Testing The Boss(22)
He appeared taken aback. “You don’t like me because I’m rich?”
“Kind of...”
“You like Michael,” he pointed out.
“Michael is a likable guy!”
“What the hell?”
She sighed. Evelyn knew more than most just how ridiculous it was. But from the second she met Luke, she’d been completely on edge. “Michael was kind of backed into a corner. I ambushed him and offered to help with Emma. I never really felt like I had the upper hand with you.” He started to say something, but she cut him off. “And don’t act all high and mighty. You hate me just as much as I hate you.”
“Hated,” he clarified. “Past tense. And how was I supposed to act when the hostility was radiating off you in waves?”
“Please. I know exactly what was wrong. You hate not being in control.”
He scoffed. “I’m not a control freak.”
“What? You are the textbook definition of a control freak. Why else would Michael be VP of IT instead co-CEO?”
He inched closer. “Michael has a master’s in computer technology and a list of certifications longer than my arm.”
She tilted her head back to glare at him as he got closer. “He also doesn’t have the issues letting go that you do.”
He pointed a finger at her. “I’m not the one wound up so tight that the second I touched you, you practically molested me on your bed.”
Evelyn gasped. “You son of a bitch. It’s not like you were the master of restraint on Tuesday!”
“That’s because I don’t find something I want and then immediately ban myself from having it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“That means that the second you saw me, you wanted me, and from that moment, I was enemy number one to you. But I don’t keep myself from things I crave. I make sure I get what I want.”
Luke stood much too close to her to continue this conversation. She pushed away from the table to go around, but his hand shot out to grab her arm. She flinched at the suddenness of the contact but didn’t pull away. “You’d better remove that hand before I remove it for you,” she warned.
He leaned in close and whispered into her ear, “Is that your way of saying you don’t want me to?”
She turned to meet his gaze. “That’s my way of telling you to get the fuck out of my apartment.”
He didn’t budge. “Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll leave you alone.”
“That’s what this is about? Your ego decided it needed a boost?”
“I admitted I want you. I’m fine with stroking your ego,” he murmured. “And any other part of your body that feels neglected.” He released his grip on her arm and ran his hand down her forearm until it rested against the back of her hand. Not holding it. Just touching.
Her breath caught at the skin-to-skin contact as she tried to keep her face expressionless. “There’s no part of me that wants to be stroked by you.”
Luke leaned in and brushed his lips against the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck. Evelyn’s already pounding heart beat a frantic rhythm in her chest. Okay, maybe she was lying a little bit. But she had reasons! She pulled her neck away from him and caught his gaze again. “So what? You want to go on my bed right now and screw?”
“Well...”
“Because you’re going to meet one of the few people who can testify and bring down an entire ring of white-collar criminals who have stolen thousands of innocent employees’ pensions. So I’d rather get ready for that instead of indulging in whatever fleeting attraction I’m feeling for you.”
His lips tightened, and she could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. “So if I get Brian to say something incriminating tonight, will you feel like celebrating?”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“Oh no. I’ll be trying to get Longineu to say something to trip him up no matter what. But once I get him, once we get the Thirteen Stars, you won’t be my handler anymore. And after that, I won’t be your asset. So if we both get what we want, would you be open to celebrating with me?”
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly why that was a terrible idea, but for some reason she couldn’t think of one reason. Damn it, he was right. She did want him, and once they weren’t working together anymore, why not? It had been over a year since she’d been with any man, and she might as well break the streak with Luke Devereaux, who was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.
“I wouldn’t mind sharing a glass of wine or two once some arrests have been made,” she said carefully.