant in his domination, as his tongue pushed in and pulled out, mimicking the motions of sex. His fist tightened in her hair, his body inundating hers completely.
She felt dazed and disoriented as she hung in his grasp while he took from her mouth, his hands gripping her, molding her to him. His hands moved to her neck, wrapped around and briefly held her, then slid to her waist and gripped her in an uncompromising clasp.
All at once the shock left her and intense excitement screamed through her veins. This was it. This was really it. He was kissing her. Finally. God, finally. She reached up and wrapped her hands around his shoulders, moving up to thread her fingers through his hair. He smelled so good. Sexual heat emanated from him. She grasped him more tightly.
Was her job really worth it? No, it wasn't. She didn't want to give this up. She needed to know how it would be between them.