Page 31 of The Charmer

“Nothing to say?” He smirked. “That’s a first.”

Ariel couldn’t speak if she wanted to. Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth at the sheer shock of being touched by Cooper as if he desired her, as if she was more than the enemy to him.

Besides, she was too scared to speak. If she opened her mouth, there was no telling what she might do with his thumb in the vicinity of her mouth, her main impulse being to nibble it.

His thumb skidded across her bottom lip and drifted lower, tracing a slow, leisurely path along her jaw and back, making her knees wobble and her body sway towards him.

“Guess I better go before you ply me with any of your herbal concoctions, huh?” He cupped her cheek, his hypnotic stare mesmerising, as if the last thing he wanted to do was leave.

Or was that her misguided interpretation? Was she wishing for something that wasn’t there, considering he made her feel like a desirable woman, an equal, someone he admired?

When he touched her like this, looked at her like this, she could almost forget the huge, yawning gap between them, a gap that attending the party tonight only reinforced.

Cooper belonged in the rich, uppity crowd she would’ve shunned given half a chance, and she didn’t. She never would, and that was fine by her. He knew it, she knew it, so what was this tender act about?

In that moment, it hit her.

The proposal.

Cooper, a ruthless businessman, would probably do anything to get what he wanted.

She’d had a plan for when he dropped her home. Give him a chance to deliver his almighty proposal, refuse, send him away, and concentrate on sorting through the business cards that had been discreetly palmed her way this evening. Sofia had been right. People were interested in her painting, though realistically, even if she worked night and day for the next few months, the commissions wouldn’t stave off the inevitable.

She needed money, a lot of it, to keep the gallery running, and right now, with Cooper staring at her with a speculative gleam in his too-blue eyes, reminding her exactly why he was here, she knew she was fast running out of options.

Discombobulated by his touch, she was about to shove him away when he lowered his hand, regret etched across his striking face.

“Mind telling me what that was all about?”

“I think you know,” he said, his gaze travelling over her from head to foot, slowly, lingering, making her shiver with need as if his hands had skimmed a similar trail. “But until you’re willing to admit this attraction between us exists, I’m not going to do anything about it.”

He held up his hand before she could protest. “And no, before you belittle it, pretend it doesn’t exist, or imply I’m schmoozing you to get close to you to undermine you, this buzz between us has nothing to do with business and everything to do with the way you drive me crazy.”

For the second time this evening, Cooper left her gob-smacked as he walked away.

Chapter Twenty-One

Cooper finished reading the last page of the proposal, returned it to the stack of papers in front of him, and slipped a copy into a presentation folder.

This was it.

D-day. Developer day, when he convinced Ariel to sign over the gallery, guaranteeing him a new start away from his cantankerous father.

The documentation was flawless and he’d planned for every contingency.

Apart from the one where she said no to his immaculately laid out plans.

Though that wouldn’t happen if Ariel knew what was good for her, and after spending time with the bohemian beauty, he knew for a fact that Ariel’s brain was as impressive as the rest of her. Something his father would’ve recognised if he hadn’t barged into this deal with all the finesse of a wounded rhino.

Then again, Eric hadn’t even rated Ariel, preferring to deal through the council that held her lease.

A small part of Cooper wished his father had sealed this deal because that would’ve given him free reign to pursue Ariel, to explore the sizzling attraction between them, to kiss her…

He’d been tempted last night, so close to throwing his ideals to the wind, hauling her into his arms, and making every fantasy he’d ever had about her come true. Thankfully, his befuddled brain had kicked into gear at the last minute and he’d averted a mini disaster.

As much as he wanted Ariel, he wanted to get out of Vance Corporation more and make his stubborn old coot of a dad wake up.

“Got a minute?”

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