He was all bronze skin and defined muscles. I bit my lip as my gaze wandered down his sculpted chest to the three rows of hard muscles on his abdomen—muscles my nails itched to graze and bury themselves in. My gaze followed his happy trail to the narrow hips. His underwear hung so low I could see just a hint of neatly trimmed hair and then a well-defined bulge—and a big one at that. Heat traveled through my abdomen and pooled between my legs. My pulse picked up speed, and a rush of excitement washed over me. I had never stared at a man like this. Then again I had never met such a fine specimen. Did I want to pull off his pants and see whether the real deal was as hot as the one conjured by my imagination?

Hell, yeah.

Would I do it?

Hell, no. Or at least I hoped not.

“Like what you see?” Jett asked, a little hoarse.

His voice jerked me back to reality. I was furious, as much at his cockiness as at my own reaction to the mere sight of hard muscles and taut skin. I bit my lip so hard it hurt, and finally managed to avert my gaze. “I think you asked the same question a while back, and I told you my answer back then.”

“Yeah, but your answer was a lie, and we both know it.”

“Was it?” It was a feeble attempt at hiding the fact that he was right. The question was meant to shake his oversized ego, maybe even leave a tiny dent in it, but it only managed to summon a crooked smile to his lips.

Dammit.

I loved those lips.

He inched closer until he stood mere inches away and his breath almost caressed my face. We were so close I could smell his manly scent—a mixture of shower gel and deodorant and him.

It was intoxicating. I wanted to bathe in his scent and to spread it all around me. To have it inside me.

“Was it, Brooke?” he whispered.

My breath hitched in my throat. I loved it when he said my name like that. It evoked all sorts of emotions in my lower abdomen and between my legs. I swallowed hard, probably too loud, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was—

“What do you want?” I asked so low I had no idea whether he had heard me.

“What do you think?” His heated gaze scorched the front of my top. The tip of his tongue flicked over his lips, leaving a shimmering, wet trail behind. I was standing behind the closed door, my heart beating wildly as he flashed a meaningful smile, leaving no room for interpretation as to what exactly he wanted.

“You can’t have it.”

He cocked a brow in wry amusement. “Why not?”

“Because it’s not available.”

“You’re seeing someone?” His tone became frosty but he didn’t pull back from me. “Even if you are, I’m not afraid of competition. I’ll make you forget him in a heartbeat.”

I smiled at his cockiness. Boy, was he confident. One day I’d recover my own feistiness and verbally punch a hole in that unhealthy confidence of his…just not this minute because right now I couldn’t think straight.

“Want me to make you forget him, Brooke?” Jett whispered, leaning closer. I barely had time to breathe before his lips lowered onto mine. He kissed me with such ferocity I felt I had never been wanted so much in my life. His tongue swirled in and out of my mouth in the sweetest and most delicious dance, and I melted into his embrace. My fingers clutched at his arms as my head began to spin and my legs threatened to give way beneath me. He pushed his hips into my abdomen and I groaned into his mouth. Beneath his expensive underwear he was hard. If only a mere kiss from me did this to him, I wondered what my touch could achieve. Slowly I reached up and ran my fingers through his dark hair and down his strong chest, touching every inch of soft skin. His chest hair was dense but soft, manly. I laced my fingers in it and pulled gently until his hips rocked into my belly, rubbing gently. My groan was swallowed up by his exploring mouth.

One minute we were kissing, the next it was over with absolutely no transition. His arms dropped me so quickly I lost my balance and almost landed flat on my ass. My eyes fluttered open and I looked up at Jett’s cool expression.

“What’s wrong?” I croaked confused, my mind fighting its way back to reality. Telltale dampness had gathered in my panties. I crossed my legs and pressed my thighs together to hide the shameful result of my lust.

Jett’s lips were still moist from our heated kiss, and his eyes shimmered with need. Apart from that, he seemed unnaturally collected, unfazed by what happened between us.

Well done, Brooke, one day in the job and already you’re trying to jump the boss’s bones.

I hadn’t started it, but I sure did nothing to stop it.

Flames of shame burned my cheeks and wandered down my neck. I moistened my lips and looked away. “I’m sorry. I—”

“Don’t be,” Jett cut me off.

I shook my head. “It’s all my fault. I probably gave you the wrong impression, which wasn’t my intention. My boyfriend and I just broke up and I—”

Jett’s thumb moved beneath my chin and he pressed gently, forcing me to face him. His expression was dark, menacing even, and his face was a mask of controlled irritation. Whatever I did or said didn’t seem to please him, so I clamped my mouth shut before I managed to humiliate myself even more.

“We need to sort this out before it gets out of control,” he said matter-of-factly. He made it sound like what happened between us was nothing but an inconvenience that needed immediate dealing with.

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

“It will, Brooke. The moment I met you, I knew you wanted me as much as I wanted you. Don’t even pretend it’s not true.” His gaze settled on my open lips. For a moment I thought he’d kiss me again…until he let go and turned his back on me. “Wait for me in the living room. I’ll be with you shortly.” His tone was hard and left no room for discussion. I regarded his strong back and shoulders. His muscles were tense beneath his smooth, taut skin. A tiny drop of sweat rolled down his spine and gathered at the waistband of his pants. Whatever issues he had, he wasn’t as unperturbed as I thought.

“Yes, sir,” I said with a smile as I walked out of his bedroom holding my head high, quite pleased with myself. Whatever strange reaction Jett Mayfield could evoke in me with nothing but a handshake, he wasn’t immune to me either. The realization excited me. It made the trouble I knew I was getting myself into almost worth it.

Chapter 10

“So,” Jett said, pushing a sheet of paper across the couch table toward me. He was fully dressed now in black slacks and a pale blue shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders. Unfortunately, his fully clothed status did nothing to diminish his sex appeal.

I narrowed my gaze as I tried to scan the paper without looking too obvious. He pressed his palm on top of it, obscuring my vision. “It’s sort of a CSACA.”

I peered up at him. “A what?”

“I don’t fuck my staff, Brooke. I know better than that.” He drew a sharp breath and held it for a moment before he let it out slowly and shook his head, as though irritated with whatever he was about to say. “And yet here I am, almost taking you on that bedroom floor. Apparently there’s something about you that makes me want to rip off your clothes, and I know you feel the same way about me. If we’re to work together, we need to sort this out once and for all.”

Boy, was I cheap. What gave me away? My wet panties, or the labored breathing every time he so much as gazed at me? I heaved a silent sigh. Had my attraction to him been so obvious? And more importantly, was I really so delusional to think I could hide it?

Yeah, I was.

“I’m not really sure where this is going,” I said more to myself than to him.

“By agreeing to an arrangement, there’ll never be a misunderstanding as to what’s happening between us and where we’re standing.” His gaze plunged into me with an intensity that frightened me. I just stared at him, lost in his eyes. The guy was not only stunning, he also seemed to know what he was talking about. You can’t keep your head screwed on while lusting after the boss. And we both needed a clear head if we wanted to get this job done.

“I agree. What sort of arrangement do you propose? Working in different rooms? Communicating via email and text messages?”

“Not quite, Brooke.” His lips curled into a wicked smile. “Since we’re adults and this goes way beyond the usual sexual attraction, it’s about time we gave each other what we so desperately crave.”

My jaw dropped and my cheeks flamed up. Was it the kind of proposition I thought it was? He couldn’t be serious, and yet I knew from his no-nonsense expression that he was. “Pardon me?” He must have noticed my shocked expression because he remained silent for a moment, giving me time to process his words. I released a hissing breath I didn’t know I had been holding. While my brain was still protesting, my abdomen did tiny somersaults at the prospect of getting down and dirty with the guy. What would be the harm in following Sylvie’s advice and giving in to my own needs for once? I was single and had nothing to lose.

Apart from your job and heart.

No, my heart wouldn’t be in it. Just sex. And lots of it, or as much as it’d take to get bored and move on.

“Why did you hire me?” The question burning in my mind for the last forty-eight hours finally snaked its way out of my throat.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, Brooke,” Jett said calmly. “James wants out of the business. For weeks he and I had been talking about signing Sunrise Properties over to our company. The contract we drafted included a clause that I take a look at what James called the ‘brightest star’ in the real estate business. He arranged a meeting at The Black Rose so we could discuss a position best suited to your qualifications and goals.”

I leaned back, surprised. My boss went behind my back and got me an unofficial interview to not only help me keep my job, but get a promotion. I felt a strong and overwhelming gratitude toward him and made a mental note to send him a thank-you gift basket as soon as possible.

“He asked me to talk about the company’s portfolio and pitch ideas for a future collaboration.” It only now occurred to me just how unlikely and far-fetched it all sounded. Mayfield Properties was huge, with the kind of contracts James could only dream about. No company owner would send an employee to meet with a Fortune 100 company director and risk messing up the chance of a lifetime.

Jett nodded. “Only I arrived late, which made you angry, and you stormed out on me.” He smiled at whatever memory crossed his mind. Actually, that wasn’t the whole truth. I stormed out on him because he was irresistibly sexy and touched me in a way that made me feel all sorts of emotions I didn’t want to feel.

I interlaced my fingers in my lap, mortified. Yep, I had behaved like a real bitch in front of my future employer. Why he still took me on board was beyond me. Oh wait, we sort of had sex after that; so there was my answer.

“Did you employ me because we spent the night together?” I blurted out.

Amusement glittered in his eyes, but he shook his head slowly. “No, I hired you because you were brutally honest, just like now. You weren’t prepared to suck up and take crap from anyone. That trait’s hard to find. Besides, you came highly recommended. Sunrise Properties might not play in the big league, but James managed to survive years of recession and sell out big, which can only mean one thing: he knows how to pick his employees.”