I unbuttoned the cuffs of my sleeves and rolled them up, exposing my forearms. Raven’s eyes never looked away, and they widened as I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table. Her gaze shot to my hands and the rings on my fingers. Without realizing it, she sucked in a breath and bit her lip. I loved watching her squirm in discomfort.
Desire pulsed through me, and I couldn’t stop my words. “Everything okay, Ms. Lovelace? Do I make you nervous?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Raven
The room was hot—waytoo hot—like I was going to combust. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and glanced back to Ben Jones seated across the table. My senses were on alert with his last question, but I chose to ignore it and only answer the first.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied.
How did the person I was interviewing have such a similar voice to the one I’d been getting off to for weeks? And those hands. Those hands were adorned with silver bands and delicious veins. Mia was right. Even if I wanted to hire this man, I couldn’t. No work would ever get done around here. I expected as much from Mia since she seemed closer to his age, but me? I wasn’t sure if it was this specific guy that had me sideways or if I was becoming the next Demi Moore. Is this what happened in women’s mid-thirties? We all suddenly foamed at the mouth for younger guys?
But this one, he was everything I didn’t know I was attracted to. The rings I liked for sure. No surprise there since I never grew out of my emo phase. But I hadn’t ever noticed another man’s jaw before except his. It was chiseled from granite,and I longed to trace it with my tongue. The rest of his face was flawless, clean shaven with angles for days. He looked like the guy sorority girls wanted to date. His hair was styled messy, like he just ran his fingers through it so it stood on end. All the guys I had dated in the past had every single lock smoothed in place.
I glanced at his perfect face again and swallowed, trying to form a coherent thought in my scattered brain. “So, uh, do you have any questions for me? I think that’s all I have,” I rushed, trying to end the interview because men didn’t ever have this effect on me, especially ones I didn’t know. With this and my recent escapades with Ryan, I had no idea what the hell was happening with my body.
He peered at me under long lashes. “I’m curious what you can do for me, Raven—Ms. Lovelace,” he corrected. “If you were to hire me, of course.”
The way he said my name sent heat dancing over my skin. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the double meaning his tone conveyed. “We have competitive compensation, as well as standard benefits…” My words died in the air between us as he began tracing his lip with his thumb. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen, and my core pulsed.
I didn’t try to resume rattling off the typical laundry list of benefits employees got. I just stared at the movement, damn near salivating like a fucking animal. He cocked his head to the side.
“Anything else you can do for me, Raven?” he asked as he rose from the chair and walked around the table toward me, my eyes following every step. “I think you have more to offer me than that.”
Alarm bells were sounding in my head, but my pussy was the one in fucking control here. I should have been bolting from the room, but I kept my ass planted in the seat as hestopped beside me and crossed his arms. I swiveled the chair and tilted my head up to look at him, his tall body mere inches from mine, and his rich brown eyes searing.
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy, and I suddenly couldn’t get enough oxygen in my lungs. He uncrossed his arms and leaned down, bracing his hands on the side of my chair. I looked down at them, and it turns out the veins on his hands trailed up his arms. A rush of heat pooled in my core while a memory lurked at the edge of my mind.
I slowly lifted my eyes to his, his face inches away, and we stared into the depths of each other’s souls. I wasn’t scared, even though I should have put this guy on his ass and called the cops. It probably wouldn’t result in anything though. The police didn’t do fuck all the last time I needed them.
He reached his hand up to trace a finger down my cheek, the gesture oddly familiar. My breath hitched at his touch. He had complete control, which didn’t sit well with me, no matter how turned on and unafraid I was. The lust-filled haze hadn’t clouded my judgment, so I decided to show this guy who he was fucking with.
Leaning forward, I brought my lips so close we were breathing the same air and his eyes dropped to my mouth. Clenching his jaw, he swallowed, and his throat was so delicious I wanted to flick my tongue out to taste him. Reaching my hand down, I moved my leg up at the same time. The fabric of my pants shifted easily and I was able to snatch my knife undetected.
As swift as a falcon, my blade was at his throat, and his eyes grew wide as the metal bit into his flesh. It was a pretty picture to see the silver glint against his flawless skin. One flick to end his existence. The light would drain from his big brown eyes and his lungs would gasp for air he couldn’t breathe. The monster in my chest stirred at the thought, but killing himwouldn’t be beneficial to the life I built for myself, and slitting his throat would be a waste of his mouth-watering good looks. I decided I’d have a little fun since it seemed he thought he could play with me. Whoever he was.
I curled my lips into a wicked smile. “I can offer you the pleasure of bleeding out on my floor,” I hissed, pressing the knife into his skin gently. “You don’t know who you’re toying with, Mr. Jones, and I think you’re in over your head.”
I searched his face. I couldn’t read him. There was no detection of fear, but his chest was heaving as his breaths came hard. His eyes were alight with something I couldn’t place, and a trickle of warning slid down my neck, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
Shifting in the seat, I indicated he needed to move so I could stand up. When he straightened, he backed up one step, and before I was standing at my full height, he dove forward and grabbed my wrists.
My yelp filled the room, and he whirled us around, slamming me into the wall by the closed door. He pressed his body against mine and held my wrists between us, the knife dangerously close to our faces. Both our chests were surging as we stared into each other’s eyes. He was a few inches taller than me even with my heeled boots. White hot fire shot through my body as his cedar and citrus scent filled my lungs. He could probably get me to lick his boots wearing that devious cologne.
Moving his right hand to envelop both my wrists, his large fist had no problem securing me. His slender fingers dug into my flesh, and pain bit, but it only heightened my arousal. He moved his free hand to pluck the knife from my grasp with ease, fear nipping the back of my neck as he disarmed me. With the handle nestled in his palm, he brought the blade to my throat.
“You’re a stabby one, aren’t you?” He smirked as he slid thedeadly steel from my earlobe to my collarbone. “I don’t think I’m in over my head at all, Raven.”
My breath caught. The sensation and his words threatened to send me over the edge.
He moved his lips to the shell of my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “In fact, I could have you on your knees for me in seconds,” he whispered, his voice husky. “I’ve already made you come countless times before. What do you wish to call me today, Raven? Zander, maybe?”
My heart stopped, and the blood drained from my face. “Ryan?” I croaked. Suddenly everything made sense—the rings, the hands, the head tilt.
He pulled back as one side of his mouth crept up into a grin. “You could call me that, too. I’m actually partial to that one.” His voice returned to the one I couldn’t get out of my mind and his eyes tracked the blade sliding down my neck. “I told you I could show up anytime, baby.”
That word. Fuck, I loved how he called me that. If any other man had tried to, I probably would’ve never spoken to them again. But his voice saying it? It was my undoing.
