Page 22 of 2 Books in One Bundle

‘So why do I get the feeling you’re lying?’

‘I have no idea,’ she shot back. ‘But I can assure you I’m not.’

Without warning, he banged his glass down with enough force to make her jump and planted his hands wide apart on the bar. ‘Do you want to know why I’ve really stayed away from you for so long?’ he practically growled, his eyes locking with hers, the intensity of their connection pinning her to the stool.

‘You said it was work,’ she managed, her entire body on fire in response to both his intoxicating proximity and the unexpected passion of his outburst.

‘It wasn’t work.’

‘No?’

‘It was because I can’t get you out of my head.’

At his gritted confession, she stared at him for one frozen moment, her eyes wide, her mouth forming a little O of shock. ‘What?’

‘You’ve been in there since the moment we met,’ he said, eyes blazing. ‘I assumed taking you to bed would cure me of my fixation. That normally scratches the itch. But not in your case. You refuse to leave. Every time I look at you, I’m gripped with the urge to pull you into my arms and kiss you senseless. Every time I think of you, I develop an erection thathurts. The last three days—which, for your information, I have spent either at my desk or in the bedroom suite attached to my office andnotpartying—have been torture. Even now, when I’m furious with you, all I can think about is stripping that dress off you and doing to you what I did the last time I saw you wearing it.’

He stopped. Mia closed her mouth and released a breath before her lungs exploded.

‘You want me?’ she said, struggling to process the realisation that the attraction was not just on her side.

‘I have never not wanted you,’ he grated. ‘You’re driving me to distraction. Right now, I’m so hard it’s possible I may suffer a permanent injury.’

‘That’s quite a line.’

‘I very much wish it was.’

His obvious frustration implied that this wasn’t a casual attempt to seduce. He wanted her against his will. Which was fascinating, but something to be analysed later because if he wanted her as much as she wanted him, stayed away because he didn’t trusthimselfinstead of not trustingher, then that changed everything.

‘Yes, well, I can empathise,’ she replied dazedly, her head spinning as she raked her gaze over the navy suit that emphasised his broad shoulders and lean physique and the white shirt open at the neck, which contrasted devastatingly with his olive skin and dark hair and eyes. ‘I feel the same way about you. I can’t forget the night we spent together either and, believe me, I’ve tried. At dinner the other evening I kept imagining you sweeping everything off the table and devouring me instead. Even though you left me here to moulder and I’ve been so annoyed and frustrated with you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. The nights are the worst.’

‘It’s unacceptable,’ he said, a muscle clenching in his cheek.

‘It’s certainly uncomfortable,’ she agreed, the desire pummelling through her robbing her of every thought except one. ‘But there is an alternative solution to fleeing to the office and hiding out there whenever it gets too much to bear.’

‘And what is that?’

‘We could just have sex again.’

Complete silence followed that. For a moment or two Zander simply stared at her as if she’d sprouted horns. Then his brows snapped together and he gave his head a shake, clearly unable to believe what he was hearing. ‘Are you mad?’

‘I’m heading that way, hence the suggestion.’

‘It’s ridiculous.’

Quite possibly. Their situation was complicated enough as it was. However, it had become apparent that things couldn’t go on as they were. Neither of them would survive. The tension had to be defused somehow. And what was his problem? Wasn’t he all about no-strings-attached sex? If anyone was to have had an issue with it, it should have been her. But she didn’t. She was all for some unencumbered action. Anything to release the pressure she’d been feeling for days. She’d handled one night with him with equanimity. Why not two?

‘I disagree,’ she said, refusing to be intimidated by his incredulous intransigence. ‘Unless we do something about this wild attraction, it’s always going to be between us. It’s going to make life even more difficult than it already is. It’s only been three days and look at us. I’m not sure distance will provide much in the way of relief. We can’t avoid each other for ever. In my opinion, it needs addressing, and sooner rather than later.’

‘No,’ he countered, jaw set in rebuttal, his dark eyes unusually stormy.

‘Why not?’

‘I won’t allow it.’

‘Because?’

‘I have a once-only rule.’

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