I Brake For Bad Boys

by Foster, Lori

  “I think that mind of yours is absolutely amazing,” he said, giving her the compliment she deserved for a job well done.

  A huge smile lit up her face. “So, you really like it?”

  “I love it,” he replied honestly. “And I think our client will, too.”

  She turned her attention back to the brochure, and his gaze traveled down the smooth expanse of her throat to the conservative overlapping “V” of her suit jacket. Her stance caused the lapel to gap open slightly, giving him a glimpse of the delicate slope of one breast and the peach lace trim of a bra—just enough to tantalize and tease his senses before she straightened again.

  “I have to admit that the generous bonus Massey is offering me to bring the campaign in on time and to the client’s full satisfaction is a huge incentive in getting this presentation absolutely flawless.”

  And that bonus was important to her, he knew. Had been from the very beginning, since the promise of that monetary reward had been the deciding factor in her taking on this freelance project. According to her impressive resume, she used to work for an equally large advertising firm, until she’d abruptly quit and started her own small agency. On occasion she did freelance work, and the president of Massey and Associates insisted she come on board as temporary creative director for this potential multimillion dollar contract, at any cost. Thus the bonus. There had even been talk of the partners wanting her on a full-time basis, but so far Jill had turned down their very generous offers.

  She shifted beside him and handed him a signoff sheet. “If you’ll give me your final approval and signature on the layout of the presentation brochure then both of us can call it a night.”

  “Only to return tomorrow morning bright and early,” he said wryly. Reaching for a pen, he scrawled his signature on the appropriate line of the attached report.

  “It’s a vicious cycle in this business, you know that,” she said as she took back her papers to add to the presentation package. “But look on the bright side. Another week or so and we should have this campaign wrapped up and contracted. I’ll be gone, and things can finally return to normal for you and your creative team.”

  With that, she issued him a final good night and headed for the door.

  He sat there as she exited his office, her idle comment a jarring reminder that his time with her was limited. As for things returning to normal, he didn’t know what normal was anymore. Not unless it included a daily dose of her, which fueled his erotic nighttime fantasies of them together, in carnal ways that left him hot and bothered and hornier than he could ever remember being. After three months of working side by side, another week and a half and she’d be gone, and already he was mourning the loss.

  He shoved his fingers through his hair, then scrubbed a hand down his face and along the late evening stubble lining his jaw. Oh, man, he was in way over his head when it came to Jill, intrigued beyond reason, and so crazed with wanting her that he knew his brothers would laugh their asses off if they knew a woman had him so tied up in knots.

  While both Steve and Adrian had attempted committed relationships in the past, neither one of them had ultimately been lucky in love. After being burned, they’d opted for the joys and freedom of bachelorhood, and seemed content with their single status—much to the disappointment of their parents, who wanted their boys happily settled, as they were. Being the youngest, and having witnessed his brothers’ misery with the opposite sex, Eric had learned to guard his own emotions. He’d always been the consummate playboy, enjoying all women but never allowing one to get under his skin quite the way Jill had.

  She stimulated and inspired him, mentally and physically, and it had been forever since a woman had managed that feat. And while the awareness between them was evident and she took his flirtatious behavior in stride, she never acted on the attraction. In that respect, she was reserved and guarded, and damned if he didn’t want to delve deeper and unleash the desire he’d seen in her eyes on more than one occasion.

  She was a challenge he couldn’t resist.

  Never before had he hesitated to go after what he wanted. He’d always been aggressive and impulsive when it came to pursuing the opposite sex, and it was past time he took a chance on Jill. Their business relationship was only temporary, which worked to both of their advantages, and there was no denying an affair between them would be both incendiary, and oh, so satisfying.

  There was only one thing for him to do. Issue her a mutually satisfying proposition, and hope she agreed to the same.

  After shutting down her office, Jill checked in one last time with two coworkers on her design team intent on putting in a few more hours of work before leaving for the evening. She spent a good twenty minutes approving the start of the Web site layout James was designing, and gave Catherine her input on a direct mail marketing outline. Then she took her briefcase and headed toward the bank of elevators that would release her from the confines of the thirty-sixth floor of the Chicago high-rise. Another day down, and only a few more weeks to go before she collected her bonus check and a newfound freedom and independence was all hers. That extra money would finally put her on solid financial ground, and enable her to devote more time to building her own agency.

  With a soft ping, an elevator arrived and she stepped inside, pressing the button for the underground parking garage. Just as the steel door began to shut, a big body just barely squeezed his way past and into the elevator.

  She gasped in startled surprise, then realized the intruder was none other than her gorgeous boss, Eric Wilde, briefcase in hand and his suit jacket draped over his arm, looking every inch the “Wilde, untamable bad boy” he’d been dubbed by female coworkers. The man had a way of looking completely sexy, at any time, including after a long, tiring day at the office.

  His tie was off, presumably stuffed into his briefcase. The first three buttons of his oxford shirt were undone, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing the muscular strength in those forearms. His pitch-black hair was mussed since he had a habit of combing his fingers through the strands when he was deep in thought, and his bright blue eyes had the ability to shift from striking to intense to flirtatious, depending on his mood.

  At the moment, there was something about his entire demeanor that seemed a bit aggressive, predatory, and too damned sexual.

  Or maybe her exhausted mind was playing tricks on her.

  Despite that definite possibility, her stomach fluttered in keen awareness, and she did her best to squash her attraction to him, as she’d managed to do for the past three months that she’d been working for Massey and Associates. And keeping her distance included keeping to her side of the elevator, which seemed to have shrunk in size the moment he’d hopped on board.

  It dawned on her that she’d never been alone with him in one of the elevators before—they were always surrounded by other people coming and going to different floors. The air around her turned too warm, his presence too intimate, his gaze too purposeful.

  The elevator began its smooth descent toward the parking garage and she regarded him with a small smile. “All you had to do was holler and I would have held the door for you.”

  A disarming grin full of his normal playful charm curved his lips. “I didn’t want to take any chances.”

  His odd remark confused her, but she refused to read too much into his comment—like the fact that he was insinuating she might not have held the door for him. “Well, I’m glad to see you took my advice to call it a night.”

  He shrugged his wide shoulders. “I decided work will be waiting for me when I get in in the morning.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s so true.” Needing to distract herself from his compelling stare, and the fact that they were sealed in a small confined space alone, she opened her purse and began digging through the contents for her car keys. “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a fairy that came in at night and sprinkled fairy dust on all our outstanding work so that it was all done come the morning?”

>   He chuckled at her whimsical thought, and then the elevator came to an abrupt, jarring stop.

  She sucked in a quick breath and her gaze shot to the numbered panel above the steel door, which confirmed her fear. They were stalled somewhere between the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth floors. “Oh, my God, we’re stuck.”

  “We’re fine,” Eric said, his low, deep voice reassuring her. “I stopped the elevator.”

  “You did?” She jerked her gaze back to him, and frowned, unable to comprehend why he’d do such a thing. “Why?”

  “Well, for one, I now have your full attention.” Calmly, he set his briefcase and jacket on the floor, then slowly closed the short distance between the two of them, stopping less than a foot away. “And two, I’m buying myself some extra time alone with you, five minutes max, without the chance of getting interrupted by a coworker, or something business related. This is strictly personal, between you and me.”

  Her pulse leaped, spreading heat throughout her entire body. Somehow, she managed to keep herself outwardly composed, though her mind tried to predict what he intended to do with the five minutes he’d just brazenly claimed as his own. For some reason he’d chosen tonight to bring their attraction out into the open, to force her to acknowledge the desire they’d both skirted for the past three months.

  She inhaled a slow, deep breath. He stood so close, she drew in the warm, masculine scent that clung to his skin, could feel the heat of his tall, lean, hard body that made her feel so soft and feminine in contrast. His eyes were dark and focused completely on her, the irises smoldering with an intense sexual energy she found both fascinating and unsettling.

  Oh, Lord, he was so virile, so tempting, so . . . everything. Yet there was absolutely nothing intimidating about him, if she didn’t count the threat to her hormones, and emotions, too. She had a feeling, given the chance, he could devastate both.

  Absently, she ran her tongue over her dry lips, and realized her mistake when his gaze dropped to her mouth. “Eric . . . don’t you think that security is going to notice that this elevator isn’t moving?” Amazingly, her voice didn’t betray her nervousness, and she managed to sound steady and pragmatic.

  “There’s no reason why they should suspect anything’s wrong, not unless someone presses the alarm bell,” he said meaningfully. “It’s after seven in the evening, there are six other elevators operating, and no one is going to miss this one for a few minutes. And you can release the stop button at any time.”

  He was giving her that choice to make. Giving her a sense of security and a safety net if she wanted one. But that meant brushing past him to get to the panel of buttons. In the process of her sidestepping him their chests and thighs would touch, and she didn’t think she could handle the intimate caress of their bodies when her nipples were already so painfully tight.

  She stayed put, out of necessity and partly because she was curious. “So, what’s so important that you’d go to such extremes to be alone with me?”

  “I would think that would be obvious.” Flattening one hand on the mirrored wall at the side of her head, he leaned toward her, increasing the heat and awareness between them. “But if not, I guess I need to be a bit more forward. How about having dinner with me tonight?”

  Startled by his invitation, one that tempted her beyond reason, it took her a moment to form an excuse that didn’t give away her deeper interest in him. “Thank you for the offer, but I had a late lunch and I’m not hungry.”

  A grin canted the corner of his mouth, as if he saw beneath her struggle to hang onto her businesslike composure when the air around them fairly crackled with a vibrant, seductive energy. “How about a drink, then?”

  “I’m not thirsty.” Oh, that was totally lame! She caught herself before she could roll her eyes, and uncertain of what his next request might be, she decided to turn the tables and throw him off guard instead. “Do you know it’s common knowledge that you’re a womanizer?”

  “Really?” He lifted a dark brow, seemingly more amused than offended by her comment. “Says who?”

  “A lot of the women in the office.” She shrugged, attempting a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “You’ve got a reputation for being a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy.”

  “That’s an exaggeration. At least the second part of that statement is.” With his free hand, he reached down and uncurled her fingers from the handle of her briefcase, then set the leather portfolio on the floor beside her. He straightened again, trapping her completely between the arm braced near her shoulder and the palm he lightly rested on the curve of her waist.

  His touch was gentle, incredibly sensual, and one hundred percent confident male. His striking blue eyes, locked on hers, made her tremble deep inside. She knew she should tell him to stop. At the very least to back away so she didn’t feel so scorched by his close proximity. But she was too mesmerized by the seductive, forbidden spell he’d so effortlessly woven between them to speak. It was just the two of them, alone, and despite knowing from personal experience how risky it was to get involved with a man she essentially worked for, she couldn’t deny the fact that she’d craved Eric from the very first day she’d met him.

  She had to resist him . . .

  His thumb feathered along her hip, bringing his gorgeous face, and her predicament, back into focus. The fluorescent lights overhead haloed his dark head, giving her the distinct impression that she was dealing with a fallen angel who knew too much about wicked, sinful pleasures.

  “As for that love ’em and leave ’em comment, I do love everything about women,” he murmured huskily. “The way they smell . . .” He dipped his head, his nose skimming her jaw as he inhaled slowly, deeply, as if she were an irresistible drug he couldn’t get enough of.

  Her lashes fluttered closed, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from groaning out loud.

  “The feel of their soft skin . . .”

  Warm fingers strummed along the sensitive flesh at the nape of her neck, and her pulse quickened in her chest, between her thighs. With effort, she lifted her hands and placed them against his rib cage, but couldn’t bring herself to push him away.

  “And especially the way they taste . . .”

  His lips parted against her throat, and his soft, wet tongue lapped at her sensuously, awakening long dormant needs and a rising passion she couldn’t contain. Her head fell back, and exquisite sensations curled through her, making her knees weak and her breasts ache for the stroke of his tongue, the heat of his mouth.

  His lips traveled back up to her ear. “So, if dinner is out, and so is a drink, how about a kiss?”

  Oh, yes, please . . . The shameless plea tumbled through Jill’s mind, startling her at just how far she’d allowed herself to go with Eric. And just how much farther she ached to go with him, to fulfill the fantasies she’d taken to bed with her for the past three months and finally experience reality in its purest form.

  “I’m not interested,” she blurted, out of sheer preservation.

  He chuckled, the deep, arousing vibrations rippling along her nerve endings. “You are such a liar, Jill.” Amusement laced his voice and flickered in his eyes, which quickly faded to a more serious, sensual mood. “I can smell your desire. I can feel how much you want me. And I tasted the heat of excitement on your skin.”

  The man was absolutely shameless. Despite knowing all the reasons why she should avoid any involvement with him, she felt her defenses crumbling, her resolve weakening. In its place anticipation stirred her blood, and a hot ache settled low.

  “Just one kiss?” He bent his head, slow enough to give her time to protest.

  But she couldn’t resist him, or the deeper longing to give in to something so spontaneous and impulsive when she’d spent the last year and a half alone, being much too sensible about everything. Including her attraction to this sexy man.

  Her lashes fluttered closed as his mouth touched hers, soft and fleeting at first, then gradually he exerted a firmer, more coaxing pressu
re. Her lips parted on a low moan, one he took as the invitation it was intended to be. The gentle glide of his tongue was slow and lazy, seducing her in degrees. Her fingers curled into tight fists against his chest as the kiss grew deeper, wetter. Giving in to the delicious, heady sensations and the thrill of arousal setting her nerve endings aflame, she returned his kiss with reckless abandon.

  The hand resting on her hip slid lower and smoothed over the curve of her derriere. He squeezed her bottom in his palm, groaned deep in his throat, and pulled her closer, until there was no mistaking the hard, impressive length of his erection pulsing against her belly. Her body slickened in a purely feminine response as she imagined how all that aggressive male heat would feel stroking deep inside her.

  The erotic hunger and need he incited was instantaneous and explosive, an intimate connection that sent her world spinning out of control. Her physical reaction to him was so powerful and instinctive, all from a bone-melting kiss, and she knew, and feared, that this man had the ability to make her forget about the hard lesson she’d learned about mixing business with more intimate pleasures.

  She broke the kiss and looked up into his blue eyes, heavy-lidded and smoky with passion. For her. And then a breathtakingly confident smile made an appearance.

  “I’d really like to see you outside of the office,” he murmured.

  Panic streaked through her. His big hand still cupped her bottom possessively, and somehow she managed to shore up the fortitude to end this interlude before she gave in to the desire simmering between them. “We can’t,” she said abruptly, then amended that with a firm, “I can’t.”

  He tilted his head, looking adorably boyish, and too damn persuasive. “Why not?”

  Easing past him, she released the stop button and put the elevator back into motion before she did something incredibly stupid . . . like change her mind, or worse, let him take her right there in the elevator. Lord knew her body was primed and ready for his.