Knowing it was too late to back down she ignored the rush of colour that stung her cheekbones and closed her eyes as she quickly drew the cake into her mouth. ‘Mmmm.’ She slowly eased back in her chair as if she was completely unaffected by what she’d done and forced herself to keep looking at him as his gaze raked over her face and settled on her mouth.
The cake turned to glue but she pretended it was ambrosia as she swallowed. ‘You were right, it is good.’
She noticed that the blue of his eyes was almost entirely eaten up by his pupils and she was just congratulating herself for getting one up on him when he reached across the expanse of the desk and placed his thumb against the corner of her mouth.
Her breath stuttered and then stopped as the rough pad of his thumb traced a gentle path across her lower lip. Instant weakness pervaded her limbs and she felt light headed as arousal coursed through her and settled in an ache between her thighs.
‘A crumb,’ he murmured, his voice so low it was almost inaudible. ‘Do you want it?’
Completely mesmerized by the dark sweep of his lashes as he watched her, Eleanore did something she’d never even had the remotest urge to do before. She opened her mouth and drew his thumb inside.
His taste exploded against her tongue, dark and earthy. Slightly musky with just a hint of the sweet chocolate. But it was him that she tasted. Him that made her heart race. Instinct seemed to take over and she wound her tongue around his thumb and sucked lightly.
She wasn’t sure which one of them made a low noise but the sound made her jerk back, releasing his now moist flesh. She lifted heavy eyes to his and absently noted the dull colour highlighting his cheekbones and the way his eyes glittered dangerously down into hers. For a minute she thought he was going to devour her, the look of hunger was so stark on his taut features. Fortunately someone knocked on her door and the tension in the air broke like a line of cotton held too tight for too long.
Lukas mumbled something under his breath in his own language and fired her a dark look. ‘Until next time, moya krasavitsa.’
Feeling like a puppet who had just been set aside Eleanore would have gladly slumped in her chair if not for the girl who had just entered her office.
Smiling brightly she tried once again to put Lukas Kuznetskov out of her mind, knowing that with every maddening interaction they had it became harder and harder to do.
* * *
That night she dreamt of him licking chocolate sauce off her body. When she woke up she was sweaty and uncomfortable and her mood didn’t improve when she realised that all her work shirts were dirty because she’d been so exhausted from long hours working each day she hadn’t gone down to the communal laundry or located a dry-cleaning service. Spying the new sleeveless blouse she’d impulsively purchased two days ago from a nearby boutique she wondered if she’d dare wear it to the office. She didn’t know what had possessed her to buy it. It wasn’t her typical style—a little low cut in the front and made from the sheerest cream silk she’d ever touched—but at least she could wear a bra with it, and if she kept her jacket on...
Remembering that Lukas would be out of town all day looking at his ships or something, she didn’t waste time searching for anything else but combined it with a smart Chanel-style skirt suit with a cropped jacket. She added her favourite black boots and tied her hair back in a sleek ponytail.
Feeling more like her normal self she was almost whistling by the time she reached her office and shoved Lukas firmly out of her mind as she got down to it.
‘Good to see you’ve put underwear on today.’
Eleanore turned sharply to find Lukas loitering in her doorway. She slammed the filing cabinet in her office closed and marched over to her desk. She grabbed the jacket from the back of her chair and stuffed her arms into it.
‘Please, don’t cover up on my account.’
‘What do you want?’
His eyebrows slowly climbed his forehead. ‘Grumpy this morning?’
Only because she’d felt her heart leap into her throat when she’d heard his voice and now it was knocking around behind her ribs as if it was looking for a way out.
The dream she’d had appeared front and centre in her mind. As did the taste of his skin on her mouth.
He strolled into her office and closed the door, the pale blue shirt he wore making the striking blue of his eyes stand out in his gorgeous Viking face. ‘Why, Eleanore, you don’t seem to be in a very good mood this morning.’
‘I’m fine. Just busy.’ Ignoring her he perched on the corner of her desk as if he had nothing better to do in the whole world.