She tossed him an accusing look. “How could I possibly turn down a meal from Allister’s? With that mousse.” She sighed. “I heard all kinds of terrifying things about your reputation, but nothing about how—” She broke off, frowning.
“About how?” he prompted.
“About how seductive you could be.”
“That’s because this is my first time at seduction. I don’t have a lot of practice,” he said, but she knew better.
“Right,” she said in disbelief. “You clearly have no experience.”
“Well,” he said, pouring the last of the champagne into her glass. “The truth is I’ve never seduced a coworker. Too messy. But something about you…”
Her heart turned over. “You flatter me.”
“No,” he said and clicked his flute of champagne against hers. “I’m just telling the truth. So are you going to put me out of my misery and come over here and kiss me?”
Emma felt a rush of heat. “You don’t look at all miserable.”
“But I am,” he said. “And you can save me from it.”
It was such a ridiculous notion that she could save such a powerful man as Damien from anything. But his tie was askew and his gaze saidI want you. He always invited, and she found his invitations completely irresistible.
Rising from her chair, she went to him and bent over, pressing her mouth against his. He pulled her into his lap and she couldn’t muster a protest.
His arms felt wonderful. His mouth made her forget the rest of the world. She could almost believe that she meant something special to him. Almost…
He took his time kissing her, exploring her mouth, making her feel taken and powerful at the same time. How could that be?
Her temperature rose and she wanted more. She tugged at the buttons of his shirt and pulled at his tie. He made her blouse dissolve and soon enough her br**sts were bare. He pulled her over his hard masculinity and thrust inside her.
Emma gasped. He groaned in pleasure and began to coach her to rise and fall in a rhythm that made her sweat with need. Straddling him, she felt her nether regions clench around him.
Sliding his fingers through her hair, he brought her lips to his as he thrust inside her. Her cl**ax began in fits and starts. She didn’t think she could stand the sensations, but he kept on thrusting and she flew over the top. Seconds later, he followed, clenching her bottom, taking her mouth at the same time he took the rest of her, mind, body and, heaven help her, soul.
Breaths, minutes, centuries later, he held her against his chest, his heart beating against hers. “You leave first,” he whispered. “I don’t want people to gossip about you. If we leave together, they will. I’ll follow you back to your apartment to make sure you arrive safely.”
Still caught in the otherworld of their passion, Emma struggled to absorb his words. “Leave?” she echoed, lifting her head to meet his gaze.
He rubbed his finger over her lips and swore. “I want you again.”
What Emma wanted was to stay in his arms all night. Longer if possible. She took a deep breath to gather her wits. “Leave,” she said again.
“You first,” he said. “I’ll follow.”
Reluctantly, she stood, separating herself from him. Her knees dipped in protest, but he caught her. “Okay?” he asked.
“Getting there,” she said, but her mind was still muddy from passion. She grabbed her clothes and pulled them on. He did the same.
He looked into her eyes. “Do you need me to drive you home?”
She shook her head. “I’ll be okay.”
He paused a long moment. “I would rather you come back to my condo,” he said.
She shook her head again. “Not a good idea.”
He pulled her to him and took her mouth in a long, possessive kiss that rocked her world. Pulling away, he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You look like you’ve been thoroughly kissed.”
She licked her lips, her tongue glancing his finger.
He swore under his breath.
“I have been thoroughly kissed,” she whispered. “I should go.”
He swore again.
“G’night.”
Damien watched her leave, feeling a craving that went far beyond his groin, down to his bones. He couldn’t remember wanting a woman this much. He’d thought the weekend in South Beach would ease his ache, but it had only made it worse. He wanted her and was determined to have her.
As she walked out of Megalos-De Luca headquarters, Emma felt like a sexual goddess. And a tramp. This was insane, she thought as she got into her Tesla Roadster and started the engine. It couldn’t continue.
She took a deep breath and checked her rearview mirror, catching sight of her disheveled hair and swollen mouth. She had that just-got-out-of-bed look. Covering her eyes for a few seconds, she tried to gather her wits. She had gone totally over the edge with Damien.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed on the accelerator and drove out of the parking lot. Emma had kept herself in check for years. It had been a necessity with her mother’s difficulties, but something about Damien had tempted her enough to let down her guard. Now, she needed to put it back in place. After all, she was technically supposed to be spying on Damien for work, not spying on him naked.
Glancing in her rearview mirror, she saw Damien’s Ferrari. She needed to get control of this situation. Tomorrow, she told herself. Tomorrow would be the day.
The next morning, Damien arrived early, leaving a fresh bouquet of cream roses and forget-me-not flowers on Emma’s desktop. Emma was turning into a constant craving, and he needed to do something about it. He decided she should move in with him. He would hire her away from MD with a higher salary and keep her. Until he got her out of his system. When would that be?
Although he could tell she was inexperienced, he found her completely irresistible. Hearing the door open, he felt his gut knot at her presence. In a matter of seconds, he would see her, hold her, kiss her.
Her footsteps slowed outside his office door. “Damien?” she said.
“Come in,” he said, meeting her gaze.
She looked away. He noticed she wore a black dress and her face was pale with pronounced shadows under her eyes. She bit her lip.
His gut knotted again, this time in displeasure.
Taking a deep breath, she finally met his gaze. “I can’t keep doing this,” she said. “I’m just not cut out for an office affair. From now on, I have to keep our relationship strictly professional,” she said, her voice breaking. “Being involved with you personally is too overwhelming. I can’t think straight. I’m just not sophisticated enough to maintain this kind of affair.”
The pain in her eyes kept him from sinking into a vat of bitterness. She was afraid, and perhaps rightly so, of the passion that flared between them. She wanted a measure of safety, and to her, he represented a total free fall.
He couldn’t help, however, feeling disappointed. He knew she felt the same way he did. He knew he could make her take back those words right now if he wanted. Her vulnerability stopped him.
He had wanted her to choose him. He wanted her to open herself to him in every possible way. At the same time, he kept himself protected.
“I understand,” he finally said, but was determined that he would change her mind.
Twenty-four hours later, a call came in, chilling Emma to the bone. The voice mail had come through when she’d been in a meeting, taking notes for Damien.
“Sweetie,” her mother said, her voice breaking. “I’m so sorry, but I’ve gotten into trouble again.”
Within an hour, Emma learned her mother had latched on to Internet gambling and had lost a quarter of a million dollars. Emma was reeling.
The next day she went to work and tried to hide it, but her fear must have shown through her usual calm.
“What’s going on?” Damien asked.
“It’s personal,” she said, unable to meet his gaze.
He wheeled her chair around so that she was facing him and put his hands on the armrests. “You and I have gotten about as personal as a man and woman can get. Tell me what has upset you.”
Her stomach clenched and she bit her lip. She felt so ashamed and desperate. Even though she hadn’t been the one to gamble, she somehow felt responsible. “I need to sell the roadster.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I need the money,” she whispered.
“For what?”
She still couldn’t meet his gaze. “I just have to do it. Can you help me?”
He paused a beat. “Yes. What do you need?”
“A quarter of a million dollars,” she said, her throat constricting into a painful knot.
“What the hell would you need—” He broke off. “Your mother,” he said.
His correct guess immediately made her feel as if at least half a ton had been lifted from her shoulders. She took a deep breath and exhaled.
“How in the world did she get into gambling again? Didn’t you say she’d left Vegas?”
“Online gambling,” Emma told him and finally met his gaze. He saw a mixture of confusion and concern.
“Damn,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair. “You know the problem with bailing her out is—”
“It could happen again,” she said miserably. “But there’s no way she could pay this off on her own. And I’m terrified of what those loan shark lenders would do to her. What if they hurt her? What if they—” She couldn’t bring herself to say her worst fear.
“It’s clear that your mother has an addiction,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“I think the best plan would be to pay off her debts and get her into an intense treatment.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I think she needs to go to a specialized treatment facility and stay until she’s truly strong enough to manage her addiction on an outpatient basis.”
Emma’s head spun at the prospect. “I don’t even know if such a facility exists. She’s not addicted to drugs.”