by Dani Collins
Zoey stepped back from him with a sultry smile, feeling that at last she had him where she wanted him. Totally under her power. ‘You’re right. It was a great way to start the day.’
Finn dragged himself off the desk, but it looked as though his legs weren’t quite up to the task of standing upright. He sent a hand through his hair, leaving deep grooves, his expression one of slight bewilderment. He gave a slow blink as if recalibrating himself, a mercurial smile lifting the edges of his mouth.
‘I think I’m going to enjoy working with you way more than I anticipated.’ He reached out his hand and picked up one of hers, bringing it up to his mouth, his eyes still locked on hers. He pressed a light kiss to each of her bent knuckles, the delicate caress sending a shower of shivers cascading down her spine.
The reality of what had just happened between them suddenly hit Zoey with the force of a slap. She pulled her hand out of his before she was tempted to do another round of off-the-charts office sex with him. How could she have let her wild side out to such a degree? The wild side she hadn’t even known she possessed. It was like looking at a totally different person—a femme fatale who was driven by earthly drives and pleasures.
How long could this go on? She was supposed to be working on a project with him—an important project—not making out with him every chance she got. She didn’t want to join the long list of Finn’s temporary lovers. The flings who came and went in his life with such startling frequency. She hadn’t had a fling in her life—she had only ever been in a couple of committed relationships before her ex. She wasn’t even sure she liked the idea of casual sex. Where was the humanity in using someone’s body to satiate her own desires? Where was the dignity of behaving like an animal without a theory of mind, only driven by raw, primal urges?
‘Speaking of work...’ Zoey straightened her clothes in a back-to-business manner before bringing her gaze back to his. ‘I—I want to make something perfectly clear. I’m not having a fling with you. What happened here—’ she waved her hand in the vague direction of his desk ‘—can’t happen again. It’s...it’s totally unprofessional. It has to stop. Now.’
‘Fine. Your call. But let me know as soon as you change your mind.’
Something about his smiling eyes told her he was in no doubt of the struggle she was undergoing. The struggle to keep her hands off him, to be the disciplined professional she had trained herself for so long and hard to be. He had undone it with a single kiss, dismantled her armour like a hurricane through a house of cards.
‘I won’t be changing my mind,’ Zoey said, pointedly ignoring his desk, for it seemed to mock her prim-sounding tone. So too did the secret, silent tremors of her body, the intimate muscles still flicking, kicking, tingling with tiny aftershocks. ‘I don’t want the distraction, for one thing, nor do I want everyone gossiping about me as your latest squeeze. It would be nothing short of humiliating. I’m here to work and that is what I intend to do.’
‘We could always keep it a secret,’ Finn said, his gaze unwavering on hers as if reading every betraying nuance on her face.
Zoey folded her arms across her body, desperate to restore some much-needed dignity. She had lost so much ground by falling yet again under his potent sensual spell. As tempting as it was to consider a secret liaison with him, what would happen once it was over? For it would all too soon be over—there was nothing more certain than that. Besides, neither of them wanted anything long-term. That part of her life was over. She had drawn a thick black line through it.
Now wasn’t the time to erase it. Now was the time to concentrate on her career, to fulfil her ambitions without the distraction of a relationship. And a relationship of any duration with Finn would be one hell of a distraction. ‘Secrets have a habit of becoming exposed,’ she said.
‘Not if we’re careful.’
But that was the problem right there—she lost her ability to be careful when she was around Finn O’Connell. He triggered something reckless and dangerous in her and she had to control it. ‘Thanks, but no.’
Finn gave an indifferent shrug and moved back to his desk. He straightened the objects he had pushed aside earlier with maddening casual ease, as if he made hot, passionate love to women on his desk every day. But then, he probably did, and Zoey had now joined their number. Urgh. Why had she allowed herself to be swept away on a tide of passion with a man she hated?
But you don’t hate him.
The thought dropped into her head and stunned her for a moment. What did she feel for him apart from unbridled lust? Her hatred had cooled a little, more than a little, and in its place was a growing respect for all he had achieved given his difficult childhood. She even had to admit she actually liked some aspects of his personality. His drive and ambition were similar to her own. He worked hard, played hard and could be hard-nosed about business decisions, but didn’t she secretly admire that single-mindedness?
And she couldn’t forget about his battle-scarred cat. Finn had a caring side, a side he obviously didn’t show to people too easily, but Zoey had seen it and liked what she saw.
But Finn had been late this morning and it niggled at the back of her mind that he could well have come straight from another woman’s bed. Could she bear the thought of him delivering passionate, planet-dislodging sex so soon after being with another woman?
It reminded her too much of the humiliation of what her ex had done to her. Rupert had made love to her the very same morning before she’d come home and found him in bed with another woman later in the day. The discovery of them in her own bed had made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t rid her brain of the image of their naked bodies wrapped in each other’s arms.
Finn pulled his chair out and indicated for her to sit on the chair opposite his desk, his expression now back in business mode. ‘Let’s nut out a few preliminary ideas for the Frascatelli project.’
Zoey sat on the chair and smoothed her skirt over her knees. ‘Can I ask you something first?’
‘Sure. Fire away.’
She ran the tip of her tongue across her lips, her gaze drifting to his mouth almost of its own volition. ‘Erm...’ She gave herself a mental shake and asked, ‘Why were you late this morning?’
One corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. ‘You can blame Tolstoy. I let him outside for a bit of sunshine in the garden, but he climbed up one of the trees and refused to come down.’
Relief swept through Zoey in a whooshing wave that made her slightly dizzy. He hadn’t been with another woman. Yay. But then she thought about poor Tolstoy who didn’t look strong enough to hold his own outdoors. ‘Oh, did you get him back in?’ She had a sudden vision of the poor cat getting run over or beaten up by another cat.
‘Yeah, eventually.’ His smile turned rueful. ‘Next time, I’m getting a dog, they’re way more obedient.’
‘Why did you call him Tolstoy?’
‘Because our relationship is one that oscillates between war and peace. We’re currently in a war phase but there are peace negotiations in process.’ He gave a grin and added, ‘I’m hoping for a truce by this evening.’
Zoey laughed. ‘Then I hope you’re successful.’ She was the first to admit he had a great sense of humour. ‘I really liked him. He’s quite adorable, notwithstanding his war wounds.’
‘He was quite taken by you.’ Finn’s gaze held hers in a spine-tingling lock. ‘His loving behaviour was completely out of character. I’ve had to stop entertaining at home because I’m worried he’ll scratch someone. He only just tolerates my housekeeper because she feeds him fillet steak.’
‘That must seriously cramp your style. I mean, not being able to have...erm...guests over.’ She glanced at his mouth and wondered who would be the next woman to kiss those sculptured lips. Who would be the next woman to scream with pleasure in his arms?
His gaze dipped to her mouth and one side of his mouth came up in
a half-smile. ‘I manage.’
There was a moment or two of silence.
Zoey tore her gaze away from his mouth and shifted her weight in the chair. ‘So, what’s your vision for the project?’ There—who said she couldn’t be single-minded?
He leaned forward to pick up a gold pen from his desk and then leaned back in his chair, flicking the button on the top of the pen on and off. His gaze held hers in an unmistakably intimate tether that made her blood tick and roar in her veins. ‘What are the four principles of advertising a product?’
Zoey disguised a swallow. ‘Erm...attraction, interest, desire, action.’ Exactly what Finn had done to her. Attracted her, piqued her interest, made her desire him and spurned her into action. Sensual, racy action she still couldn’t quite believe she had taken. And—God forgive her for being so weak—action she wanted to take again.
A knowing smile ghosted his mouth, his dark eyes containing a smouldering glint that made her heart skip a beat and something topple over in her stomach. ‘Foolproof, right?’
She licked her lips again before she could control the impulse. ‘Yes.’
He tossed the pen he was clicking back down on the desk. ‘We need to work on those principles but ramp up the heat. Most well-travelled people are familiar with the Frascatelli hotel chain in Europe, but we need to show the brand as never before. Leo, as you know, wants to build his brand here in the UK. We need to aim not just for the wow factor, but to convince people a Frascatelli hotel is the only place to stay. Agreed?’
Zoey nodded. ‘Agreed.’
They discussed a few more ideas back and forth and Zoey was pleasantly surprised at how well he listened and took on board her opinions. He didn’t interrupt or discount what she had to say but encouraged her to expand her ideas, to take them a little further out of her comfort zone. It was nothing like the brainstorming sessions she conducted with her father. Her father had dismissed her opinions, ridiculed her and belittled her when her ideas hadn’t aligned with his. But with Finn it was an exhilarating process and she was disappointed when he brought the meeting to a close. The time had grown powerful wings and flown by.
Finn pushed back his chair to stand. ‘Let’s go away and each do our thing and we’ll toss our ideas together some more over dinner tonight. Okay?’
‘Okay.’ Zoey rose from her chair and hunted around for her bag. She picked it up off the floor and hung the strap over her left shoulder, adding, ‘Did you have somewhere in mind? I’ll meet you there.’
‘Let’s do it at my place. It’ll be more private. And Tolstoy will enjoy seeing you again.’
Do it? More private? The double entendre made Zoey arch her brows. ‘We’ll be working, not...not doing anything else.’
‘But of course,’ he said with an enigmatic smile. ‘Your call, right?’
Zoey lifted her chin, determined to resist him no matter how irresistible he was. And on a scale of irresistible he was way up at the top.
And she had better not forget it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
FOR THE REST of the day, Finn found his thoughts drifting to the explosive little interlude with Zoey in his office. He couldn’t look at his desk without picturing her there, nor could he get his mind away from the image of her going down on him. His whole body shuddered in remembrance, the pleasure so intense it had shaken him to the foundation of his being. Their mutual lust was heady and addictive, and yet Zoey seemed to want him with one hand but push him away with the other.
It was her decision. He wasn’t the sort of man to force himself on a woman if she was feeling a little conflicted. But he suspected she was holding him off because she was frightened of the passion he stirred in her. When it came to that, he was a little frightened himself of the things she triggered in him.
Mixing business and pleasure was something he had always shied away from in the past but in Zoey’s case he was prepared to make an exception. He wanted her and he knew damn well she wanted him. He was sure it was only a matter of time before she would be back in his arms. For how long, he couldn’t say. His flings were short, brutally short, but he suspected a brief liaison with Zoey was not going to douse the flames of lust she evoked in him any time soon.
Their two explosive encounters had made him even more in lust with her. He wanted her with a ferocity that was all-consuming. She filled his thoughts like an obsession. Her wild sensuality sent a shockwave through his senses, making him thrum with the aftershocks for hours.
Somehow Zoey had done what no other woman had done before—she had taken control of their relationship, dictating when and even if, it would progress.
And the most disturbing thing of all was that he wanted it to progress. Wanted it badly. Not for ever, because he wasn’t a for ever guy, but he wanted her for now. A fling was all he would offer, but so far, she was holding him at bay on that count. Was that why he was so captivated by her? The thrill of the chase had never been more exciting. The sex was beyond description. The drumming need to have her again was relentless, stirring his senses into a frenzy as soon as he saw her.
Yes, a short fling would be just the thing to get her out of his system. He couldn’t allow a woman—even one as beautiful and delightfully entertaining as Zoey Brackenfield—to get under his skin for too long. Commitment of that sort was anathema to him, but then, apparently it was for her too.
Had someone broken her heart? Her father hadn’t mentioned anything to him about a boyfriend, but then Harry didn’t often talk much about Zoey other than to criticise her. Finn got the feeling Harry was one of those parents who had no idea how to love and value their offspring. And, unfortunately, Finn knew better than most how that felt.
Finn walked out of his office for the day, and June looked up from her desk with a twinkling smile. ‘Zoey Brackenfield is rather stunning, isn’t she? Those unusual violet eyes, that beautiful mouth, that gorgeous complexion. How on earth do you keep your hands off her?’
He kept his expression bland, but his lower body leapt at the mention of Zoey’s physical attributes. Her beautiful mouth had been around him that morning and had just about blown the top of his head off with its wild magic. She had made him punch-drunk with pleasure. Shaken him, rattled him, scrambled him. And he couldn’t wait for her to do it again.
‘She’s not the fling type.’
‘And you’re not the marrying type.’ June gave a little shrug and added with a sigh, ‘Pity.’
Finn affected a laugh. ‘Well, nor is she, as it turns out.’
June’s eyes danced as if they were auditioning for a reality TV dance show. ‘Oh, even better.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Because she’s nothing like all the other women who look up to you like you’re some sort of rock god. She’s seeing the real you, not the idealised you. She’s seeing you as an equal, and that makes for a much better relationship in the long term.’
‘Ahem.’ Finn pointedly cleared his throat. ‘Who said anything about a long-term relationship?’
June’s smile was undented by his savage frown or curt tone. ‘Just putting it out there.’
‘I pay you to work for me, not to comment on my private life.’
‘And just how satisfying has your private life been over the last few months?’
‘Very satisfying.’ But not before he had met Zoey. Finn suddenly realised he hadn’t felt properly alive before he met her. His day to day, week to week, month to month routine had gradually become so humdrum. He hadn’t noticed until Zoey had brought colour, energy and zing to his life. Their occasional meetings at various advertising gigs had been the bright spots in his otherwise routine existence. And just lately she had awakened a dormant part of him, stirring it into living, breathing vitality.
‘Zoey Brackenfield is a breath of fresh air,’ June said, as if reading his thoughts. ‘I think she’ll be an asset to the company.’ Her smile became
enigmatic. ‘Who knows how she will shake this place up, hey?’
Who indeed? But, if what had happened between him and Zoey so far was any indication, all he could say was, Bring it on.
* * *
Zoey dressed with care for her dinner at Finn’s house. She spent ages on her hair and make-up, making sure she looked her best. She wasn’t game enough to question why she was going to so much trouble—after all, she was supposed to be keeping things strictly business between them.
But every time she thought of him—which was way too often for her liking—her mind filled with images of them in his office making mad, passionate love. Her body remembered every glide of his hands, every stroke and flicker of his tongue against her most tender and sensitive flesh. She shivered as she recalled the taste of him, the feel of him, the velvet and steel power of him and how he was completely undone by her caresses. Which was only fair, seeing how undone she had been by his.
She was starting to realise she had seriously misjudged Finn in every way possible. She had accused him of betraying her over the takeover of her father’s company, but a subsequent conversation with her father had confirmed what Finn had said—her father had approached Finn, not the other way round. There was so much more to Finn than she had first thought. He had a depth of character that intrigued her and pleased her. He wasn’t the shallow, self-serving man she had assumed him to be.
Zoey picked up her evening bag and gave herself one more glance in the full-length mirror. The black dress wasn’t new, but it outlined her curves without revealing too much cleavage. She had washed and blow-dried her hair, leaving it loose and wavy around her shoulders. Her make-up was understated apart from smoky eyeliner and a vivid slash of red lipstick.
‘You’ll do,’ she said to her reflection. ‘But don’t get any funny ideas about tonight. It’s a working dinner, nothing else.’