His lips curved up in a smug grin as he leaned his hip against my desk. “Now that I’ve finally got your attention, there’s no need for me to kidnap you during one of my shows.”
I appreciated how his response—and all his attention—were focused on me. It soothed the newly discovered green-eyed monster inside me. But that didn’t mean I was going to cut him any slack.
My schedule was wide open today, but I wasn’t about to admit that to Julian. He struck me as the kind of man who’d take more than a mile if you gave him an inch. “Sorry, but you won’t have my attention for long because I have a busy day ahead of me. Lots of meetings, calls to make, and reports to finish.”
“That decides it then.” He closed the small gap between us.
I had no idea what he was talking about, but I doubted that the resolve in his eyes boded well for me. “What decides what?” I asked, pushing my palms against his chest.
“You’ve left me no choice.” I yelped as he bent low, pressed his shoulder against my stomach, and lifted me off the ground. “I’m not about to let you run from me again.”
“Wait! I thought you said you weren’t going to kidnap me anymore,” I cried out as he carried me out of my office.
Stalking toward the hallway that would take us to the elevator for the guest floors, he disagreed, “I didn’t say I’d never kidnap you again.”
My brow wrinkled as I tried to focus on our conversation. Between hanging upside down and his mind-numbing kiss from earlier, I couldn’t recall exactly how he’d worded it. “But—”
“Since this isn’t one of my shows, I’m not going back on what I said.” He punctuated his statement with a light swat against my butt. I gasped, jerking up my head and twisting my neck so I could glare at him as he pressed the button for the twenty-fifth floor.
“Did you just spank me?” I squeaked, my cheeks full of heat that wasn’t completely due to the blood rushing there from hanging upside down. More of it was from the feel of Julian’s hand against my butt cheek than I was willing to admit.
“That was barely a love tap.” Julian had the audacity to wink at me, making me gasp in dismay. “Trust me, you’ll know when I give you a real spanking.”
The elevator doors slid open, and I sputtered as he carried me down the hall to one of the corner suites. Once we were inside the room, he set me on the couch before sitting on the cushion next to me. Looking around the spacious suite, I couldn’t help but compare it to Julian’s dressing room. He had one of the biggest ones in the hotel, but it didn’t compare to the beauty of the suites at the Lennox. “At least you’ve improved your kidnapping techniques since yesterday.”
“Except I missed the most important step.” I was trying to figure out what he meant when he lifted me onto his lap so I was straddling him. I wound my arms around his neck to help me regain my balance—and also because he was nearly impossible to resist. With our bodies pressed close, his head dipped down and his lips brushed against mine. “Our kisses were the best part of the kidnapping, if you ask me.”
“Nobody was asking you,” I whispered, shaking my head as I tried to catch my breath since the slight touch of his lips against mine had taken it away.
“Sure you were.” His palms came up to cup my cheeks. “I could see the question in your pretty, emerald green eyes.”
I pressed my lips together to stop myself from smiling at him. He didn’t need any encouragement. “Now you’re an eye reader?”
“Only yours,” he murmured softly before kissing me passionately. His tongue swept in my mouth to tangle with mine, and his teeth nibbled at my bottom lip. I felt as though he was devouring me whole. When he lifted his head again minutes later, I’d been thoroughly kissed, and we were both breathless.
“You can’t keep doing stuff like this, Julian.” I did my best to sound firm, but my voice wavered on his name.
He brushed his lips over mine another time before asking, “Why not, sweetheart?”
Sweetheart. Butterflies swirled in my belly upon hearing him use the endearment in his deep, raspy voice. How was it that Julian seemed to know all the right buttons to press?
Forcing my spine straight and dropping my arms from his neck, I answered, “Because we barely know each other. Kissing, talking of spankings, and carrying someone over your shoulder implies a relationship we don’t have.”
“Only because you run in the opposite direction any time I try to get near you,” he complained. “How are we supposed to get to know each other if you don’t give me a chance? How are we supposed to build a relationship if we never spend any time together?”