“You didn’t need to. It was pretty clear from where I stood that you needed help.” The recollection of her fighting alone against those two vampires sent an ice-cold shudder through his bones. He could have lost her so easily.

Lost her?

“Arrogant jerk!”

“Insolent brat. I’m in the right mood to turn you over my knee and paddle your stubborn ass.” The moment he said it, he felt a bolt of desire shoot through his loins. The image of her naked derrière made his cock twitch in anticipation. How he would love to feel her skin under his palm.

She narrowed her eyes. “I would like to see you try!”

Amaury heard the fury in her voice. Her cheeks colored a deep red, and her chest rose heavily with every breath she made. Every time her breasts pushed against the fabric, he could spot the hard nipples that topped them. He wasn’t the only one getting excited by the situation.

“Don’t tempt me, woman!” But he was already tempted. “You have no idea what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped Zane. Do you think his parents gave him that name?”

He pinned her with a furious look. “That sick bastard chose that name on purpose. His idea of irony. Nobody’s quite sure whether he’s all that sane. You’d do better to stay away from him.”

“Like you are any less insane than he is!”

She compared him to Zane? Now she’d have to pay …

Before she could even blink, she was bent over his thighs, her behind pointing up.

“Don’t you dare!” she screamed at the top of her lungs and thrashed her legs.

The first slap of his palm onto her backside stopped her next word. Amaury didn’t trust himself to pull her jeans down, lest this situation end somewhere else entirely. But if she continued to struggle, maybe he would have to strip her after all.

“You jerk!”

He gave her another slap, this time a little harder. And a third and fourth one.

“Ouch!” Her protest sounded unconvincing.

He slapped her again, then smoothed his palm over the spot he’d just spanked and stroked gently.

“Stop that!”

Amaury realized that her voice had a little less determination in it than when she’d insulted him. He grinned and noticed suddenly that his headache had waned. In the staff meeting his head had been ready to explode, and even outside during the confrontation with his friends, he’d still had a splitting migraine. But now that he thought about it, somewhere between him walking home with Nina and now, his head had cleared. In fact, he felt great!

Nina twisted under his hold.

“Will you behave now?”

Amaury took her silence as a yes and turned her to him so she sat in his lap, which she immediately tried to vacate. He stopped her—Nina sitting in his lap felt right.

“Now we talk.” That was if he was able to listen with her delectable derrière rubbing against him as she continued trying to get out of his lap. She could shift all she wanted. He wouldn’t stop her. Did she have any idea her grinding was the reason for his growing erection?

“What am I? A child sitting on Santa Claus’ lap?” she bristled and crossed her arms.

“Trust me, chérie, Santa Claus is not as big as I am.” He pushed his groin against her thigh to emphasize his statement and felt the tightness in his pants. If he made another move, he would burst.

She was clearly annoyed now, sending an acid look his way. Maybe she had finally run out of verbal insults to hand out.

“I’ve had bigger.”

Bigger? He’d show her.

“I doubt that very much. Maybe you should do a proper comparison before you make statements like that.” Amaury took her hand and pulled it toward him, placing it firmly onto the bulge of his pants.

Nina tried to pull away, but then her mouth dropped open, and he felt her palm squeeze him lightly through the fabric. “Oh.”

The warmth from her hand shot through him, and he pushed against her, encouraging her to squeeze again. He could question her later. There was no rush.

“Touch me.” He looked at her face, and she finally met his gaze. Then her hand moved along his steely length, exploring him, measuring him. He sucked in a quick gulp of air and with it her scent. Slowly, he moved his head closer to hers until his lips hovered less than an inch over hers.

“I want to feel your hands on my skin,” he whispered against her mouth, his breath mingling with hers.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.”

Her response made him chuckle. “Why don’t you undress me then?” He liked the idea of her taking charge, of her hands easing open the buttons of his shirt, lowering the zipper of his pants.