At Any Price(8)

Shit. It was at that precise moment that I realized I was in trouble.

Drake never took his eyes off of mine, not until he came to a stop just opposite the conference table. He moved like a cat—a sleek predator.

Heath leaned forward, offering his hand and Drake finally looked away to shake hands with him, an arrogant smile on his lips. “Good to see you again, Bowman,” he said with a clear, deep voice that only made my heart race faster.

His voice was a caress—a gentle but firm hand that skimmed down my bared spine to settle in a tight fist just at the base. Every sense came alive and my awareness of everything around me heightened. Elevated respiration. Increased perceived body heat. Speedy pulse. Classic signs of sexual arousal.

I almost fell off my heels in shock over the strength of it. Was this me? Me? Who’d wondered for at least a year if I might be a lesbian because I didn’t find any men I met attractive?

His gaze flicked back to me as Heath laid a hand on my shoulder. “This is our semi-famous blogger, Girl Geek.”

Drake’s chin tilted in a fetching way as he seemed to be studying me. I bit my lip, every nerve pulling taut. It was amazing how the body’s response to arousal and fear were so very similar. And at that point, I’d have been hard put to discern the difference.

Drake waved a hand to my seat while he took his. I sank slowly into mine, the leather sticking to the backs of my sweaty knees. I looked at the man flanking him for the very first time, suddenly realizing I hadn’t even spared a thought or a glance for him before this. He was older, balding, with a middle paunch and appeared in his midfifties. He carried a briefcase and appeared to be a lawyer. When I looked back at Drake, I almost jumped at the intensity of his gaze. His eyes shot points right through me, like icy darts. My eyes held his but I swallowed what felt like a watermelon in my throat and tried to ignore the pulse bumping at my temple.

Heath began riffling through a stack of papers on the table before him and Drake looked away from me to follow what Heath was doing. By coincidence, I’m sure, I finally remembered to take a breath at that exact same moment.

Heath pulled out the paper he was looking for and Drake turned back to me. “So do I call you Girl Geek or do I get to know your name?”

I cleared my throat and refolded my hands in my lap. “My name is Mia.”

His eyebrows rose. “Mia?”

I fought the urge to fidget, tightening my hands on top of my bare knees. He looked down, as if watching my hands through the glass table. “Emilia. But everyone calls me Mia.”

A small smile danced on his lips when he looked up again and met my gaze. “I’m not everyone.” His eyes traveled down to my conservative neckline—but no lower, to his credit—and back. “Emilia.”

My fists clenched. Was he deliberately trying to provoke me with this arrogant attitude? Because if it was unintentional, then this was a really bad sign.

Drake cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Heath’s stack of papers. “So let’s go over the particulars of the contract. Is this just about the penetration of one organ by another or are there specifics laid out? What about touching, kissing? How many times? What about kink?”

My jaw dropped. I couldn’t help it. I scrutinized him and he seemed to detect my study even though he was looking at Heath. His sensual mouth tugged up at the corners. That’s when I realized that this was deliberate. Was it an act?

I turned to Heath, who appeared to be barely able to contain his laughter. He looked at Drake with a strange expression. “That’s a lot to cover. And this is a strange venue to do it.”

Drake shrugged and his eyes flicked back to me. “How about we just start with deal breakers, then?”

I exchanged a glance with Heath, who nodded and turned back to Drake. “I know of one that we can discuss right now. There will be no fellatio.”

Drake leaned forward. “Excuse me?”

I folded my arms tightly against my chest, already burning with resentment. “You heard him correctly. No cocksucking.” Yeah, I said it. If he could be deliberately provocative, then why couldn’t I?

His black eyes darted to mine, mildly amused, still insufferably brash. “Are you on birth control?” he asked abruptly. I blinked. He was definitely one-upping me in the obnoxious department.

Drake’s lawyer jerked a surprised look at him, frowning, clearly surprised by the abrupt behavior. Well, at least that was a sign that this sort of thing was unusual from Drake. Still didn’t excuse him, though. “All of that is delineated in the paperwork for the terms of the auction, Mr. Drake. Yes, I’ll be using birth control but there will also be condoms—”