Page 38 of The Charmer

Heat surged into her cheeks, a potent combination of anger and resentment that a guy like him wouldn’t understand the first thing about what it was like to be starving, cold, and desperate, and that he’d dare question her about it.

“Never mind, street kids aren’t relevant to your business proposal, are they?”

By the sharp flare of awareness in his eyes, he registered her venom-loaded barb.

Shaking his head, he pushed back from the table. “This is getting us nowhere. I’ve answered your question about the lease, I’ve tried to lay out the offer as plainly as I can. The figures are in the document, so once you have a chance to think it over, I’m sure you’ll make the right choice. I’ll call by later to hear your decision.”

“Don’t bother.”

She leaped to her feet as he stood, knowing she should shut up and get out before she said something she’d regret. But her defensive hackles were well and truly bristling and her thoughts transformed to words faster than she could stop them.

“I’m not interested in anything you have to offer, now or ever. I know you’ve been hanging around me, acting nice, doing the buddy-buddy thing to soften me up, but it hasn’t worked, so you storm into the gallery today doing your intimidation act. Which, I hate to tell you, hasn’t been successful either. So why don’t you quit while you’re behind and leave me alone?”

To her amazement, he laughed, a hollow sound devoid of amusement. “Does this mean you won’t have dinner with me tonight so I can get your final answer?”

She clenched her hands, wondering if they were too far apart for her to take a swing at his patrician nose, knowing she abhorred violence and would never do it, but it was nice to dream when a big-mouthed, big shot deserved it.

“It means I don’t want to ever see you again.”

She turned on her heel, hoping her worn flip-flips wouldn’t send her sprawling and spoil her attempt at a dignified exit.

“That’s going to be hard, considering I’ve been invited to Chelsea Lynch’s showing tomorrow and I’m all for supporting new talent.”

She stiffened as he brushed past her, waving a flyer in her face with a smug smile as he held open the door. She didn’t respond. She couldn’t, considering it took all her concentration to walk past the guy who, while he couldn’t take no for an answer and it annoyed the heck out of her, stood up to her like no one ever had.

And a small part of her admired him for it.

She liked this guy. Against her better judgement, with every instinct screaming they were worlds apart, and he spelled trouble with a capital T, she liked him.

Considering she didn’t want to see his smug face ever again, what would she do about it?

“Ariel, wait.”

If she had half a brain, she would’ve ignored him and kept going. Instead, something in his tone, a softening, made her stop.

“What do you want now?”

He broached the short distance between them and took hold of her upper arms, the warmth of his palms against her skin meaning she couldn’t have bolted if she tried. “Why did you follow me?”

“Because I’m insane,” she muttered, wriggling to get free.

It wasn’t his probing question that had her wanting to flee as much as his touch, his firm hands scorching her with his particular brand of heat. The type of heat that made her lose her mind. Her arms tingling wasn’t enough. She wanted that heat to spread through her body, to have his hands all over her, exploring, caressing, stroking. Every last inch…

“You listened to me in there where you wouldn’t back at the gallery. What changed your mind?”

Damn him for being so observant, so persistent.

She stopped wriggling, her glare ferocious. A lesser man would’ve backed down. Cooper didn’t flinch. “Fine, you want to hear the truth? I always keep a promise. Simple as that. I felt bad for reneging on my part of the deal when you’d been pretty good about posing so I could finish the portrait. That’s it. You happy?”

She expected him to smirk or tease her for being such a sap. Instead, his blue eyes blazed with tenderness and before she knew what was happening, he’d enveloped her in hug.

“I am now,” he murmured, his hands sliding around her waist, moulding her to him, sending her pulse into overdrive and her belly into free-fall. “I’m not the enemy, you know.”

“Says who?”

She tried to pull back but his arms tightened, pinning her against him, and while logic told her to make a run for it, desire flowed through her body and made her wish he’d drag her back to the gallery this second so they could have sex.

Maybe once they got rid of all their pent up tension, Ariel might be able to steel herself against Cooper once and for all?

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