Oh boy, this is not good. Sooo not good!
“Why didn’t you tell him about the e-mails?” she asked in a low voice, conscious of the covert stares of the rest of the magazine staff.
“Come with me.”
“Uh, that’s not what I asked. I asked—”
“I said private, Marisa.” Luke’s focused gaze burned into hers, making her forget what the hell she’d been meaning to say. “There’s no need to mention the e-mails. I’ll return this item to you and then as far as I’m concerned the matter is closed.”
Closed. Yeah, she could do with this matter being closed. Extremely closed.
“Fine.” She got up from her desk. “This way.”
She headed out into the Total Tech reception then down the short corridor that led to the stationery supply room and the office bathrooms. Stopping around the corner from the reception area so they were out of view, she turned.
“My underwear, I presume?” she inquired.
Luke said nothing, merely put out his hand and uncurled his fingers. And sure enough, there were her panties sitting dead center of his palm.
“What a gentleman.” Reaching out, she grabbed the material from him, and though she tried to prevent it, her fingers brushed his palm. More sparks, a fiery wash of them up her arm, a sensual heat that had her pulling her hand back as though he was a fire she’d accidentally burned herself on.
Fighting the rush of adrenaline, she pulled on her usual cool, sexy front, forcing herself to meet his eyes. They burned silver, like a magnesium flare. “T-thank you,”’ she said, unable to prevent the tiny stutter.
Luke said nothing. Just stared at her
Sexual tension built, stoked by their earlier kiss, flickering between them.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said abruptly, his voice hoarse. “I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. Or the way you felt in my arms as we danced. Or your ridiculous underwear. You’ve just ruined my meeting and now I can’t concentrate. And I have to concentrate or else nothing works. I need you gone from my head, Marisa Clair. I need you gone now.”
Marisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She stood there like a silly teenage girl gaping at a film star. Because all she could think about was how close the stationery supply room was and how no one hardly ever went in it. How she could grab his tie, pull him inside, deal with the craving that was driving them both insane…
Fantastic. She was thinking about doing her freaking boss in the supply room.
Could her life be any more of a cliché?
Chapter Four
“Well?” Luke demanded. “What have you got to say for yourself?”
Stupid, stupid man. Did he think he was the only one thoroughly pissed off by this attraction? Oh no, he wasn’t. “I don’t like this any more than you do, believe me.”
Luke took a step toward her and suddenly the wall was hard at her back, the Cyborg CEO inches away from her front.
Except he wasn’t much like a cyborg now. His eyes were molten and he was staring at her as if he wanted to eat her alive. Men looked at her all the time, but she could always stare down the ones she didn’t want, frightening them off.
But not Luke. He held her gaze. Met it. Matched it.
He put one hand on the wall beside her head. Then the other. Caging her in.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Holy freaking hotness, Batman.
“We need to do something about it.” His voice was rough, and man, she loved the sound. “We need to get this out of the way.”
She couldn’t stop staring at his mouth, at the full shape of his lower lip. At the way it hinted at softness in a man who was hard all over. It was biteable. Lickable. What would he do if she licked him? Would he get more starchy? God, she could still taste his kiss.
“Yeah,” she muttered thickly. “You’re not wrong about that.”
She could feel the warmth coming from him, could smell the fresh, clean scent of his aftershave. It was almost like the ocean, different from the spicy, somewhat overwhelming scents of the men she was used to. Like a splash of cold water on burning skin.
“But doing something about it would be against the rules,” he said, not moving an inch.
There was an ache between her thighs. What a time to be reminded that she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
Ah, screw the rules. Because cliché or not, there was only one option with chemistry this intense. Only one way to control it. And it did not involve obeying any freaking rules.
“Haven’t you heard that rules are made to be broken?” she said softly.
Luke kept right on staring at her. “No. Rules keep everything running smoothly and without complications.”