Mr One-Night Stand

His thumb started to circle over her, the skin beneath treated to a whirlpool of sensation, and her body answered with a resounding no.

‘And what I should also like to make very clear to you,’ he said darkly, rising to his feet and sidestepping to stand before her, his proximity keeping her pressed into the desk, ‘is that you should never tease me—not unless you’re willing to deal with the consequences.’

She sensed his other hand come up, felt his fingers brushing against her jaw, sending a traitorous shiver down her spine.

‘You assured me you would behave,’ she blurted suddenly.

Christ, did she have to sound so breathless? So desperate?

He didn’t budge, didn’t even blink, and she tried again. ‘You have your rules too.’

‘That’s the funny thing about rules.’ He smiled mercilessly, his eyes fixed on her parted lips. ‘They’re all the more fun when they get broken.’

He dipped his head slowly. Alarm bells rang through her head. Knee him in the balls, push him away—anything!

Instead she whimpered, the sound erupting from nowhere. And watched with self-loathing as his smile became one of victory and he stepped back. An immediate chill swept down her front.

‘Like I said, you’re welcome to join us,’ he said, his palms turned outwards in an overly innocent gesture, ‘but it’s time I got back in there.’

And then he turned and went, opening and closing the door behind him, his message clear. He didn’t expect her to follow.

Well, fuck that.

She breathed through the daze—the desire, the frustration, the anger...

What the hell had possessed her?

She knew, all right. She’d been playing with fire; wanting to replace the shitty feeling of being undermined by overpowering him, and she’d used her sexuality to do it. It had been a low move. It was beneath her.

But the rush—the way it had made her feel—beat any boardroom conquest. That was until he’d turned the tables on her.

She took a far more controlled breath, pushing herself up off the desk. It was time to show him that she didn’t need her sexuality to do that. It was time to show him that, professionally, she was someone he didn’t want to screw over.

Screw with, on the other hand...

Quit it!

She drowned the thought in some coffee and focused on her laptop.

She’d show him.

* * *

‘Apologies.’

His eyes shot to the doorway, to the exquisite redhead holding her laptop over her chest, coffee in hand.

Fuck.

Marcus wasn’t ready to have her in the same room again—not yet. He’d expected her to stay away, prayed that she would.

She was stronger than he’d given her credit for. He shouldn’t really be surprised. Not when she had surprised him on every other score.

‘I had some urgent business that needed attending to,’ she continued, addressing the room, her smooth, honeyed tone washing over him, hinting at the husky resonance it gained when she came apart under his hand, his mouth...

She walked towards them, her expression pointed as she looked at him.

Introductions, you idiot!