Page 23 of Ruthless Wars

“Hey.” Evie gently grips both of my shoulders, boring her gaze straight through the dark-rimmed shades on my face. “There’s no better way to learn than from the colossal, gut-feel business failures of others. It’s a life lesson.”

My low growl is enough to warn Evie to pry her fingers off the elegant Chanel jacket and back away slowly, heading away to the suite of junior offices on the ground floor.

After a hot sip of coffee and gathering every ounce of true Texas grit I can muster, I force my reluctant feet to take me to the elevator, determined to get my head in the game. Or at least pry it halfway out of my ass before I meet a roomful of adversaries.

Initially grateful for the solitude of an empty elevator car for a moment or two, I release a shallow huff of frustration that’s distinctly audible as some poor son of a bitch dares slip through the closing door.

“Today seems to be my lucky day,” he says, finishing his statement with a word that grabs my undivided attention. “Temptress.”

Fixed on his last word, I tug off the dark glasses, melting into his suggestive smile and the golden flecks sparkling in his hazel eyes. “Coop. How did you find me?”

Resting a palm on the wall behind me, he pins me with the intensity of his stare, with a morning-after stubble ten times hotter than his clean-shaven look from the night before. “Same way I found you last night.”

My heart pounds wildly when his grin widens as he leans his hot body closer to mine.

“Fate,” he whispers against my lips before laying a sizzling kiss on them.

Trapped between the cool wall and the scorching heat of a man destined to tear down my crumbling defenses, I kiss him back. Between the heat of his lips and his massive hand working the small of my back, my knees turn to Jell-O. It’s the perfect excuse to grab hold of his solid shoulders.

His tongue teases my mouth before pulling away far sooner than I’d like. “Now can I buy you coffee?”

A rush of heat floods my neck and cheeks. “That was you?” Wincing, I drop my head against the sinfully solid muscles of his chest. “I’m sorry. I’m preoccupied.”

Playfully, he brushes a strand of hair from my face, tucking it loosely behind my ear. “Rough night?”

Somehow, his mocking me puts the biggest smile on my face. Coop is a welcome, although tragically brief distraction, from the day ahead.

My floor arrives with a ping that deflates me instantly. My arrogant decisions of last week are upon me, and I’m now promptly delivered to the fresh hell of lasting consequences.

“Coop, I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

In a hurry, I pull away from the delectable warmth of his arms and walk away. But his footsteps close in on me, with the man of a million orgasms hot on my heels.

Unfazed, he catches up and strolls effortlessly beside me. “Big day? Me too. How about I get a last name? Or a phone number?”

He catches me off guard, and I turn, fully facing him. “You have business here?”

Eagerly, he nods and looks around. “Actually, right here. I think.” The doubt in his voice is rectified as he scans about. With a glance at his phone, he regains his certainty as he eyes the elevator sign, verifying his whereabouts. “Yes. This is the floor. I’m going to the conference room. You?”

Confusion creases my brow. Before I can answer, Jean approaches.

“Good,” she says too unconvincingly to hide. “The two of you have met.”

“M-met?” I stutter, watching the smile on Coop’s handsome face pull to a serious line. It changes his look entirely and in the hardest ways, dulling the sparkle from the eyes now studying me.

“Well, everyone’s in place,” Jean says. “We’ll get started whenever you’re ready.” Her gaze pings between Coop and me, waiting for some sign of acknowledgment from either of us.

My heart sinks, and I’m charged with so many emotions, I’m not sure where to start. Willfully or not, I’ve apparently committed the deadliest of deadly corporate sins.

Thou shalt not cavort with the competition, nor sleep with the enemy.

And I sure as hell shouldn’t have made Coop’s cock my personal bounce house, mercilessly freewheeling his body until the poor bastard gave all he had and passed out cold.

Emotionless, Coop stares back.

Swallowing the ball of nerves lodged in my throat, I regretfully scan his lickable body, forcing myself to imagine off limits tattooed over every delectable muscle.

“Ladies first,” he says, gesturing toward the oversized double doors of the conference room with a rekindled heat in his gaze that shoots straight to my core.

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