Page 27 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

Breathe, I reminded myself as my thighs clenched under the slow perusal he was giving me. Breathe and remember that he is the new one here today, not you.

“You’re late,” he said, coming to a stop in front of me. “What happened? Did you catch all the red lights on your way over here?”

There were exactly two traffic lights in downtown Chamberlin, so Noah knew very well that that had not been the case.

“Actually, I forgot something on my way out the door this morning and had to run back to get it.”

Noah slipped his hands into his pockets and grinned. “Oh? And what might that be? I only see heels, a skirt, and a shirt. I can’t imagine you’d forget a handbag quite that large, so what could you have possibly forgotten?”

Smart ass. “A Pop-Tart.”

“A Pop-Tart?”

“Mhmm. A—”

“Strawberry frosted with sprinkles?”

“Yes. How did you know that?”

Noah chuckled and reached out to me, and when I immediately reared back, he arched a brow. “Whoa, easy there. I was just going to do this.”

He brushed his thumb over my cheek and then held it up to show a sprinkle, and I felt my face heat with embarrassment.

“They used to be your favorite, and, well, this was a dead giveaway.”

When he sucked the sprinkle off his thumb and laughed at my horrified expression, I gritted my teeth and walked on by him. This was off to a fantastic start.

I headed down the hall to where my office was, and with every step I took, I was aware of Noah behind me. His attention was like a tangible thing. It was as though I could feel his eyes as they lowered over me, and I was suddenly glad I’d spent the extra time picking out what to wear today.

“I assume you’ll be working out of Harry’s old office?”

I placed my bag on the bottom shelf of the bookcase behind my desk, then reached around the computer to switch it on. When I still got no response, I looked up to see Noah watching me with a heat and potency that made my nipples tighten and my entire body ache with need.

“Noah?”

“I know you asked me something about work just now, and in a minute, I’ll pay attention and answer it. But first, I have to say this: you grew into one sexy woman, Laurel. Jesus. It’s hard to concentrate around you.”

At the blunt honesty in his words, I found myself smiling. Up until this moment, I’d felt like a teenager back in high school every time I ran into this man. But as I stood there in front of him now, I felt nothing but confident in the woman I’d become.

“Thank you.”

Noah let out one of those low chuckles, and this time, it made me…want.

“Thank you?”

“Yes. Thank you. And now that you have that off your chest, are you ready to get to work?”

His lips kicked up at one side in a grin, and the dangerous glint that entered his eyes belied his submissive tone when he said, “Yes, ma’am. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

12

Noah

ABOUT AN HOUR into my tour with Laurel, I knew I’d need to get Ryan to run over things with me again at a later date. I was doing my best to pay attention to what she was telling me about the business, but my mind was too busy documenting every little nuance about her instead.

From the mile-high black heels to the A-line skirt that hugged her curves like a lover, I was having a difficult time concentrating on anything other than the tempting picture she made.

She wore a prim white button-up blouse tucked in at her waist, but she’d left the top couple of buttons free, so I kept getting glimpses of the smooth skin beneath. Every now and then she’d glance over her shoulder to make sure I was paying attention, and when her soft blonde curls brushed against the upturned collar, it made me want to pull it aside and kiss my way up her elegant neck.

It was difficult to reconcile this beautiful, sexy woman with the girl I’d left behind. But what had I expected? The last time I’d seen Laurel, we were teenagers. We’d just graduated and had our whole lives ahead of us, or so we’d thought.

“Noah?”

“Sorry, what?”

We’d just made our way into the kitchen’s wine cellar, where we’d first reunited, and when Laurel crossed her arms and eyed me, I knew I’d missed a question somewhere along the way.

“I asked if you planned to make any changes to the menus as the new CEO. We serve a picnic or light meal as a lunch option, a full menu for dinner reservations, or the usual appetizers that accompany the tastings.”

“Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m still working on the logistics of moving my life back here. But maybe we can go over the meals and their pairings throughout the week and you can bring me up to speed. If I feel it needs some updates—or you do—we can look into making them then.”

---