Page 30 of King of Temptation

I stomp down the stairs and straight into my office, slamming the door behind me. It’s barely closed before I press her back to the thick wood, our chests grinding together.

And then I kiss her.

Because I’d go insane if something had happened to her.

She kisses me back, her mouth as hungry as mine as our tongues tangle together. One of her legs wraps around my waist.

I’d like to feel this woman in a bed, I really would, but she feels so good against a wall or a door, her legs around me.

My fingers slide up the leather encasing her leg to grab her ass and hold it in my hands. But she doesn’t feel as good in the suit as she normally does, and I’m suddenly pissed I bought this thing. It should have been a bikini.

“Leo,” she says into my mouth. “Leo…we can’t.”

I pull back to stare at her. “Why not?”

“Because…”

I know that it’s a bad idea. I’ve been through all the reasons myself. But in this moment, I’ve forgotten them. What I remember… I’m a man, she’s a woman, neither of us is married. And the attraction between us is electric. What reason could she possibly have that trumps that?

“You’re my boss.”

I let out a curse. It’s a good reason. “Every boss on the Las Vegas strip is fucking a dancer.”

But I see the hurt in her eyes the moment the words leave my mouth and I know I shouldn’t have said them.

She’s pushing me away, her feet slide to the floor, her hands smooth the leather, before she opens the door and steps out without another word.

How can she not know that I never act like this? That what is happening between us is…different? I don’t want to say special because the word makes me uncomfortable.

“Kim.” I reach for her hand before she’s completely out the door. “Don’t go. Not yet.”

She shakes her head and that’s when I catch the wetness shining in them. Fuck me, did I make her cry? I pull her back into the room and close the door again, but this time I just hold her, one hand at her neck, the other around her back.

“I’m sorry. I think it was the near fall…I’m weirdly emotional.”

“Don’t apologize,” I hum against her ear. “I’m the dick who said the words. And I didn’t mean them like that, I only meant no one would think it’s weird.”

“I know how you meant it. It’s my thing that I worry guys won’t respect me.”

I lean back to look in her eyes then. I don’t know what’s going on between us, but I know this woman needs to understand she is so far beyond any other that I’ve met. “If some D-bag doesn’t see your worth, that’s because he is an idiot, not because you’re not special. Because you are, gorgeous.”

The shy smile I get makes my chest swell. “Thank you.”

I lean in to kiss her again, but she turns her face to the side, showing me her cheek. I kiss it, leaning my forehead on her temple. “I’m dying here, Kim.”

I feel her smile. “Once I have tuition money and a little extra, I’ll quit. Then I’ll be in Vegas all fall while I retake that class.”

Is she offering me a window? I’ve never allowed a woman to set parameters like that, but my pulse thrums with victory at the idea that she’s willing to let me back in her bed at all. Not that we’ve actually been in a bed but my point stands.

“What happens after the fall?” Why do I even care? I’ve never been with one woman longer than a month. The attraction will burn itself out and I’ll return to my Vendetti vendetta.

She shrugs. “My mom always wanted to be a professional ballet dancer and now I’m almost there. Maybe.”

It’s an odd thing to say…her mom wanted to be a ballet dancer. What does Kim want?

I slide my fingers down her spine. “Counter offer.”

She looks at me, her brows rising. “What?”

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