Turn Me On (3 page)

Yes. Definitely an old lover. But who the hell was it?

Using up some of his revved energy, he walked around the desk and
positioned the guest chairs at the angle he preferred. Satisfied he moved back
and sat in the old leather chair that had belonged to his grandfather.

He indulged himself by enjoying her anticipated reaction when she walked
in and found him there. Hopefully they’d enjoy more of that banter, indulge in
some further sparring. At some stage, he’d have to admit that he’d called her
boss at the studio, said how they’d met briefly at his cousin’s wedding, and
that he’d wanted Lissa to meet him to discuss a potential contract with Triton.

He’d done his best to keep her off balance at the wedding, and he’d
liked it. He liked that she reacted to him. It was only fair, seeing as how
he’d been feeling decidedly off balance himself. One glimpse of her plump
breast spilling out of that white lace when she’d torn her top, and then the
way her nipple had hardened beneath the flimsy fabric, had made his cock ache
the rest of the whole damn day.

He thought of her hot little body, the fact that if he held out one arm,
she’d likely fit beneath it and could plaster those delicious curves against
his responsive body. He loved the way her sultry hazel eyes smoldered up at
him. The way her sexy blonde hair teased her shoulders. She tried to hide the
fact she was attracted to him, seemingly every bit as much as he was to her,
and he wondered if she’d spent the rest of the day thinking of him the way he
had her.

The brief tap on the door halted his musing, and his assistant smiled
before stepping back to allow Lissa to walk through.

Dressed in a smart navy jacket and knee length skirt, Lissa froze just
inside the door as Shaz closed it behind her. She stared at him, clutching a
square black folder he assumed contained the company’s portfolio. Those hazel
eyes went wide and her face paled.

Shit. He hadn’t meant to put her
this
much off balance. Seeing as
she’d more than matched him
in verbal repartee at the wedding, he’d assumed she had enjoyed their sparring
as much as he had. Seeing her reaction now, maybe he’d been wrong.

“Ms. Delaney.” Fearing she might crumple at any moment, he stood and
moved around his desk to hold out a chair for her. “It’s good to see you
again.”

Across the room he saw her swallow, but she remained rooted to the spot.
“What is this?”

Pointedly, he glanced around the room. “It appears to be my office.”

“I mean, what am I doing here?”

He moved back to his side of the desk and sat. “You’re here to pitch me
your wares,” he said, watching the way her eyes narrowed. He was pleased to see
a spear of color moving into her cheeks again. “If I like what you have to
offer, we may well do business.”

In more ways than one.

Hesitantly, she stepped forward. “Have you been stalking me?”

He grinned, hiding the fact that her comment was too near the truth to
completely reject. “Let’s just say I liked your proficiency at my cousin’s
wedding and have need of a professional photographer.”

“My boss said you specifically requested me.”

“I ran a check on your company and found them to be highly regarded in
the area, but as I told your boss, I prefer the personal touch.” He waited a
beat. “Since we already know each other personally, it seemed a perfectly sound
business decision.”

With her gaze on his, like a woman afraid to lose eye contact in the
company of a wild and marauding beast, she moved to the chair he’d indicated
and sat. “We don’t know each other personally.”

He grinned. “Not yet.”

“Not ever. Is this some sort of misguided way to seduce me or
something?
 
Don’t you have better things
to do with your time? Better priorities?”

“Since it’s my company, I decide my priorities.” Seeing as she still
seemed unsettled, he resisted the almost overwhelming need to let his eyes peruse
her body, but couldn’t resist holding her steady gaze. “Maybe I’ve decided
you’re one of those priorities.”

Levering her chin into the air, she leaned forward to place the black
portfolio on his desk and opened it. “You said you needed a professional
photographer?”

Reed sat back in his chair and nodded at the portfolio. “You need only
do a light sell.” He met her eyes again. “Since I’m basically already hooked.”

Her chin went up another inch and she narrowed those big eyes. He
wondered if her breasts were encased in that same white lace, if her ripe,
abundant flesh was bursting over the top. Since the jacket of her business suit
didn’t afford him so much as a stingy glimpse, he could only swallow his
frustration. It didn’t stop him from imagining peeling away the jacket though,
or slipping the buttons on the pristine white blouse. Damn. He hadn’t been so
powerfully turned on by a woman since…ever, he realized.

The snap of her portfolio jogged him from his salacious musing.

“I don’t intend to
sell myself
,
Mr. Fitzgerald, if that’s what you’re implying. Nor do I intend to sit here and
again be subjected to your sordid innuendos.” She stood briskly. “You’d be
better talking to one of my associates, that is if you really do want to do
business with my company and this is not all some sham to get me into your
bed.”

Since she was already halfway to the door, Reed shot from his seat and
in the process banged his knee on the corner of his desk. He bit back an oath,
deciding that maybe fracturing a knee joint might just serve him right for
coming on to her like a complete jerk. “Why don’t you at least hear my
proposition?”

She stopped, turned slowly, and drew back her shoulders as she glared at
him. “I already know what that proposition will be. And I can assure you, Mr.
Fitzgerald, no job is worth
that
much
sacrifice to me.”

He smiled inwardly, pleased that she was back to giving as good as she
got. “You’re putting words in my mouth, Ms. Delaney. That is, if you’re
alluding to my requiring certain things in return for you gaining my business.”

“Oh come on.” She gave him a derogatory once-over. “Pitch you my wares?
If you like what I have to offer we may well do business? I need only do a
light sell because you’re already hooked?” She sneered. “What?
 
Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Far from it. Which is precisely why I want to do business with you.”

“And which of my attributes have you based that on exactly? You know
nothing of my work, my negotiating skills, or my business expertise.”

“I know that your negotiating skills extend to convincing your boss that
he should let you stay in the background at a wedding event, when in doing so
obviously put him under immense pressure at said event. I know that your
organizational skills are excellent as I watched you herding the celebrating
hoards into viable groups so that photographs could be taken in an efficient
and organized manner. As for your other attributes,” he said with a grin, “I’ve
got eyes and can vouch for them firsthand.”

She pursed her lips. “You’re pretty arrogant.”

“You already told me that. Why don’t you sit back down and we can
continue our negotiations?”

She hesitated, before allowing him to lead her over to the deep leather
sofa.

He sat beside her, watching her tug down the hem of her skirt as it rode
up her thighs.

“You should keep your mind on business,” she warned as she looked up and
caught his gaze. “That way I can’t mistake that you’re alluding to anything
untoward.”

He sat back, making sure his knee brushed hers. “My mind is always on
business, but I’ve got room for other interests, too. As for my alluding to
anything? Well, let’s just say if there’s something I want I’ll let you know.
Clearly. There’ll be no reason for you to second guess.”

Her cheeks went pink, which pleased him immensely. “I’m not exactly
having to second guess at the way your eyes keep going to my legs right now.”

He grinned. “They’re excellent legs.”

Her cheeks went darker. “Why don’t we get down to business?”

“I thought we already were.”

She glanced away as her fingers tightened around the black portfolio on
her lap. When she looked back, she held his gaze. “You’re not the only one who
makes thing clear, and if there’s something I want, or don’t want, you’ll know
it, too.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Then we’re on the same page.”

“I want to keep this on a strictly professional footing.” She clasped
her hands together on top of the portfolio. “Why don’t you tell me what it is
you want and I’ll…my company will do everything possible to accommodate your needs.”

Hell. That statement was just too delicious to let go without a fitting
response. Stretching one arm along the back of the sofa, Reed allowed his
fingers to flirt dangerously close to her silky blonde hair. “What needs are we
talking about?”

“Professional,” she said clearly. “That goes without saying.”

Okay. He’d let it go at that. For now. “I want an innovative
photographic record of a high profile development I’m about to start.” She
nodded and grabbed a notebook from her bag. “The actual photographs will form
part of the interior’s décor, which means they’ll need to be creative and
inventive.”

He watched her scribble in her notepad, liking the way her teeth caught
her bottom lip as she concentrated. So focused was he in watching her, he lost
his train of thought and didn’t recover it until she looked up at him and
cleared her throat. “Anything else?”

Although Reed knew he was pushing his luck, instincts other than his
business ones had taken over. He decided to go for broke. “There is something
else, and seeing as we’ve agreed to play it straight, I’m just going to say
it.” His blood heated beneath all that hazel temptation as he held her gaze. “I
want to take you to bed.”

Her eyes widened for an instant, just enough for him to recognise a
quality in them that indicated she didn’t find his suggestion completely
intolerable, then slowly she closed her notebook. “You can’t help yourself, can
you?” For a moment, Reed thought she might make for the door again, but she
simply lay her hands palms down on the closed pad in her lap. “Is it so
difficult for you to keep your mind on business?”

“I could act like I’m not attracted to you.”
And not sitting here with a raging hard-on
. “But that would make me
a hypocrite. The truth is I want you.”

When she didn’t bolt, Reed reached out and brushed the tips of his
fingers against hers. She looked down at his hand, but said nothing. “Unless
I’m completely losing my instincts, I think you’re attracted to me. You want to
know how it would be between us.” He leaned in. “Shall I tell you, princess?”
The scent of her, citrus and flowers, whispered through his senses. “Or shall I
just show you?”

Her throat contracted as she swallowed, but then she looked up and
straight at him. “You’re behaving inappropriately.”

Encouraged by the fact she hadn’t yet moved, Reed leaned closer and
touched his mouth to hers. Her lips were warm, but stayed rigidly closed. He
drew away, not wanting to push too far, too soon. “Sometimes inappropriately is
the best way to behave.”

She glanced away. Beneath his hand her fingers tightened.

“Sometimes, it’s not.” She nudged his hand away, opened her notebook,
and straightened her shoulders. “How about we get back to business?”

Folding his arms across his chest, so he didn’t do something stupid and
reach out to her and beg, Reed sat back. The more she shoved him away, the more
he seemed to want to push things forward. For the life of him he couldn’t work
out what it was about her that made him so resolute in his pursuit. “You still
owe me a drink,” he pressed. “After your disappearing act at the reception.”

“It wasn’t a disappearing act. I had another job booked.”

“Meet me tonight.” Reed stood and walked back to his desk. “We’ll talk
more about my requirements over that drink. Papa Niko’s.”

In the act of popping her notebook back into her bag, she looked up at
him with something akin to shock on her face. “Papa Niko’s?”

Reed selected a folder on his desk and walked back to her. “You know
it?” She swallowed, nodded, and he held out the folder. “Take a look at this
before tonight. We’ll discuss it further when we meet.”

Since she’d turned pale again, he took a moment to think back over what
he’d said that had caused her reaction. The only thing he could think of was
mentioning Marco’s place. “Something wrong?” he asked when she didn’t respond.

She shook her head, but her eyes didn’t meet his. “I just wondered if we
could meet somewhere closer to town.”

Seeing as Papa Niko’s was less than a mile from town, Reed frowned. He
didn’t have to search far into his memory banks to recall her reaction to Marco
Zutini at the wedding reception. Add that to his old lover theory and her
reluctance to meet at the trendy wine bar…it didn’t take an Einstein to connect
the dots.

Zutini was the ex-lover.