“I’ve come here to conduct a business arrangement, and if you’d take me seriously, you’d see that I have the capital to close this deal before you leave this office today.” There’s something erotic about a woman who’s strong, sassy, and delightfully bitchy. This siren definitely is all those things and so much more. It’s the so much more that’s got my mind racing with how I can break through that cold exterior to find the warm sensuality I know she’s hiding.
“Fine,” I say, rising to full height as she keeps her gaze on me. I feel it down to my Calvin Klein boxers. “I’ll accept your paperwork, on one condition.” She slowly lifts her gaze as I step around my desk. A slow, heated path she follows with those stormy eyes makes my zipper uncomfortably tight. From my shoes up to my chest, landing on my own strange-colored eyes. Since I was a kid, people have told me I’m special, different. My eyes are teal most of the time, but there’s an odd occasion when they turn blue. It’s subtle. Only a few people notice it, and when she watches me, tipping her head to the side, I know she sees it.
“And what is that?” she asks on a breathy sigh. I love playing this game with her, and I know the next words from my mouth will put that fire back in her glare.
“Dinner. With me. Tonight, at seven,” I tell her simply.
“No, I don’t—”
“There’s no debate, Ms. Rossi. If you want that building, you’ll have to have dinner with me. It’s not a date, merely a . . . business arrangement. My contingency plan to get to know you before allowing you to purchase a piece of property I’ve had my eye on.”
Her face is stoic for a moment before she shakes her head and rises. Her heels put her about a head’s breadth below my chin. She’s not tiny. She has incredible curves. And with each move of her hips, all I can focus on is how they’d look when I bend her over and fuck her from behind.
Jesus, get a grip, Rome.
“That’s not a good idea, Mr. Donovan.” Her accent seduces me. It rolls over me in warm waves. An ocean crashing on the shore. And I gladly allow her to pull me into her depths.
“Then, the building is no longer on the market. I trust you can find your way out,” I tell her, buttoning up my suit jacket and turning away from her.
“Wait!” The corner of my mouth lifts in a satisfied smirk.
Right into the net. I love butterflies, and she’s just been caught in my net.
“One dinner,” she bites out. It’s not angry — it’s defeated. I’ve won too many rounds in the boardroom not to know when I have the upper hand. I don’t understand why she wants this building in particular, or why I’m even allowing her to play along. But when I turn to face her, I realize exactly why. This woman is a tangled ball of tension. Anxiety is evident in her gaze, and I know I am capable of undoing every knot she’s holding onto. I want to watch her unravel. To fall apart at the seams. Then, as I slowly wind her strand by perfect strand around my finger, she’ll be in my bed soon. She’s a siren, luring me to my death, but I’m not letting her get away so easily without having her sing for me.
Chapter 5
Elisabet
As soon as I step out of Rome’s office, I feel flustered. He wangled his way into my evening, asking me to join him for dinner. Even though he says it’s purely business, I have a feeling a man like him doesn’t keep things strictly business. Stalking my way to the exit, my mind is adrift with images of what dinner entails.
This is something I can’t allow to happen. Business and pleasure do not go hand in hand. In fact, they’re the opposite. And I need to keep them separate. Slipping into the driver’s seat of my car, I start the engine while remembering how he smiled. The way his eyes danced with amusement. And the way his hands, those beautifully manicured hands, gripped the pen as he signed the contract for us to go into business together. For me to be his client. I’m not sure why he wanted that, but when I read through it, it all seemed legit, so I signed.
I’m not officially a client of Donovan International. I know he has properties for sale across the country, as well as in Europe. Perhaps one day, if I decide to extend my business, he can help.
When I pull into the parking lot of the hotel, I can’t believe where the day has gone. Granted, I’ve been to see five suppliers and picked out furniture for the new restaurant. My mind is still on Rome. For some reason, the man has weaseled his way in, and I can’t get him out.