The fire inside me changes in that instant. I can’t make sense of it, but I’m no less angry. And then in the most bizarre of moments, he dips his head and slides his lips against mine. And even more bizarre than that, I let him.
I have officially lost my mind, and if it hadn’t left my skull already, I think the heat in his kiss would’ve melted it down anyway. His lips are soft yet masterful. No tentative swipes or delicate presses here. I shiver as his finger loops under the strap of my purse and slips it from my shoulder like underwear sliding off my hips. Lord knows as it hits the floor, I wish it was.
‘I still hate you,’ I whisper into his kiss.
His chuckle is low and rough as he rasps, ‘I’m counting on it.’ His kiss becomes deeper, wetter, as one of his hands curls around my hip.
‘Don’t you dare stop,’ I find myself whispering as I coil my fingers into his lapels as though to prevent just that. He makes a sound of masculine contentment, his hand sliding down to the curve of my ass.
‘Delicious.’ The rasp is more growl than word, but I don’t know which of us made it. Not that it matters as I push my hands over the broad contours of his chest, around to his back, mirroring his position but using both hands instead. Greedy and grasping, I knead the taut flesh as he presses his hard length into me. Desire burns in my veins, along with a strange kind of one-upmanship and a need to be naked under him.So confusing.God, I want to win. And it could be that exact thing that prompts me to suck his bottom lip into my mouth, releasing it before sinking my teeth into the plump flesh.
A low rumble rises from the depths of his chest, his body vibrating with restraint as he tightens his one-handed grip on my ass and presses his free hand to the glass. One minute, we’re lost in the moment, and the next, we’re almost stumbling into the hallway, Beckett oh, so chivalrously anchoring both hands to my ass now. But at least I stay upright. The door raps against his knuckles as his amber gaze stares down at me, sort of dazed.
‘If that’s how you kiss when you hate me, I can’t wait to see what being married to me will do to you.’ His words are rough, and a pulse hammers in his neck. I find both gratifying.
‘Don’t make me feel bad for kissing a crazy man.’ I pat his chest as though in consolation.
‘Don’t mistake lunacy for ruthlessness.’
‘Honey, Iloatheyou. It won’t get any better than this. Do you need to call a doctor? I really do think you shouldup those ...’
His smile stops me in my tracks. That isn’t a smile of wickedness, or maybe it is. Yep, that’s it. The man has levelled up.
He steps back, raising his chin imperiously, straightening to his six-feet-whatever frame. If this were a horror movie, this would be the point Bela Lugosi would swirl his cape, and the musical score would swell to a dramatic crescendo. Maybe he’d do me a solid and turn into a bat before disappearing into the night.
A girl can wish.
But no, Beckett wouldn’t fly away. Not with those levels of satisfaction settling around him. And not as a gnawing sense of awareness creeps from the base of my spine.
‘What did you do...?’
If he answers, I don’t hear it. Not as I turn my head over my shoulder to see the whole wall has returned to transparency and isn’t offering a lot in the way of discretion. I can see clear out into the rest of the suite of offices, which also means they can seein. And while people seem to be carrying on with their daily tasks, I know just moments ago, they were frozen like figures in Pompeii with their eyes fixed on us.Hands mauling ass, lips fused.How do I know? Because one person is still looking.
Luke. He stands frozen as a sea of activity swirls around him.
‘You set me up,’ I growl.
‘That all depends on what you’re referring to.’
‘All of this! From Friday—from the beginning—right until now.’ I just wish I knew what this was all about. I stand unmoving because I don’t want to give in to the urge to punch him. And I so desperately want to, evidenced by my clenched fists at my side. But I’ve already drawn enough attention to myself for one day.
‘Did I plan to be in the exact place Friday for you to fall over my shoe? Or perhaps you think I’m somehow responsible for the pregnancy of the hapless Luke’s girlfriend? Let me assure you, if I had gotten the girl pregnant, she wouldn’t be trying to pin it on him.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘He may be the boss’s stepson, but scheming middle-class girls don’t settle for upper middle-class boys when there’s wealthier prey within reach.’
‘Not everyone is interested in money.’
‘No? Oh. My mistake. So that’s not what you’re here in my office for?’
‘I came because I was looking for investors.’
‘To kiss?’
‘I take no responsibility for that.’
‘Olivia,’ he chastises, ‘we must all play our parts. And your part is to be in my office today because I required you to be here. And because you need something that I have. You need to get your hands on some of the filthy stuff.’
