Seven Day Seduction (3 page)

Yes, Jude was ridiculously good looking.

Yes, he was as sexy as hell.

And, yes, he was imposing, commanding,
but…she shivered, and tightened her grip on her briefcase…he was
just a man. A man she’d met not a half hour ago. He was also her
potential client. Someone she’d be working with for the next seven
days, someone she had to keep a professional demeanor around.

She cringed as she thought about the
impression she was probably making. Gawking and gasping like some
sort of teenager! Jude was probably used to it, no doubt he had
women falling at his feet all the time. Rich, gorgeous, manly…there
was probably a queue somewhere.

And it’s not one you’ll be joining.

Louise took a deep breath at that thought. A
moment later and her fiancées face jolted into her mind. She felt
guilty and shamed all at once, like she’d been caught with her
pants down. Just three months away from her wedding, and here she
was lusting after someone she barely knew. It was simply awful of
her and Louise felt her head throb.

“The original appointment was for half one,”
she said slowly, making an extreme effort to keep her voice steady.
“But your PA moved it.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Marianne’s not here right
now, but she must have emailed me and I didn’t see it.” He shot her
a grin that made Louise shudder inside. “No matter, we can simply
get started now. So…”

He picked up his laptop, and joined her back
at the chairs. Louise scooted back as far as she could without
falling into the soft contours of the cushions.

“I have your files here,” he continued.
“Seems you have all the relevant experience. You know about the job
we need doing?”

She nodded. “Market intelligence analysis
for your latest product.”

“Exactly,” Jude agreed, before launching
into a description of what that analysis would require. Louise
listened intently, taking everything in, asking questions where
necessary.

“We used to have a full time member of staff
who did all or stats and analytical work,” he added. “But she left
a few weeks ago to move upstate with her new husband. I tried to
get her to stay on working from home, but she wanted to try
something new.”

“Why aren’t you recruiting to the post?”
Louise asked, feeling a little, not a lot, but a little more
comfortable now that they were in work territory.

“We will,” he said. “But this project is
time sensitive. It needs doing now. The contract is for seven days,
and they won’t be short days. I’ll expect you to put in twelve,
fifteen hours, depends on how speedy you are I guess.”

“That’s not a problem,” Louise said. “I’ll
work whatever hours are necessary.”

“And it is seven straight days,” Jude added.
“Starting tomorrow, and working through until next Tuesday.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“I’ll also expect you to be on site
here.”

Louise raised an eyebrow slightly, but said
nothing. She didn’t want Jude to realize how much that suggestion
shook her up.

“Is that a problem?” he asked.

“It’s just…we usually work out of our own
office,” Louise said slowly. “Then supply the report to our clients
on deadline day, along with a PowerPoint if required.”

“No,” he said, and the finality in his tone
was obvious. “You’ll be based here. This is highly confidential
information.”

“I signed the NDA already,” Louise said,
though in truth she could see the argument was already lost. She
risked a glance at Jude, eye to eye. He was staring steadily at
her, a slight smile playing around his lips.

It’s as if he knows, she thought, knows how
nervous you are, how weird you feel…

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s here or
I’ll use another firm, your choice, Louise. And” he added when she
made to speak, “you should know here and now that this is my place,
my rules. We do things how I say, there are no exceptions.”

“I understand.”

“For the next seven days,” he continued, as
if she hadn’t even spoken. “You’ll belong to me, Louise. My
schedules, my project. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly.”

***

She wanted to argue with him, he could see
it brimming in her eyes. The way they narrowed slightly, the way
her little nose titled. Stubborn, he thought, Louise Marlowe could
be stubborn when she wanted to be.

That was a painfully arousing prospect.

How stubborn would she be when he bent her
over his desk, and spanked her ass, he wondered? Or when he pushed
her to her knees, and slipped his dick into those plump lips?

Jude grinned, and pushed the laptop a little
further forward. It was the only thing he could think of using to
cover his erection—an erection that seemed in no hurry at all to
leave. Jude doubted it would until it was buried tight in
Louise.

How he wanted her. It shocked him slightly
just how much. It had been years since a woman had affected him in
such a forceful way, and if he was being completely honest with
himself, Jude wasn’t sure that one ever had—not to this extent.

The desire was immediate. Visceral. It was
like the moment she’d walked through the door he knew he had to
have her. That his world wouldn’t tilt right again until he did. He
wanted to lift her onto his lap, pull her hair free from that tight
bun, and let it tumble into his hands. He’d kiss her, slowly at
first, and then hard, tugging on her bottom lip, making her cry
out. Then his fingers would trace a path down to her beautiful
breasts, across the curvature of her hips…

He clenched his fists, and more to clear his
thoughts than anything else, read down her file again, skimming the
contents. There was no doubt that she was perfect for the job. Her
qualifications were very impressive, and Jude was a businessman
first and foremost. His competitors might think his business
practices were a bit odd, if not downright eccentric, but there was
no doubt that they worked. Jude gave his staff as much a freedom as
possible. His retention rate was excellent, and his profits just
kept on growing. He would never hire someone simply because he
wanted to fuck them.

There was no need.

Louise was exactly right for the position,
and if that meant that he had the chance to seduce her, then well,
he would be a fool to pass the opportunity by.

Jude was no fool.

“You start tomorrow,” he said, making a snap
decision.

She gasped, met his gaze, and then she
fucking smiled. It was like she’d reached out, and punched him in
the gut. That smile held a world of possibilities. Jude almost
reached forward to grab her hair, and pull her in for a kiss. How
he stopped himself he didn’t know.

“That’s wonderful news, Jude,” she said
softly. “I won’t let you down.”

“I’ll email across everything to your
office,” he said. “Get it signed and sent back and we’re good to
go.”

“Nine tomorrow?” she asked.

He nodded, the thought of seeing her first
thing exciting him in a strange and shocking way.

Together they stood. Her satchel swung
slightly as she leaned back. To avoid being so close to him, he
wondered? To keep out of the way of temptation?

No point, sweetheart, he thought, we’re
already past that point.

Jude reached out a hand to steady her, but
his action caused her to tilt slightly, and she stumbled against
the back of the chair. Her satchel hit the floor with a thud. She
blushed.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “How clumsy.”

“My fault,” Jude said. “Here, let me.”

He bent down to retrieve the satchel. It was
right at her feet. Jude couldn’t help but survey every single inch
of her body as he collected it, her stomach, her hips, her
arms…

At first he didn’t realize exactly what he
was seeing. How could he? Her fist was still clenched tightly
around the briefcase. So tightly, in fact that her knuckles were
white.

It was only when he straightened—satchel in
hand—and moved position that he saw it properly, saw it and felt
his heart drop, drop in a way Jude had never experienced before,
and never wanted to again.

Twinkling on Louise’s left hand was a tiny
ring.

No wonder he’d missed it! The thing barely
deserved the name. But deserved or not, there was no doubt at all
what it was, and Jude’s anger sparked as he accepted it, sparked
and exploded.

Louise Marlowe was engaged.

His fantasy woman come to life belonged to
someone else.

Day Two

Louise was painfully nervous as she made her
way into the office at eight thirty sharp the next morning. She’d
like to think she was nervous because of the job at hand, but that
was a damn lie. She was nervous because of him.

Jude Jacobs.

She couldn’t work him out, and trying to do
so had kept her awake for most of the night. She’d tossed and
turned, her bedroom feeling far too hot. In the end she’d simply
gotten up, ignoring the fact that it was still dark out, that the
birds weren’t even chirping yet.

She’d sipped coffee, fretted and even
thought about calling William. They could have breakfast together
and talk. He always made her feel better when they spoke. But in
the end Louise had not bothered her fiancée, because calling
William around to make her feel better about the fact that she was
lusting after another man was too outrageous. Too awful.

And she
was
lusting.

Alone in her apartment, coffee in hand,
Louise had accepted the truth of that. There wasn’t really much
choice. Her reactions were inescapable. For some reason Jude
affected her in a way that no one ever had before, made her feel
something she didn’t understand. It was the sort of feeling she’d
read about, seen in movies, but had never thought to experience
herself.

Lust. Sharp. Shocking.

And it was wrong.

As dawn arrived she’d
accepted that truth also. She was engaged to be married. There
could be
no
feelings in her life for other men, it was simply out of the
question.

Louise had to get a grip on herself and her
body’s responses. No more gawking, no more flushing. She would be
professional and efficient. Just like William would expect her to
be.

William.

She’d cringed a little inside as she’d
readied herself for the day, her fiancé foremost in her mind. He
had not been successful in his pitch for new business. They’d
spoken very briefly when she returned to PSO to give them her good
news, and he was upset. He’d promised to call her, but hadn’t.
Louise hadn’t wanted to push him so simply left it alone. William
preferred it to be that way when he was bothered by something. He
would take time to himself, and then when he returned all would be
well. There were never any explosions or drama from him.

Not like Jude Jacobs.

Louise frowned as she pushed open the door,
and made her way into Jude’s building. Her thoughts a horrible
tangle, her stomach squirming. On one hand he seemed nice—too
nice—but then there was his reaction as she had left his office.
Something, though she didn’t know what, seemed to have happened to
him as he picked up her satchel. One moment he was all teasing
smiles, and twinkling eyes, then the next he’d looked like he was
ready to explode.

She’d opened her mouth to ask exactly what
was wrong, but a woman, who Louise later learned was his PA,
Marianne, had strode through the door, halting any opportunity
Louise might have had.

It was still a mystery to her and Louise did
not like mysteries. Did not like the way her stomach seemed to be
all knotted up. A combination of nerves, worry, and something that
felt suspiciously like…she frowned some more…like anticipation.

“Hey, Louise.”

It was the receptionist from yesterday and
Louise smiled, already well on her way to liking the other woman.
“Hi, Ginny.”

“Marianne is waiting for you,” Ginny said,
pointing to a desk next to Jude’s office. He seemed to be the only
member of staff who had his own space, everyone else sat in the
huge open plan area.

“She’s briefing me?” Louise asked.

Ginny nodded. “On the office stuff, where
things are and such. You got all the files yesterday right? Good,
because Marianne knows diddly squat about the actual work, you have
any questions along those lines you need to come see me or
Jude.”

“You?” Louise asked, not quite able to hide
her shock.

Ginny shot her a grin, and smoothed down her
dress. It was very short, and very red. “I’m the engineer on the
project. Hell, I’m the best engineer Jude’s got if you want the
truth of it.”

Louise was mortified. “I’m so sorry, I
thought—”

“That I was the receptionist?” Ginny asked.
“People sometimes do. I set my desk up here because it gives me a
view of the entire office. We don’t have anyone to man front desk
because Jude doesn’t want a front desk.” She shrugged. “He hates
visitors.”

“Right….”

“Here comes Marianne.”

The older woman arrived, and bustled Louise
off before she could say another word, even though she wanted to
apologize again for making such a stupid assumption.

Marianne reeled off a list of office
policies, and pointed out various things. Louise followed in her
wake, briefcase clutched tightly, and simply nodded. She absolutely
refused to ask where Jude was, or be tempted to look around for
him.

Put him out of your thoughts, Louise!

“You’re here,” Marianne finally
finished.

She halted at a desk quite a distance away
from Jude’s office, right next to the office vending machines. It
was a nice spot. Lots of light flooded in from the windows behind
her, though more would have if they were clean. The desk was plenty
big enough, and someone had even thought to lay out supplies.

Yes, it worked just fine.