Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, “I like that you’re protective and possessive. Frankly, it turns me on. A lot. My panties right now…totally soaked. And when you go all badass because you’re worried about me, it turns me on even more.”
His body stilled and he stared at her, riveted, save for his rasping breaths.
Well, at least now she had his attention.
“But this is my case. My client. My business. There is no ‘move on’. There is no ‘shut you down’. There is no ‘you’re done’. I’ll do the best damn job I can for her, same as I do for other clients, and…you…will not…interfere.” She punctuated her last four words with pokes to James’s chest—old-lady style.
James caught her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles. The gentle, tender gesture took the wind out of her sails and stole the breath from her lungs.
“Stop that,” she whispered, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
“No one has ever riled me up the way you do,” he growled. “You are headstrong, stubborn, wild, relentlessly determined and too smart for your own damn good. You’re hard on my patience. Hard on my mind. Hard on my heart. But you’re so damn soft inside. You see to the heart of people. Accept them for who they are. You light up a room the minute you walk in the door. And you are so beautiful, so fucking sexy I can’t get you out of my mind.”
She looked up into eyes as dark as the stormy sea and breathed out a confused “oh.”
James chuckled. “I’m saying I’m sorry, babe. I’m saying you’re right. I won’t interfere with your work, but I also won’t sit around if I think you’re in a dangerous situation. Something happens that makes me worry for your safety, I’m pulling you out. Kicking and screaming if I have to.”
Her heart swelled and her lips curled into a smile. An apology and a concession. Maybe they could work after all. “I’m okay with that...I think.”
“Good. Now pack up. We’re going on a date.” He spun her around and slapped her ass. “Get your stuff.”
Lana glared over her shoulder. “Despite all your sweet words, I’m not really feeling the love for your bossy, controlling, ass-slapping self. I think you’ve been with those bikers too long. Or maybe you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. I don’t like being ordered around.”
His eyes flashed with sensual fire. “Yes you do.”
She turned to face him, the beat of desire pulsing through her veins. “No I don’t.”
His hand curled around her neck and he slanted his mouth over hers. She instantly opened for him and their tongues met in a deep, wet thrust. He fisted her hair, holding her in place, taking complete control of her mouth. Passion and arousal blazed between them. A whimper escaped her lips.
“You do,” he whispered, his breath hot and moist against her ear.
She melted against him. “Maybe…sometimes…in the bedroom.”
“And in the office.” With one sweep of his arm, he cleared her desk, scattering files, papers, pens and coffee cups to the floor. Then he cupped her ass and lifted her, laying her full out across the cool wood surface. Good thing she’d ordered the larger size desk.
“Is this just sex?”
He licked his lips as he studied her body, a predator ready to feast.
“Definitely not.” He shoved her T-shirt and bra over her breasts, baring her for his viewing pleasure. Lana shivered as the cool air brushed over her skin.
“What if someone comes in?”
“I’ll kill them.” His deadpan delivery made her laugh, but the speed with which he stripped off her clothes took her breath away.
“So romantic,” she murmured. “I’ve always wanted to hear a man say ‘I’ll kill anyone who interrupts me while I’m fucking you on your desk’.”
“Well then, it’s your lucky day.” He leaned down and drew her nipple into his mouth. Lana gasped and arched toward him.
“It certainly is.”
“So this is your idea of a date?”
Lana picked up her DSLR and attached the 300-to-500 mm lens, perfect for the dim light at Jericho Beach.
James grunted. “I thought you’d appreciate the opportunity to get the pictures you need for your case in a romantic location.” He waved his arm expansively toward the windshield. “Moonlit night. Mountain and ocean views. Sand and surf. Warm summer breeze. Crisp ocean air. Rusted-out, fucking dangerous bucket of bolts…”
She chose to ignore his insulting her Jetta. “If Rex hadn’t replaced you with Bones at the last minute on this deal, you wouldn’t even have thought about taking me to the beach. We’d probably still be in my office.”