Page 6 of Seductive Hearts

Beyond that, though, there was something else going on. I would have sworn there was a humming in the air as I took one step toward her, then another. The sound intensified the closer I got until she had no choice but to back away in one big, decisive step. “I’m not going to bite,” I murmured, my eyes moving over her once again as I imagined what was hiding under that buttoned-up suit.

She barked out a laugh. “Good thing, since I don’t know when I had my last rabies shot.”

I touched a hand to my chest like her words stung when all they did was leave me wanting to throw her over the desk and fuck the attitude out of her. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“Maybe it’s not what you’ve done, but who you’ve done,” she retorted, her green eyes going wide like something came out she never intended to voice. After sputtering for a second, she quickly retracted, “That was a low blow. I shouldn’t have said it.”

“That would be a nice apology if it was one.” I took too much pleasure in the way she flinched but fuck her and her superiority bullshit. “But I’m an expert at going out of my way not to apologize, so you can’t fool me.”

“Let’s move past it, okay?” There was a slight tremor in her voice by the time she practically fled to her desk and settled in behind it.

Did it make her feel stronger doing that?

I would’ve bet on it.

“Please, have a seat,” she invited, motioning to the chairs in front of her desk. “Lunch should be here any minute. As Dad said, we need to go over our schedule. We purposely baked a little extra time into it.” She tapped on her keyboard as she spoke, squinting a little as she studied the screen. “You said you’ve familiarized yourself with what’s already been put together?

I heard her. Every word was crystal clear. Yet somehow, when she looked at me from across the desk, I drew a blank. What was the question? I would have much rather talked about how her suit clung to every curve and molded itself over her body like liquid. My hands damn near twitched when I imagined running them over those curves, testing their firmness, indulging in her full hips and ass. When I thought back to when we were kids, I remembered a gawky, shy girl whose nose was always in a book. “How did you end up here?” I asked instead.

The widening of her eyes told me the question surprised her as much as it did me. I hadn’t meant to ask, but since she didn’t shut me down immediately, I took it as a sign she was willing to drop the imperious bitch act for a little bit.

“I mean, how does anybody end up anywhere?” she countered, folding her hands on the desk. Long, slim fingers. I could practically feel them wrapped around my shaft, which incidentally began to thicken as the fantasy swirled in my head.

“Was it an ultimatum? Do this, or else?” I asked, remembering my most recent conversation with Dad.

It seemed like my questions had their intended effect. The ice began to melt, and the soft laughter tumbling from her ruby lips had a nice, melodic quality. It was something I could get used to if she’d loosen up. “No!” She chuckled. “I wanted to do this. I always have. Or don’t you remember?”

How could I have forgotten? That night in Vail, Christmas break, we were sitting by the campfire outside the cabin. The two of us, fifteen and seventeen, were talking about nothing important and everything at the same time. She made it easy to open up.

Sitting with her now, I recalled the confession she’d made.

“I want to be the best. I want to be just like my great-grandmother. I want to be a legend one day like she is.”

Even back then, when most of the blood that should have been in my brain was usually making my dick hard whenever the wind blew the right way, I sensed her sincerity. I heard the determination. There wasn’t a question in my mind of whether or not she would do exactly what she said.

“Of course,” I said. “Vail. That was a good night. It’s a shame you decided I wasn’t worth talking to anymore as we both grew up, or we could’ve done more of that.” Did I sound bitter? So what if I did?

Her mouth fell open before snapping shut. “Yes. It’s a shame.” She turned her attention back to the laptop, sitting up so straight I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a broomstick down the back of her jacket. All it would take was slicking her golden blonde hair back and putting on a pair of thick glasses, and she would make the perfect disapproving teacher or stern librarian.

Stand down. My dick was entirely too interested in that scenario. It seemed like he was interested in everything she did.

Before I could figure out what I did wrong this time, a girl I assumed was Rose’s assistant discreetly rolled our lunch in on a cart. “Thank you,” Rose offered. “You can leave it by the window.”

“Can I get you anything else?” The girl looked my way, and what happened next was no surprise. Her eyes traveled over me quickly, efficiently sizing me up before her glossy lips curved in an inviting smile—a familiar one too.

“What’s your name?” I asked, extending my hand. “I’m Colton Black.”

“Natalie,” she greeted, placing her hand in mine and squeezing it.

“Well, Natalie, this lunch looks great.” Not as great as she did in a tight-fitting black dress that fit her like a glove and left little to the imagination. Nice tits. Natural, by the looks of them, balanced well with full hips that begged to be gripped from behind. I deepened my voice and widened my smile. “Thank you for bringing it in. I’m sure we’ll get to know each other a little better while I’m working on this project with Miss Goldsmith. You’ll get sick of the sound of my voice,” I predicted, drawing a soft giggle.

She was hot, but the women who worked at Goldsmith Couture always were. It was an image thing. The plainest girl was encouraged to step up her game, dress and groom impeccably, and represent the company well. Natalie fit the bill, even if she was only one of dozens of others in this very building. Rose Goldsmith was a successful model before she decided to throw that career away and be a businesswoman. Not that I secretly followed her modeling career unbeknownst to her brother.

“Is there anything else?” Rose’s sharp question made Natalie drop my hand as if it burned.

“No.” The girl shook her head hard enough to make her brown ponytail swing. “So long as everything is set up here.”

“It is.” Rose’s smile was hard enough I was surprised she didn’t crack a tooth. “That will be all.”

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