Maggie makes a face. The only reason she’s lasted as my assistant is that she loves pussy nearly as much as me. She even shared a couple of girls -- until she realized that once they get a taste of my dick, her toys won’t ever compare.
We might give each other a hard time, but we keep each other honest.
“One of these days, a girl’s going to turn you down,” she says. “And I’ll be right here, laughing my head off.”
“Keep dreaming.” I slap her on the ass as I head out the door. “Never gonna happen!”
FIVE
KEELY
“And that’s when I told him he could run off back home to his wife. Keely? Hello, earth to Keely?” Justine’s voice breaks through my daze.
“What?” I blink, my cheeks flushed. We’re in her office, going over some case research I’ve been doing for her -- which is really just an excuse for her to bitch about her latest romantic dramas.
“Nothing. Are you OK?” She frowns at me. “You look kind of red.”
“No. I’m fine!” I scramble to pull myself together. Ever since running into that drop-dead sexy guy in the juice bar, I’ve been zoning out, daydreaming about his devilish blue eyes and those strong, muscular arms wrapped out me...
I can’t help myself. Even though I should be disgusted by the way he spoke to me, the memory of his outrageous comment sends a shiver down my spine -- and to other, more private places. It’s been so long since I felt anything at all, it’s a strange relief that he can get under my skin like this. And the way he looked at me... It was like a wolf eying a doe. One he was about to devour whole.
I wanted to be that feast.
But still, I couldn’t help but feel a tremor of unease, a dark edge to the mystery. Who was he? And how could he know my name? We’d never met before, I was sure about that.
A man like him, you didn’t forget.
“You are seriously zoned out today,” Justine’s voice comes again.
“I’m just tired,” I lie, looking back at the papers on her desk. “I’ve been working late all week prepping the Montgomery file for Carter.”
“That jackass.” Justine curls her lip. “You should--”
“I know, I know, I should stand up to him more,” I cut her off. Then I catch sight of the clock above her desk. “Shit, I’ve got to go. There’s a new client meeting he wants me to sit in on.”
“You want to grab drinks tonight?” she asks as I head out the door. “Sports night at McLarens. Hot jocks as far as the eye can see!”
“Maybe!”
I hurry down the hall towards Carter’s office. Justine is always trying to drag me out on the town with her. She says it’s easier to pick up guys in a pair: they always travel with wing-men too. But the bar scene has never been my thing, especially in LA. Guys here always talk to you with one eye on the door, like they’re waiting for someone hotter to walk in. I like to think I’m pretty enough with my long, wavy brown hair and wide blue eyes, but compared to the stacked blonde starlets and models strolling down the street in LA, there’s no competition.
The guy from the juice store probably dates girls like that: nineteen-year-old swimsuit models who can’t string a sentence together but who have legs up to their ears.
“We meet again.”
I stop dead, staring in shock. For a moment, I wonder if I’ve lost my mind completely and have conjured him up out of my imagination. But no, the gorgeous man from the store is sitting in Carter’s empty office, watching me with a smile.
“Do you want to come in?” he asks, looking amused.
“Uh, sure,” I stutter, quickly darting into the room. My heart races being near him again. He’s all I’ve thought about for the last twenty-four hours, and now I can’t resist sneaking a look to drink him in again.
God, he looks good. He’s wearing another smart suit, a crisp white shirt open at his neck, contrasting with the deep gold of his tan. There’s bronzed stubble along his jaw, and his blonde hair is ruffled out of place -- contrasting his impeccable attire.
A man of contradictions: smooth and rough all at once. A man who likes control -- and wouldn’t be gentle about it.
“I didn’t introduce myself,” the stranger says, his voice a low, sexy drawl. “I’m Vaughn.”
“Keely.” I feel my cheeks burn. He casually unfolds himself from his chair and crosses the room in two short strides, hand outstretched.
I have no choice but to take it. His large fingers close around mine, warm and rough to the touch. I feel a shock as our hands meet, and look up to find his blue eyes staring intently into mine.