by Shayla Black
“Talking to me, you don’t.” He sipped his Scotch again.
It didn’t take her long to draw a conclusion. “You’re saying I have to sleep with you to find out what you’re best at?”
Her glance had turned slightly disdainful, as if she wanted him to think that men in bars regularly propositioned her. The pulse throbbing at the base of her neck said otherwise. “Not at all. In this instance, sleeping would be rather a waste of time.”
The woman’s jaw dropped in shock. “You’ve got balls.”
“I do, indeed. I assumed you hadn’t mistaken me for a female.”
She tsked at him. “I meant you’ve got a lot of nerve.”
“You will never have anything you want if you don’t pursue it.”
The cleavage above her plunging V-neck rose and fell rapidly. Heath grabbed her wrist. Her pulse hammered under his fingertips. Already, her eyes were dilated. He stepped closer and wrapped a hand around her nape, tilting her face to his.
“And you want me?” she breathed.
“You’re a beautiful woman.” He caressed his way down the graceful column of her throat. “A man would be very lucky to touch you. In fact, I daresay it would be a pleasure.”
“Really?”
A thread of guilt tugged at him for playing on her loneliness. But in truth, sex would benefit them both. He could make her feel treasured and gorgeous for a time. She could distract him—he hoped.
He downed the rest of his Scotch. It did nothing to quell the ache in his cock he’d been fighting since meeting his new boss.
“Of course. But everything is up to you,” Heath told the stranger. “We can stay here and have another round. Or I know a quiet spot where we could . . . talk privately.”
The woman bit her lip as if she couldn’t quite decide. She sent a sideways glance at the couple she’d come with. They danced their best imitation of vertical sex whilst moving to the beat of the music. Desire fused their lips together in an interminable kiss. Heath doubted they would be coming up for air soon.
The woman beside him tensed, her gaze skittering back to her wine. She swallowed the last half quickly as if downing liquid courage. “Let’s go. And for the record, I don’t want to talk.”
“Excellent.”
He led the blonde across the room, toward a cordoned-off staircase. On the far side, he glanced back, swearing someone watched him. But across the loud, smoky bar, no one in the crowd seemed to pay him much notice.
Heath shrugged off the feeling as he led the woman up to the private area of the club. The sounds below them faded to a dull roar. The lighting grew even more dim. The scents of sweat, alcohol, and desperation choking the first floor gave way to cologne, money, and sex.
“What’s your name?” she asked with a shy glance when they reached the landing at the top.
“Does it matter?”
She hesitated, glanced down the stairs, then back to his face. “No.”
“Right, then.” Heath led her toward a quiet, poorly lit corner, then turned her to face the wall. He lifted her short skirt and lowered her knickers just enough before reaching into his pocket for a condom. “Brace your hands and feel free to scream.”
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels, including the Wicked Lovers series (Wicked for You, His to Take) and, with Lexi Blake, the Perfect Gentlemen series (Big Easy Temptation, Seduction in Session, Scandal Never Sleeps). For over fifteen years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold well over a million copies and have been published in a dozen languages.
Raised as an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in marketing/advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she has been living her dream as a full-time author for the past seven years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband, her teenage daughter, and a very spoiled cat. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
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