"Is that what you like?" She turns to me, "Tradition?"
"Money." I turn off the engine. "And everything it can buy. That’s what I like."
"Can’t fault your taste in vehicles." She runs her fingers over the dash and my cock instantly twitches.
Fuck, this reaction to her every move is crazy. I reach for the car door, "You like my chariot?"
"Chariot?" She shakes her head. "Whatever. Please don’t answer that. And what’s not to like?" She opens the car door on her side, "It’s a macho car."
"I’m a macho man."
She blows out a breath. "I should have seen that coming." She steps out. I follow suit, zap the doors locked, then walk around to her.
"You prefer to drive yourself?" she asks.
"Always." I glance down at her. "I never trust another man with my possessions."
She brings her fingers up to her mouth, chews on a fingernail. The way her mouth sucks on her digit... Fuck me. The blood drains to my groin. How the hell do I get her to stop that, huh?
I swoop out my hand and grab her wrist. "Bad habit," I growl.
"So are you." She tosses her head.
I chuckle. "We agree on something there." I bring her hand to my lips, suck on the very same fingertip that she had placed inside her mouth.
She swallows, "Uh, can I have my hand back?"
"Never." I lower her hand, weave my fingers through hers because… Why the hell not? Then stalk into the department store.
Once inside, I release my hold on her, instantly missing how her small hand felt in mine. Soft, fragile; to be treasured and protected. Ridiculous. I prowl forward, leaving her to dawdle behind.
She glances around the aisles, the displays, then pauses. "Saint?"
I continue on.
"This is ridiculous," she mumbles.
"What did you say?" I growl.
"I meant… uh! Sir?"
My dick instantly twitches.
"You may speak."
"Where is everyone?"
"Gone."
I increase my pace.
Her footsteps speed up.
"What do you mean, gone? It’s the weekend, not to mention the first week of December. The busiest time of the year for shoppers…"
"So?" I pause and she almost stumbles into my back. My fingers twitch to help her, so I tuck my arms in my sides. She scowls, then draws herself up to her full height.
"So where are the customers, the salespeople?"
"I told them I was coming."
"Ah!" Her gulp is audible. "So…so they cleared out the place?"
"Yep."
She stares, "What about the business they’ll lose?"
"What about the business they’ll gain from me and the rest of the Seven?"
"Right."
She marches ahead.
"Victoria."
She doesn’t turn back.
"Gigi."
Her shoulders stiffen, and I can’t stop my lips from quirking. So fucking prickly.
"Stop or you’ll regret it."
She tosses her head, "I am regretting ever coming to you."
"Admit it. You’re secretly looking forward to what I am going to do to you."
"Yeah, sure, I spend all my days and nights wondering only about that."
"I knew it."
She jerks her head around to stare at me, "Do you believe everything that feeds your ego?"
"Always."
Her gaze widens, "It’s useless having a conversation with you."
I prowl toward her, stopping so close to her that my shoes bump her ballet pumps. "Poor Victoria, always so in control, always knows her mind and what she wants…. Or so she thinks."
She tips her head back, all the way back, "I don’t think, I know."
"What you are, is too damn uptight."
She grits her teeth.
"See, that’s what I mean." I whisper my knuckles over her jaw and her breath hitches. "You’re too focused on containing all of that passion inside of you. You think you want to direct the course of your actions, when all along, you’ve been waiting for someone to come along who can force you to relinquish control."
"And I suppose you think that someone is you?"
"I don’t think so." I drop my head until my lips are poised above hers. "I know so." I close my mouth over hers.
14
Victoria
Step away, turn away. Break this stupid sham of an arrangement or whatever the hell it is and run the hell away from him. His lips meet mine, fuse, clasp. I will not give in, will not open to him. He swipes his tongue across my mouth and goosebumps flare on my skin. He tilts his head, nibbles on my lower lip. Heat flashes low in my belly. The heat from his body swoops around me, curls into me, draws me closer, closer. He opens his mouth, sucking on mine, asking, demanding, insisting… A groan bleeds from me. I part my lips and he deepens the kiss. He simply takes. His tongue tangles with mine; he drinks from me. Fills my senses with his dark edgy scent, the hardness of his body a shield against the world. The dominance of his posture pushes down on my shoulders, holds me in place. A growl rumbles up his chest, and my nipples pebble into painful tips. My sex clenches; my toes curl. I raise my hands to his shoulders, dig my fingertips into those corded muscles—seeking, wanting. He tears his mouth from mine and steps back. Cool air assails my face, the flushed skin of my neck.
"So, I was right."
I lower my hands to my side, blink, sway. "What do you mean?"
"Your control will be mine, Victoria, " He brushes past me and I shake my head to clear it. By the time I turn around, he’s striding away and toward the elevator. He stabs the button and the doors glide open. Of course, even the cage doors would obey him.
But I won’t. Not if it’s the last thing I do.
He steps inside, then turns, "Coming?"
As I approach him, the doors slide toward each other.
"What the hell?" My jaw drops open.
He jerks his chin up, "See you on the third floor. Don’t keep me waiting."
The doors close, leaving me behind. Asshole shut the escalator doors in my face? I can’t even… How dare he? Anger pulses in my veins and adrenaline laces my blood. I curl my fingers into fists… He did it.
