“So many things,” I admit. “But I’ll keep them to myself.”
He chuckles, low and warm, and I hate that it affects me.
“I ordered the cake and decorations for her party next week,” I continue. “Please make a note in Sharpie on your forehead so you don’t forget.”
“My forehead?”
“Mmhmm. You strike me as someone who enjoys looking at himself, so there’d be no excuse.”
His nostrils flare, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
“Is that all you needed, Ms. Sullivan?” he asks shortly.
“From you? Yes. Thank you.”
I turn to leave, then pause.
Slowly, deliberately, I glance back.
He’s staring at my ass.
Good.
I’m suddenly very grateful for my pencil skirt.
“Have a good afternoon… Sir,” I say softly.
Something flashes in his eyes—surprise, heat, something dangerously close to hunger.
I don’t wait for a response. I turn the corner and only then let my smile break free.
Jamie looks up, fans herself, and mouths, Wow.
Sullivan: 1.
Pierce: 0.
And somehow, it still doesn’t feel like a win.
Chapter Two
DEREK
The door closesbehind Audra Sullivan with a soft, decisive click.
I don’t move.
For a few seconds—longer than I’m willing to admit—I just sit there, staring at the empty space she occupied like it might explain something if I look hard enough. Her scent still lingers, faint but unmistakable. Clean. Warm. Controlled. Nothing like the sweet, cloying perfumes that usually hang around my office after late nights and bad decisions.
Damn it.
I push back from the desk and scrub a hand over my face. This shouldn’t rattle me. Nothing rattles me. I built this company on long nights, hard calls, and never letting anyone see me sweat. Audra Sullivan walking in and out of my office shouldn’t feel like a disruption.
And yet.
She’s sexy as hell—there’s no denying that—but it’s her mouth that gets me. Sharp. Precise. Unafraid.
That mouth is the thing fantasies are made of.
