Mitch rubbed his thumb against the side of his jawline, his eyes not revealing any of his thoughts. Then he started smiling. It was a slow smile and the presenters obviously thought they’d won Mitch over. But Adriana instinctively knew exactly what he was about to say.
Mitch stood up, shook the lead presenter’s hand, then each of the others, and walked out of the conference room.
“Mitch?” one of his vice presidents called out, trying to get his boss to slow down. “Aren’t you going to even consider this guy’s proposal?”
Mitch turned around and shook his head. “Their numbers are a complete fabrication.” Turning to Adriana, he said, “Summarize all of the data you sent to me, confirm each number, then send it out to everyone on my team who was in that meeting. I don’t want any of them contemplating doing business with that company.” Turning to the vice president he said, “I want you to contact JuniperGroup and tell them we’re a go for the trucks and half of the order on the ships. Demand a ten percent discount and I want the entire order filled within six months, not one year.”
The vice president was stunned by the order. “But that will completely undercut the services to…” he weakly waved his hand towards the strangers who were standing to the side, looking stunned and more than a little pale.
“Once you read Adriana’s summary, you’ll understand.” He turned to Adriana. “They’ll need that data by tomorrow at the latest.”
Adriana nodded her head quickly and moved down the hallway to her office. She couldn’t believe how pumped up she was to be tasked with such an enormous responsibility. And to have so much insight into the workings of a company? Good grief, this was experience she couldn’t get any other way!
For the rest of the afternoon, she worked hard on the report, so excited she forgot to take a break for dinner. A sandwich was delivered to her desk around eight o’clock that evening, but she only took the time to eat half of it, wanting to keep digging into the report she was building.
By midnight, she had it all compiled, the information triple checked and graphs, charts and explanations all built up and color coded for easy reference. When she printed out the lastspreadsheet, she looked at the information with a sense of accomplishment and pride that was unparalleled.
“Feeling pleased with yourself, eh?” a deep voice said from her doorway.
Adriana jerked upright and stared at the tall, handsome man. “What are you still doing here, sir?”
He stepped into her office and picked up the report, his fingers flipping through the pages, stopping occasionally to read one or two of the points she’d discovered. “This is good,” he said and tossed it back onto her desk. “You were listening over the past few days.”
Adriana’s eyes widened. That last report! The one she’d gotten so angry with him about? She glanced down at her new report and almost laughed at how much of the analysis he’d taught her that day was included in this report. “Yes, I guess I was,” she said with a laugh.
“Smart and beautiful,” he mumbled. “Good combination.”
Those words caused the breath to be trapped in her throat. Goodness, he knew how to throw a curve ball! “Um…I don’t think…”
He leaned over her desk, his palms flat on the surface while those crystal blue eyes looked into her brown ones with heat and desire. “Adriana, you know we’re going to be lovers, right?”
Now she couldn’t breathe at all! “What did you say?” she whispered, afraid she’d misheard his statement.
He smiled slightly, his eyes moving over her features slowly. “Lovers. We’re going to be lovers. When are you going to accept this?”
She shook her head. “We’re not.” She stared at him, feeling that heat steal through her body once more. Then those crazy feelings she’d experienced when he’d kissed her earlier today came rushing back and she felt her breathing start to increase, her eyes moved down to those firm lips.
He moved to sit on the corner of her desk, looking down at her with those fascinating blue eyes. “Why does the idea terrify you so much?” he asked, picking up a paperweight that her mother had given her a long time ago, dropping it back and forth in his hands.
She shook her head. “I don’t even like you, sir.”
He laughed, a deep, vibrant sound that thrilled her right down to her stomach. “Oh, you like me. At least in the ways that matter.”
She shook her head but he wasn’t finished. “I see that you need additional evidence for my argument.” He placed the paperweight back onto her desk and stood up. With surprising swiftness, he was around her desk and pulling her out of her chair, right into his arms. Adriana barely had time to gasp before his mouth was covering hers, his body pressing against hers and she loved the contact. Her body instantly came alert to everything “Mitch”.
He was hard against her softness and she arched her body instinctively, trying to feel more of him, to appease the ache that had fired promptly to life in her body at the first contact. Her mind stopped trying to figure things out as the kiss became more powerful. She held onto his shoulders, her whole body shivering from reaction and need as his hands slid up her back, then down again, cupping her bottom, pressing her hips against his.
Her body shuddered even as she pressed herself closer, wanting to feel more of him. She almost moaned when his hands moved higher, sliding around her waist to rest just underneath her breasts. When they didn’t move higher, she shuddered, her hands forming fists with his shirt. She opened her mouth to beg him to move his fingers higher, but the words wouldn’t come out. The only sound she was able to make was a slight whimper as her body tried to understand what was happening.
“Why are you doing this?” she gasped, but her body still pressed against his in invitation, still trembled with anticipation and those fingers were close, so painfully close but they didn’t move. Unfortunately, Adriana wasn’t experienced or confident enough about her sexuality to tell him what she wanted. This was all so new to her. She wasn’t sure what had come over her, all she knew was that he couldn’t stop. She didn’t want him to stop. But she didn’t know how to tell him to continue.
Come home with me,” he urged with his rough, raw voice.
Adriana opened her eyes and tried to focus but he was blurry. Blinking rapidly, she moved against him and shuddered as the pain of her need ripped through her in a blaze of heat. “Why?” she asked. She didn’t want to go anywhere. She just wanted his hands, those long, strong fingers, to move slightly…higher.
Mitch could feel the trembling in her body. He sensed that her need was just as strong as his at this moment but there was also something else, something he didn’t understand. At the moment, he couldn’t figure it out because she was so responsive, so amazingly alive in his arms and it was muddling his mind, leaving him unable to figure out that small mystery.
He groaned when she shifted, her soft breasts rubbing against his chest and her slender hips pressing against his erection. “Because we can’t finish this here,” he ground out roughly even as his fingers moved higher, his hand cupping her perfect breast.
When his thumb rubbed gently against her hard nipple, he swore under his breath. They were on fire for each other but this was not the place to explore this amazing chemistry. “Get your purse and come back with me,” he commanded, pulling his hands reluctantly away from those soft, full breasts. He stepped out of her arms and she leaned weakly back against the desk behind her. He grabbed her purse and handed it to her, then took her hand in his, about to pull her out of her office.
Now that he wasn’t touching her, reality was slowly coming back. Pulling on the hand that was trying to drag her out of the small office, the trembling she had been experiencing changed. It was still just as strong, but instead of the desperate, aching need, she was trembling with fear. Mitch was a very large man! And way out of her realm of experience. He was trying to get her to leave? To come home with him? What had just happened?
She looked around, realizing they were still in her office and it was late at night. The cleaning crew had already come and gone, her mind was sifting through the details of the day and coming up with a result that scared the bejeezus out of her! Go home with Mitch? Impossible! She couldn’t handle him! She was totally out of her league!
“We can’t leave,” she whispered, her eyes wide as she suddenly realized what was happening. “Not together.”
“Yes we can,” he said, coming back to her. His hands gripped her hips while her fingers fluttered against his chest. Hell, he even liked that touch, he thought, wondering if he was losing his mind. Why could this woman’s touch drive him so crazy? Just the slightest touch or even a look, caused his body to respond and it was driving him nuts! He thought of her glazed eyes this morning during the meetingand he almost growled with the need to possess her, to put his stamp of ownership on her. Even that was a crazy thought because he didn’t want to own anyone. He preferred his freedom, his single status. He’d guarded his freedom for so many years and had become an expert at avoiding any kind of commitment but he wanted this woman. He wanted her exclusively and he wasn’t sure why but he knew it was imperative. She was becoming asessential as breathing to him.
“I’m not leaving with you,” she whispered as firmly as she could under the circumstances while gritting her teeth to keep herself from giving in and just following what her body was begging her to do. She wanted this man like no one else she’d ever met. Men came and went in her life. She’d been around men since she’d been small, with all of her brothers and even her father, seeming to be taller than anyone else and bigger than life. Was that why Mitch had gotten under her skin so much? Had she been secretly trying to find someone that met her standards? A man who was strong enough and powerful enough?
“I have to go,” she whispered, curling her fingers into small fists so she wouldn’t reach out and touch him again. She wanted so desperately to touch his chest, to feel those muscles underneath his shirt and discover what he felt like. And taste? Yes, she wanted to taste him, to feel his skin with her mouth and the thought was so embarrassing, her reaction so different from all the other men she’d ever encountered, she was disgusted with herself.
With shaking fingers, she turned away from him and gathered up the papers she’d been working on all afternoon and night. “The reports are finished. I’ll e-mail you a copy as well as all the people who were in the meeting.” With that, she rushed out of her office. She didn’t even wait for the elevator, too afraid that Mitch would follow her and she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t throw herself into his arms and beg him to make love to her.
She was crazy, right? She dated nice guys. Sheliked guys who weren’t so big and tall, men who didn’t try to intimidate her. Her brothers were big brutes, tall and muscular and always teasing her, driving her absolutely nuts with all of their stunts. And they’d driven away her boyfriend’s whenever things started to get interesting. Just a kiss witnessed by any of her brothers was a reason for them to torment that guy. And with four males against one, it was never a fair fight. Her boyfriends always became just acquaintances after their hellish experiences with her brothers.
Unfortunately, none of the men she’d dated had done anything to turn her on either. Not like Mitch could do with just a look or when he took her into his arms and kissed her. Every kiss she’d experienced before today had left her smiling, but not shivering. She’d always thought the kisses of her boyfriends were nice. Mitch’s kisses were not nice. They were the complete opposite of nice! They were naughty and erotic and…goodness, she wanted him to kiss her again!
She clutched her purse against her chest, racing down the stairs. It was a long walk and her feet ached. One didn’t run down all those flights of stairs without consequences, she thought as she pressed the unlock button on her small hatchback.
When she let herself into her apartment, she tossed her purse and her keys onto the counter, then tore off her clothes, letting them fall onto the floor as she raced into her bathroom. She stepped into the shower, praying that the cold water would stop the crazy thoughts still running through her mind and ease the intense ache that had formed in her belly.
Unfortunately, all it did was make her cold. She shut off the water and grabbed a towel, shivering as she curled up onto her bed, wishing she’d never met Mitch Powell.
Chapter 3
After their midnight encounter, Adriana had considered calling in sick. But when she opened her eyes the following morning, two thingsoccurred to her. First of all, she couldn’t call in sick because then Mitch would know that she was terrified of him. Or even worse, terrified of what he could make her feel when he was touching her or kissing her. No, she definitely didn’t want him to know something like that.
But a second thought occurred to her. She was actually excited to see him! As she held the phone in her hand, prepared to call in sick, she felt…less alive.
How crazy was that? She was afraid of the man, but still wanted to see him? Was she just trying to torture herself?
What had changed? Two days ago, she’d truly disliked him. She’d resented his presence and his commands, his obnoxious orders to change a report or dig deeper into her analysis. So why was she now racing to get into the shower and get ready? She stood under the warm water, trying to figure things out, but her feelings and emotions were just too confusing.
Standing in front of her closet, her hair wet and a towel wrapped around her, she contemplated what she should wear today. She shifted the multipleblack, navy and grey suits out of the way, her fingers restless as she tried to decide what might interest her. She pulled out a soft, yellow suit her mother had given her last summer. The cut was excellent with the jacket forming an intricate twist at her waist. And the soft, happy color would boost her confidence. Her mother and father were constantly sending her clothes or little things to help her career. She’d refused a job in one of her father’s companies as well as her older brother, Dylan’s latest venture. But that didn’t mean they didn’t keep tabs on her and send her things to make her life easier.
Adriana smiled as she laid the suit on her bed. Yes, this suit would look nice with her blond hair and that pretty lipstick she’d found last week. She almost danced to her dresser and pulled out a pair of stockings, sliding them up her legs and attaching them to her garter. Her brothers would flip if they knew the naughty underwear she wore. But she didn’t care. The pretty slips of nothings were her own purchases and she loved the way they made her feel.
She dried her hair and put on makeup, all with an eye to looking attractive for Mitch today. Why she was doing that, she didn’t think about. But she loved the way the pink lipstick softened her skin color but still brought a bit more color to her cheeks.
Grabbing a cup of coffee, she was just about to rush out the door when Mitch’s words from the previous day came back to her. Hurrying back to her kitchen, she grabbed a banana off of the counter for breakfast. She was just about to hurry out again when she went back in and, with a sigh, stuffed an apple into her purse. It wasn’t much, but with the way her stomach was flipping around with butterflies, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to eat much today.
Adriana walked into her office and came to a screeching halt. “What’s going on?” she demanded when she saw four guys with grey uniforms in her office. They were disconnecting her computer and packing away all of her files. “Why are you…?”
“We got word from the big guy that you’re to move down the hallway to a new office, ma’am,” one of the men said, handing her a piece of paper.
Adriana looked down at it and her heart almost stopped, then picked up so fast that she thought she might just pass out. Mitch was moving her from this tiny office to the one right next to his?! She’d be right next to him all day? Impossible! She needed her office to be as far away from his as possible. She needed space to recover from each of their encounters!
“Wait!” she said, putting out a hand to stop them. “When did you receive this? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want this to happen,” she told them, thinking of last night and how she’d raced out of here.
“The order came in around five o’clock this morning ma’am. It was given a red flag priority so we all came in early. It isn’t often that the big guy gives us an order directly.”
Her hand started shaking as she stared down at the paper. Five o’clock this morning? What had he been doing up that early?
She shook her head. It wasn’t any of her business what he was doing. She followed the men down the hallway nervously, her eyes darting around to the left and right, eager to get her first look at the man in question. She wasn’t sure what her reaction might be. She’d been so excited this morning, spending extra time on her appearance just so she could look pretty today.
But would he be angry? It suddenly occurred to her that this move might be a punishment. Oh good grief, she thought with rising anger. And then she stomped that emotion down. She wasn’t going there. She had a job to do and she was a darn good analyst. She had a lot of work to do, she told herself firmly. Because she’d sat in on several meetings yesterday as well as all the time it had taken to pull that report together last night, she was now behind on her usual work load. She had personnel reports to figure out, financial data to compile, and the marketing trends were coming due next week. She didn’t have time to worry about Mitch and his reaction to her pretty, yellow suit.
By ten o’clock in the morning, the tension of waiting to see when he would arrive had gotten to her. She was on her third cup of coffee and feeling ridiculous. Slipping her jacket off, she hooked it onto the back of her chair, pulled her hair up off of her neck with a pencil holding it in place and focused only on her reports. She had work do to, she reprimanded herself. Better get to it and stop waiting for Mitch to make an appearance!
Her phone rang and she glanced at it nervously. But when she saw the number on her screen, she smiled. “Hi Dylan. What’s up? Still in France this week?” she asked. Dylan built homes and communities all over the country and often flew to other countries to consult on how to create new neighborhoods from abandoned buildings and areas of cities that had been overwhelmed with crime. After her dad, Dylan was her hero.
“You haven’t been home much lately,” his brotherly voice said through the phone. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to.”
Adriana leaned back in her chair, deciding to push his buttons just a bit. “I’ve been hanging out at bars, getting sloppy drunk and going home with whatever guy will take me.”
She heard the growl moments before he said, “Adriana, are you okay?”
She loved that he was so protective. “I’m fine,” she laughed. “Just working a lot.”
“You’re not dating anyone? There are lots of men in the city. I’m sure you could find a nice guy.”
A very large, very sexy and obnoxious man popped into her mind. “Yes well, um…”
Unfortunately, Dylan picked up on her hesitationimmediately. “You’re seeing someone. Who is he+
driana swallowed quickly. “I’m not seeing anyone, Dylan.”
There was silence for a moment, then he came back. “Yes you are. Who is he? Just give me his name and I’ll check him out for you.”
Adriana laughed, shaking her head but he couldn’t see that. “No way would I tell you who I am seeing, big bro. I remember all the horrible things you did to my boyfriends in high school. You’re not going to pull your pranks on…” She stopped before she told him Mitch’s name.
She heard the smile and triumph in his voice as he said, “So you are seeing someone.”
Adriana cringed. “How do you do that to me every time?” she demanded, laughing because he was so far away and she felt safe enough from his torment. Her father was pretty good at tricking information out of all of them. Dylan had learned from the best. “But no. I can honestly say that I am not dating anyone.” What she was doing with Mitch could never be considered dating, she told herself. What it was, she couldn’t really define, but she would never put the “dating” label on their interactions.
In typical big brother fashion, Dylan wasn’t dropping the issue. “But there is someone you’re interested in.”
She laughed again, her mood lightening significantly. “Dylan, you’re a great brother, but butt out of my love life, as pathetic as it is.”
“Tell me his name, Adriana. I’ll just do abackground check on him, make sure that he’s not some serial killer or psychopath.”
“No. You’re going to stay out of it,” she replied firmly, determined to live her own life free of her family’s interference.
“Is he a good guy? Where did you meet him?”
“I’m not giving you any details. The last time you wheedled information out of me, you had the police come to the guy’s apartment and search it.”
“Yeah, and the police found marijuana and cocaine in his dresser drawer too.”
She sighed, giving him a point there. “It doesn’t matter. I wasn’t serious about the guy then.”
“So you’re serious about this guy?”
Adriana cringed, irritated that she’d let something like that slip. “None of your business. Where are you anyway?”
“I’m in Germany, not France. So you met him at work. Where did he go to school?”
She laughed again. “Dylan, I didn’t say that I’d met him at work. You did. So why don’t you run acriminal background check on everyone who works here. If anyone comes up dirty, just give me their name and I’ll let you know if that’s the guy that,” she paused, trying to figure out her next words carefully, “that I’m flirting with.” Was that a safe description? Probably not. Mitch would probably be pretty irritated by that description.
She glanced out her office door. He wasn’t here today and she had no idea where he was so it didn’t matter if he was irritated or not. She was irritated by his absence and his silence so perhaps they were even.
“You shouldn’t be flirting with anyone. You should be focusing on your career.”
“Right. Like you spent the weekend alone?” she taunted, knowing that all of her brothers were hypocrites when it came to her love life. All of them had ladies on their arms, and most likely in their beds, constantly. Dylan was the worst but that was only because he had more money now. Although her other three brothers were just as bad, their charm and intelligence reeling in the ladies too easily.
“That’s beside the point,” he said.
“How is your love life any different from mine? Why do you get to run a background check on my love life while you charm your way into ladies beds with impunity?”
“You’re different,” he asserted in his typical, hypocritical, brotherly fashion.
“I’m only different because I’m female. You don’t interrogate Davis’ girlfriends or Antonio’s lady loves.”
“Exactly. You have a soft heart and you trust men too easily. You’re going to get hurt.”
She thought of Mitch and the fire between them. Dylan might not know it, but he probably had a point. She might get burned pretty badly with Mitch, but she couldn’t seem to move away from the fire. “Dylan, you’re a sweet brother with your double standard, but I’m still not giving you any information on any of the twenty or so men I’m sleeping with.”
She heard someone in the background say, “We’re ready for you,” and Adriana sighed with relief. She loved her brothers dearly, but when they started interfering in her life, she had to put her foot down. “Look, you’re in the middle of something. I’ll let you know the next time I’m heading home to Virginia to visit Mom and Dad and we can race across the fields on our horses, okay?” she offered, referring to riding the horses her mother kept at the stable for each of them.
“Deal, but you’re going to tell me more about this guy, Adriana. I’m serious about you not getting hurt.”
She smiled, feeling loved. “Thanks big bro! I love you too.”
She heard a grunt in the background which was Dylan-speak for “I love you.”
For the rest of the day, she focused on her reports. Every time she thought of Mitch or wondered where he was, she pushed that thought aside without mercy and focused more intently on her reports.
A sandwich was once again delivered to her desk at one o’clock in the afternoon and she wondered where it had come from. Even as Mitch’s handsome, smirking, all-knowing features popped into her mind she dismissed the possibility, shaking her head. Unwrapping the sandwich, she gobbled it down, hungry but unwilling to get excited that he’d sent her lunch simply because he knew her well enough to know that she’d forgotten to get out and eat something.
No, it was probably just his assistant, she told herself and refocused on her work.
For the rest of the afternoon, she was completely unproductive. She kept looking for Mitch to arrive. She should have just come up with an excuse to ask his assistant if he was coming into the office today. And find out who had ordered the sandwich for her. But she hadn’t gotten up the courage, too afraid of the answers. So by six o’clock, she was irritated that he hadn’t come into the office, irritated that she hadn’t gotten enough work done and irritated that she even cared! Why should she be concerned about him being up at five o’clock in the morning and not coming into the office all daylong? For all she knew, he’d spent the night playing video games and had slept the day away.
As soon as that thought formed in her mind, she knew it wasn’t true. Mitch didn’t strike her as the kind of man who even owned video games, much less burned up hours playing them. No, he was the kind of man who would own the video company that produced the games. He was the kind who would demand that the gaming company produce bigger and better games…
“In my office,” Mitch commanded, his strong, deep voice startling her out of the mood that was slowly increasing into a real snit against him.
She glanced at her watch. It was six thirty! Most of the staff had already left for the night and he’d just walked in and ordered her into his office?
Adriana thought about just picking up her purse and walking out. It was after hours and she was tired. She hadn’t been sleeping well, all because of this man!
So no! She wasn’t going to walk out of the office and ignore him! Dumping her purse down on her desk, she stormed into his office, glaring at the….empty desk?
Where was he?
That’s when she knew she was in trouble. The door slammed shut behind her and she spun around, her eyes changing from irritated to wary in a flash as Mitch’s determined expression registered. “What are you…?”
“Don’t talk,” he commanded, walking towards her with heat in his eyes. “Don’t say a single word.”
She opened her mouth to say something, moving back a step for each one he took towards her but his legs were longer and he was more determined. Before she could take three steps, he had her in his arms. When she opened her mouth to protest, his mouth covered hers, kissing her with an intensity that melted away any resistance on her part. Before she knew what she was doing, her arms were around his neck and she was lifting herself up on her toes, needing to feel as much of him as she could.
Obviously, that wasn’t enough for Mitch because he lifted her up against his body and moved her backwards. When she felt the hard surface on her bottom, she shifted against him so that she was sitting on that surface. Still not good enough, Mitch pushed the skirt she’d been wearing up higher, revealing her thighs and, with one powerful move, his hips were between her knees, his hands cupping her bottom once again and pressing her against his hardness. Adriana instinctively raised her knees, her legs almost wrapping around his waist while he bent over her, continuing the kiss, deepening the kiss. Her tongue battled with his, feeling the tension rise up between the two of them.
His fingers slid up her thighs, pushing the material of her skirt higher. When his fingers touched the tops of her stockings, he froze and looked down. “Stockings,” he groaned, pressing his forehead against hers as his fingertips reverently touched the lace straps of her garters. “Damn, you have no idea how much I like these,” he told her.
She felt the shudder run through his immenseframe and she smiled, her expression filled with feminine power. “Oh, I think I might have a small idea.”
Mitch groaned, bending lower to kiss her again. His hands moved higher and Adriana was shocked at how much she wanted him to continue. Never had any man’s hand been where Mitch’s was right now and she thrilled to the touch, reveled in the sensations of his long, strong fingers touching her there.
The vacuum starting up startled both of them and Adriana froze, turning her head towards the sound. “Oh my gosh,” she gasped and pushed at Mitch’s broad shoulders so she could slide off of the table. “We weren’t…” she pushed her hair back, fumbling for the pencil that had been holding her hair off of her neck and out of her eyes. It was nowhere to be found so she focused on pushing her skirt down again, straightening her clothes. “I have to go,” she stammered out, unable to look him in the eye after all that she’d let him do to her.
Mitch watched her try to straighten her clothing. It was a useless effort, he thought. Anyone who walked into his office right now would know exactly what they’d been doing. Just one look at her kiss-swollen lips and the starry look in her eyes would be a dead giveaway. He thought she looked enchanting.
When she started to fall forward in her haste to get away from him, he knew he had to step in. “Adriana, stop,” he told her and grabbed her arms, pulling her to a stop since she was still trying to get away from him. “You haven’t done anything wrong. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”
“Except…” she started to say something but he shook his head.
“No. We’re two consenting adults.”
Adriana sighed, her hands fluttering about because she wasn’t sure what to say or do. This was a whole new experience for her.
The cleaning sounds were getting closer and she glanced towards the still closed doorway. “Please, Mitch. I need to get out of here.”
“No, you don’t.”
She shook her head, biting her lower lip. “It’s late and I’m tired. I really need to...”
“You need to let me take you to dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re going to eat anyway,” he said and picked her jacket up off of the floor. She hadn’t even realized she wasn’t wearing it but worse than that, he picked up his own jacket from the floor.
“I didn’t do that, did I?” she asked.
Mitch slid his arms into the sleeves, looking down at her with amusement in those strange, blue eyes. “Adriana, in the grand scheme of our actions tonight, pushing my jacket off of my shoulders really isn’t the most wicked thing that happened.”
“Oh no,” she gasped and buried her face in her hands.
Mitch laughed at her stricken expression, finding her priceless. If he didn’t know better, he might guess that she was an innocent. But he did know better. No one could kiss like she did and be as innocent as she seemed. He didn’t care though. He liked her flustered. It gave him more time to touch her.
Sliding his arm around her waist, he led her back to her office. “Come along. Let’s get your purse and then dinner.”
“Really, I’m not hungry.”
He picked her purse up off of the corner of her desk where she’d left it. “Really, you’re going out to dinner. I know you. You’ll just curl up and forget to eat, berating yourself for giving in to kissing me.”
Adriana couldn’t really argue with that since it was true. But it was also true that she wasn’t very hungry and, sitting across the table from him, picturing all that they’d been doing only moments ago, would further dissipate her appetite.
Fine,” she replied with ill-grace. “If you want to throw your money away, buy me dinner.”
“And wine. I think you need some wine to help you relax.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t debate that,” she replied, starting to smile now that they were out of his office and heading down to the parking garage.
But on the ride down in the elevator, she started to think about what had just happened. When Mitch touched her, she lost control. Yesterday, he’ddistracted her, today they’d almost had sex on hisconference room table. What was happening to her and why was she even allowing such things?
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, watching her carefully. He’d noticed her cheeks turn pink and her breathing had suddenly become more rapid.
She looked up at him, then quickly away, shaking her head nervously as if to dismiss his question.
Mitch wasn’t satisfied with that response and turned to face her. “Adriana, what’s going on?” he demanded.
Adriana stepped back, suddenly afraid of what he might do. She had no fear that he would hurt her physically, but she was afraid of her response to him. He was like some sort of magician who could turn all of her morals and ethics to empty platitudes.
“Why are you pulling away from me now?” he asked softly, gently because he sensed that something had changed dramatically inside of her.
“I was thinking about what just happened. In your office.”
His eyes lit up and he moved even closer. Adriana held up her hand, silently begging him to stop his forward momentum. “Please,” she whispered. “Don’t touch me.”
“Why not?” he asked, moving slightly closer.
She stepped away again, but her back pressed up against the wall of the elevator. She couldn’t move any further. Raising her hand, she reached out to stop him but her hand touched his chest and her eyes dropped, looking at the place where their bodies were touching. It was just her hand, but she felt it everywhere and all of those feelings were once more pooling in her belly.
“We can’t,” she whispered. “Please, listen to me.”
Mitch wanted badly to move closer, to obliterate her argument with a kiss. But something held him back. Something he didn’t understand but for some strange reason, no matter how much he wanted to make love to this woman, he wanted her to be fully on board with it as well. He knew he could easily overcome her arguments, whatever they were, by just touching her. But it wasn’t enough. For the first time with a woman, he wanted it all. And he wasn’t even sure what “all” was.
“Talk to me,” he urged. He couldn’t stop himself from getting closer, but he didn’t touch her. The doors to the elevator opened and closed, both of them ignoring it completely, too focused on each other.
Adriana took a deep breath and looked down, taking her hand away and ignoring the tingling sensation on her palm that was telling her to put it right back on his muscular chest, to explore that indentation between his ribs.
Shaking her head, she refocused on what she needed to say. “This…whatever is happening between us is happening too quickly,” she finally explained.
“Why? It feels pretty good to me,” he replied.
She smiled slightly, nervously, but it faded when she thought of what she was feeling and thinking when he wasn’t touching her. “I don’t understand what is going on. I don’t understand why, one moment, I don’t like you at all and the next moment…” she left that part hanging.
“You want to tear my clothes off?” he offered.
She looked up at him, her brown eyes revealing her confusion, fear and desire. “Yes,” she finally said.
“And you can’t figure out how to control it?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You want to control it.”
She shuddered. “Yes.”
One side of his mouth quirked up in a half smile. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
The silence of the elevator made their breathing even more pronounced. “We have to.”
“Until you think you understand it?”
She nodded her head.
“And you think we’re going to understand it at some point?”
She shrugged one slender shoulder, unaware of how much he wanted to touch that shoulder, see it naked and bare against his bed. He took a deep breath, trying to control the desire that was now a pounding force in his head. And lower.
“We’ll slow down,” he promised her, and justprayed that he’d be able to deliver on that promise.
“I don’t want…”
“No, Adriana. Don’t even think that we can ignore this. There’s no way. What’s happening between us is too powerful.”
“We need to learn to control it.”
“Do you really think that’s possible?”
She started to nod her head, but she sighed and looked down. “No,” she finally admitted. “But it’s too strong.”
He pulled her closer, just holding her. “It feels damn good to me,” he countered. “But I’ll agree to slow down. Just don’t make me wait forever.”
She laughed but it wasn’t a very happy sound. She wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to figure out why he could make her feel so great just by holding her. “Thank you.”
He groaned and pulled away. “Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t been tested.”
She laughed again but took his hand as he pulled her out of the elevator. “I should go home for dinner,” she said when he started to take her to his car.
“Not a chance,” he argued, opening the door and helping her into the powerful looking car. “I know you. You’ll go home and won’t eat a thing. I’m taking you to dinner to make sure you eat something.”
She smiled, delighted that he was so concerned about her welfare. It was more than just sex, right? If he cared enough to make sure she ate, he wasn’t just after her for the sex. He couldn’t be.
They dined that night in an Italian restaurant and she ate a heaping plate full of pasta covered in cheese and vegetables, loving every bite of it because Mitch sat across from her, talking about everything and she felt like she was genuinely getting to know him. If just a bit. He asked her more questions than he answered for her, but she’d gotten a small glimpse of him. And that was very special to her.
hapter 4
The following night, she worked until late, letting all of the other staff members on the floor leave. By the time she thought that the floor was empty, her fingers were shaking too badly to type on herkeyboard any longer.
Her heart pounded in anticipation and she heard the movement she’d been waiting on for the past several hours. The footsteps were almost silent, but her nervous brain heard them anyway. Each step sounded to the beat of her heart, pulsed right along with the blood pounding in her brain. And then he was there, standing in her doorway looking so big and so vital, she almost threw herself into his arms. He was feeling it too. She could see the need in his eyes, sense the impatience.
“Come here,” he growled but didn’t wait for her to stand up and come around her desk. He walked in, grabbed her hand and pulled her up into his arms. His mouth covered hers with an impatience that startled and thrilled her, matched her own. She gave back everything that she’d been holding inside of her since last night.
His hands were everywhere, cupping her bottom, pulling her against his hardness so she was cradling his erection. She shuddered and moved closer, needing to feel all of him. But then his hand slipped under her shirt, touching her bare skin and she gasped, jumping backwards out of his arms. Then the cool air hit her and she froze, looking up at him. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he froze as well, staring at her while silently asking her what was going on.
She shivered, then threw herself back into hisarms, reveling in the feel of his hands touching her. His fingers skimmed over her skin, testing her back then moving around to her stomach. She shifted slightly so he could feel more of her and she could enjoy his fingers more, closing her eyes as she trembled with his touch. But then his fingers cupped her breast and she gasped, her hand reaching out and grabbing his wrist to pull it away.
Once again, Mitch froze and looked down at her. “Will you let me?” he asked hoarsely.
She started to shake her head no, but then his fingers extended, touching her breast ever so slightly. Adriana closed her eyes again, loosening her grip, bringing his hand closer so she could enjoy the feeling more. When his fingers were once again cupping the firm mound, she reached up and kissed him. Hard. But then his fingers started to unsnap her bra and she jerked back out of hisarms. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you do that,” she whispered.
Mitch had been trying hard to remember to go slowly, but he honestly had never gone this slowly with a woman. Not even in high school had he gone this slowly. “What’s holding you back?” he demanded.
Adriana tucked her shirt into the waistband of her slacks with fingers that shook so badly she had trouble accomplishing the task. Mitch felt like howling with the pain of his need. “Adriana, you damn well better answer me or I…”
“I don’t know!” she yelled back. “You scare the hell out of me, okay? So I don’t know what’s holding me back except that I’m not used to men like you! I’m used to men who let me decide what’s happening. You don’t let me decide!”
“Damn right I don’t!”
“Well, there you go!”
They were yelling at each other, both of them breathing hard and glaring when the humor struck her. They were both laughing a moment later and he pulled her back into his arms. Nothing sexual. Well, as non-sexual as any touch could be with Mitch, she thought as she leaned her head against his massive chest. “I don’t understand you Mitch. I really am used to men who aren’t like you at all. So if I’m too frustrating, I’ll understand if you need to just walk away.”
Mitch heard her words and interpreted them as her fear of being with a man his size. “I’m not that bad,” he told her. Well, not horrible, he thought mentally. “I won’t hurt you.”
She lifted her head and looked up at him. “I know that. I never had any fear of you physically hurting me.”
“Then trust me?”
“I trust you. To a point,” she grimaced. “Like I said last night, I don’t understand how to control what you make me feel. It’s strange and I’m not used to dating someone like you. I’m used to being in control, setting the pace.”
“You’re still setting the pace,” he teased. “I don’t like it, but I can’t walk away.” He kissed her again – a gentle kiss that took every ounce of his self-control to keep it from getting out of control again. Lifting his head, he held her for a long moment, trying to stop the almost painful need from taking over again.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her office. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before my ability to keep my hands off of you disappears.” He took her out for dinner again and dropped her off at her apartment. He kissed her gently, his hands on the car seat beside her head, not letting himself touch her in any way. As she lay in bed that night, she ached to have him hold her, to touch her more intimately. But then she buried her face in her pillow, ashamed of how she was teasing him. It wasn’t intentional, but she knew it was hard on both of them.
The following night, she left work promptly at five o’clock. Mentally, she just wasn’t able to deal withanother night in his arms, even if being in his armslasted only a few minutes, about the amount of time they could touch each other before things got out of control.
On the drive back to her place, she received a text from him demanding to know where she’d gone. She texted back almost instantly, explaining that she hadn’t slept well the night before because of what they’d done to each other. So tonight, she was going to sleep well. He texted her back saying that it wouldn’t work – that there was only one way to get a good night’s sleep and he was more than willing to give it to her. She laughed and shivered at the same time, not sure what to text in response.
Even while her fingers hesitated over the phone, she received another text from him. “Sleep well, my beauty.”
She tucked her phone back into her purse and sighed, trying to figure out what to do about that man.
Adriana didn’t have time that night to worry about Mitch’s reaction. As soon as she walked in the door, slipped off her shoes, and put her purse away she heard a loud knocking on the door. She looked over at the door nervously. Surely that wouldn’t be Mitch! She stared at the door, biting her lower lip and trying to figure out what to do. If it really was Mitch, should she let him in? If she let him in, would she be able to resist him?
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