Risk (The Men of Matiz 1)

"What things do you need, Nolan?"

"I need a good bottle of cabernet, a steak cooked to perfection and a beautiful redhead to share them with."

Chapter 14

Ellie

"Just to be clear, Ellie. The redhead I'm referring to is you."

I nod. I didn't respond when he first said he only needs wine, steak and me. As if a man like him could be content with a good meal, a glass of an expensive vintage red and my company. It may satisfy him for a few hours, or an entire night but then he'd be back on the prowl and every day I'd be forced to face a man I once fucked. If he was bad in bed, it might not be a problem. I doubt that Nolan Black has ever fucked a woman and left her unsatisfied.

"That's a flattering invitation." My lips purse. "I can't accept it, though."

He freezes in place, his eyes honed in on my face. "You're not accepting? Why?"

I could use Liam as an excuse, but that would be unfair to both men. Comparing them is impossible. One is friendship material wrapped into a rugged, long-haired beast. The other is refined and cultured. He wears wealth with ease, and his kisses must steal a part of a woman's soul that she'll never get back, even after he's had his fill and left her with an ache between her legs and in her heart.

/> Nolan Black could destroy me from the inside out. I sense it when he looks at me with his brilliant blue eyes that see into parts of me even I hide from.

"I don't think it's a good idea," I answer evenly. "I found out the hard way that mixing business with pleasure is a mistake."

"I see." He leans back in the chair, his long legs crossing at the knee. His fingers strum a beat on his thigh. "Do you think your job will be impacted if we share a dinner?"

He's smarter than that. He knows exactly what I'm talking about. He wants to hear me tell him that I don't think I can handle a good hard fuck followed by a brief it's not you, it's me speech or a ghosting. That's how Tad Darling dumped me. His name was a poetic parody of the man bearing it.

We met in New York, fucked in Boston and then moved to Las Vegas once I had a massive diamond ring on my finger. It ended as most relationships with affluent, emotionally vacant, pussy chasing men do. With no respect for what once was in the form of an empty goodbye. In Tad's case, the goodbye came two months after he had all my belongings packed up and delivered to my office. His phone number changed, and the locks on our apartment were replaced, just as quickly as I was.

"That's been my experience in the past," I confess. "Dynamics change when that line is crossed."

He studies my face. "Only if the two people involved don't handle it properly."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Please." He waves his hand in the air before his fingers settle on his chin. "Ask away, Ellie."

"If I have dinner with you, what do you expect from me?"

"I'll pick up the check if that's what you're asking." His voice is smooth. The crisp notes of each word flow together off his lips. I instantly wonder if there's anything he could say that wouldn't sound sexy to me.

"That's not what I was asking," I blurt out in haste, slightly annoyed that he's finding humor in this.

"What are you asking?" He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

I tug on the hem of my skirt. "This isn't really about a good bottle of wine and a steak, is it?"

"What do you think it's about?"

I call him on his bluff because I doubt like hell he's expecting me to. "It's about us sleeping together. That's really what you want."

"Yes, Ellie. I want to fuck you."

***

Breathe, Ellie. Breathe.

Bluff called. Nolan Black answered.

"I don't believe I've misread anything between us." His eyes soften, the intensity gone. "The attraction is strong and it's mutual. If there's a reason, beyond your job, that you'd prefer not to act on it, I'm interested in hearing that."