Page 25 of Redeeming Rabbit

“Cam, please.” He squeezed my knee. “We’re friends, Elenore.”

Friends? One business lunch did not make us friends. “Your hand is on my knee.”

“So it is.” He released me, giving my thigh a light smack before withdrawing his hand and returning to his phone.

What the actual fuck?

“My family is still on the fence about investing in your company,” he said, not bothering to look up from his screen. “But I, for one, am excited about the prospect. I believe it’s a worthy cause, and I look forward to learning more about the process. Let’s go out for dinner Friday night. Dr. Moore has my assistant’s email address. Send her your address, and I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Wait. What?

I couldn’t tell whether he was issuing a heavy-handed personal dinner invitation or ordering me to attend a business meal with his family, but neither option appealed to me. “Regrettably, I can’t make it. I have plans Friday night,” I lied.

His gaze finally lifted from his phone. Coal-gray eyes stared me down as if expecting me to cower in fear. Spoiler alert: I didn’t.

“They can’t be altered?”

“No.” My imaginary plans were carved in make-believe stone.

“Saturday then.”

“My entire weekend is booked, but if you’re looking for someone to present the company to your family, I’m sure Dr. Moore would be more than happy to—”

He grabbed my hand and yanked me against him until I was practically on his lap. “I require your presence. Alone.” His gaze darted to my lips, and his eyes darkened.

Not a business dinner, then. I struggled against his hold, shaken by his sudden intensity and desperate to create space between us. Who was this guy? Before I could move or answer, he dropped his other hand to my thigh again, tracing his way up toward parts of my body he had no business touching.

“You have a brilliant mind. I would like to see what we could… come up with. Together. I bet you prefer a man that takes control,” he husked as he leaned toward me, his aquiline nose skimming my jawline.

Holy shit!

I pulled back, alarmed. One second, he seemed reserved and uninterested. The next, he was charming and intelligent. Then this over-the-top erotica hero bullshit. A man who takes control? Had he really just said that? I’d bet he had a Red Room full of sexual torture devices. If he started spouting off about the fine line between pleasure and pain, I’d zap him. Consequences be damned. BDSM was perfectly acceptable in fiction, but getting flogged in real life seemed painful and extreme, no matter how wealthy and influential his family was.

Forcefully shoving his hand from my leg, I extracted myself from his personal space and shifted over a seat. “I… I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”

The limo rolled to a stop in front of my building. His gray gaze searched mine for an uncomfortably long moment before he released me. I bolted for the door, pulling the handle to open it. Locked.

“Please let me out.”

Cameron chuckled. “Come now, Elenore, I’m not that terrifying.”

But he was. I glanced over my shoulder to find his attention back on his phone. The door opened, and blessed freedom beckoned.

Smoothing my skirt to give myself a moment, I remembered my manners and resorted to the safety of formalities. “Thank you for lunch, Mr. Chamberlain.”

“The next time I see you, you will remember to call me Cam.”

Yeah, right. I had no intention of ever seeing him again. Unfortunately, I’d probably have to, but that was a problem for future me to navigate. I fled, feeling like I had dodged a bullet.

At least for now.

* * *

By the time I made it to the office, there were fewer than two hours left of my official workday. I could return to the lab and bury myself in data until I calmed down and fully considered Cameron Chamberlain’s regrettable behavior. Then, I could decide how I wanted to deal with it. That would be the mature, responsible way to handle the situation. But that wasn’t how I wanted to do it. No, oddly enough, I wanted to order pizza and beer again with Rabbit and verbally bash Cameron Chamberlain into a blob of expensively dressed pulp. I mean, the man had gone Fifty Shades of Sexual Harassment. It would have made for enjoyable reading, but I had a demanding job where certain behavior was frowned upon. It was all fun and games until someone had to explain why they couldn’t sit during a meeting.

I’d rather spend my time with a biker named Rabbit, who I’d only known for two days, but he’d already derailed my diet and become someone I could be salty with. Should those marks be in his favor or against him? I was no expert on men, but Rabbit was like nobody I’d ever met. Whether good or bad, his nature was yet to be seen.

Still, I was uncharacteristically hopeful. And just thinking about him made me feel better.

---