And the man standing beside him.
She blinked. Blinked again.
This couldn’t be right. She blinked one more time.
No. Adonis mapped in ink still stood several feet away from her.
And God. He wasglorious.
Short dark brown hair cut close to his head emphasized a face of razor-sharp angles, bold planes, and blue eyes so bright they gleamed across the distance that separated them. And a mouth... Heat curled like smoke low in her belly, and she fisted her hand on her thigh. There was nothing pure or right about that mouth. It invited sin and all kinds of wrong acts in the dark.
Wide shoulders and a broad chest filled out a plain gray T-shirt, and tattoos in red, black and blue ink sprawled down his muscled arms, even covering his long fingers and strong neck. The desk hid his bottom half, but she harbored zero doubts it was just as impressive as the top.
Didn’t stop her from wanting to lean over the wide piece of furniture and verify that fact for herself.
“Camille?” the Adonis asked, his voice a rolling, deep bass.
Not Adonis.
Erik. Erik Mann.
Her brother’s friend. Owner of Forever Ink.
And if all went well, her new employer.
So she really shouldn’t be drooling over her potential boss.
Slowly standing, she nodded...and ordered her body to calm the hell down. She’d just gotten out of a relationship. A toxic one she could see now with hindsight being what it was. An entanglement didn’t interest her. Especially if it hindered The Plan.
Get a job. Set up her own residence. Decide on a new career. Secure it by any means necessary.
Be happy.
Out of all the items included in The Plan, the last one might be the hardest to achieve.
She approached him, hand outstretched. Inside, she braced herself for that first contact. But when his big, elegant-fingered hand wrapped around hers, she was grown enough to admit there was no way she could’ve prepared herself for this first touch. A rough, calloused palm with a surprisingly gentle grip. It set off warring sensations in her belly. A man who was obviously no stranger to hard work, a strong man going by the corded tendons in his arms. But one who apparently knew how to be careful. Maybe...tender.
She just stopped herself from shaking her head.
Didn’t matter. None of that mattered. Not to her anyway.
She just needed him to give her a biweekly paycheck and a W-2.
That’s all.
The Plan. Stay on The Plan.
“Yes, I’m Camille. You’re Erik Mann?” Oh look. Her voice didn’t shake. Kudos to her!
His full, give-me-ten-acts-of-contrition mouth thinned then he gave a short jerk of his head.
Whoa. What was that reaction about?
Had Jeremy lied to her about the job? Had he pressured his friend into seeing her? She wouldn’t put either past her big brother. When it came to her, he was a bit of a bulldozer on steroids.
“Come on back.” Erik strode over to a short swing door, popped a lock and pushed it open. “Sorry about being late.”
“It’s no problem.” She rummaged up a smile in the face of his lack of enthusiasm and silently cursed her brother. “I appreciate you taking the time to see me.”
