He opened his eyes and met hers again. They were wild, searching everywhere but him.
“You what?” he demanded.
He had to give her credit. She straightened her spine and lifted her chin. “I didn’t do it.” This time she twisted her hand in his and pulled free. He let her, allowing her the space she needed.
“Then who did?” He might have let go but no way was he backing down.
“My ex, all right!”
Finally. He refrained from pumping his fist in the air. This was the first time she’d ever mentioned him. Instead he crossed his arms over his chest.
He stared hard at her. “He can’t hurt you anymore, you know that, don’t you?”
Chapter Two
Aislinn sucked in a breath and felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her dizzy. “What are you talking about?”
Kyle sighed and dropped his arms.
What the hell was going on here? She’d gone from getting her boss coffee and wondering how to tell the six–foot-three, muscle-packed, ex-Special Forces, blond stud his life was in danger to having her own sordid life thrown out before her. She didn’t want to do this. Not with him. Not with anyone. She glanced at the door, judging the distance of her getaway and fighting the flight instinct at the same time.
“What am I talking about?” he snarled. “The fact that you’ve been here for six months and have never said one word about yourself. The fact that you have defensive wounds on your hand which clearly say you’ve either been attacked or cut yourself, which I highly doubt. The fact that I know everything there is to know about you and I know you’re safe here with me and the fact that I want to fuck you so bad I can taste it. That’s what I’m talking about.”
Stunned, Aislinn leaned on the counter for support and tried to breathe. He wanted to fuck her? It was almost laughable. According to David, she was frigid. Based on the way her body reacted to the sound of Kyle’s voice, she was beginning to wonder if David had been wrong. Still, if Kyle had any clue she’d never once had an orgasm he’d probably turn tail and run. How many men would bother with a woman who couldn’t perform in bed?
Yet, at the moment, her nipples were rubbing against her bra, making her want to smooth the ache away with her palms, and her tummy was doing a dance. She ought to be used to her response to his nearness by now.
Then the other half of what he’d said filtered through. How much did he know, and how? She’d never said a word, just like he mentioned. Her knees wobbled and she started to sink to the ground.
“Damn it,” came the hiss from above her.
Black dots swam in her vision. Strong arms lifted her and cradled her against a hard chest. Aislinn buried her nose there. Shame riddled her.
“Did you eat this morning?” Kyle demanded, lowering her to the long sofa on the far wall.
She nodded and gripped his shirt in her hands, unwilling to let go, but knowing she should. Had to. She didn’t want his pity. His hands covered hers and pried them from the silky fabric, then transferred them both into one of his. Big, warm, calloused fingers enveloped hers. He knelt in front of her and lifted her chin with his thumb.
“Nothing will happen to you here,” he assured her, his tone brooking no argument. “I know everything.”
Aislinn sucked in her bottom lip and bit down on it.
“Christ, woman, if you don’t stop biting that lip, I’m going to turn you over my knee and spank you.” He tugged the offended lip from beneath her teeth and caressed it with a fingertip.
Her heart pounded like it wanted to leap from her chest and her breath caught in her throat. It took precious seconds for her to decide if he’d really just threatened to spank her or if she’d imagined it in some depraved corner of her mind. The way he said spank brought to mind nothing but intense pleasure, not pain.
She didn’t think Kyle was anything like David but her track record proved she knew nothing about men. David had been nice once too.
Kyle angled closer. Instead of pulling away, she found herself meeting him halfway. Everything else slipped from her brain. Everything except his mouth, which crept dangerously close to her own. Her eyes slid shut and she breathed in his scent. She wanted this. For the first time in her adult life, she wanted a man to kiss her. Wanted Kyle to kiss her. No one else. She wanted Kyle to see her as a desirable woman, not one with an ugly past.
“Yes, spank. You heard me right, Aislinn.” His breath puffed out on her lips.
And then he was there, his mouth on hers, his tongue demanding entrance, which she gave him way too easily.
She opened and fumbled her tongue on his, feeling like a virgin kissing for the first time. He tasted minty like he’d just brushed his teeth. There was nothing virgin on Kyle’s end though. He expertly insinuated himself in her mouth, feasting on her, tilting her head for better access. Aislinn leaned into him, wanting more, needing more. She couldn’t get close enough. It was a position she’d never found herself in.
Threading a hand in the hair at her nape, Kyle pulled back and looked at her. “Slow down, baby. We’ve got all the time in the world for this.”
The spell broke with a whoosh. Memories flooded, overriding her desire and bringing back all the pain and insecurities. She wasn’t good enough. She never would be. David had made that clear as day. And she would never let a man have control over her again.
Aislinn scrambled off the couch, thankful when Kyle let her get up. She twisted her hands in front of her. Her belly turned over when she looked at Kyle and saw the dismay on his face. He seemed almost hurt.
But he had broken the kiss, not her. Why should he feel pain?
“Hey,” he said, standing and then stalking toward her again. “I know what you’re thinking, Aislinn.” He traced the eyebrow above her right eye with a gentle finger. “We aren’t over by a long shot, sweetheart. I just don’t want it to happen here, in my office. On a couch.” Kyle eased her against his body, enfolding her in a semi-loose embrace, one she could easily escape. For that she was grateful. His breath feathered her ear, making her shiver.
“When I get in you the first time, we’ll be in a bed. And you will be more than ready for me. Drenching wet.” He kissed the shell of her ear and down her neck. “There will be no inch of your body I haven’t tasted.” His mouth moved to the V at the base of her throat and up the other side.
Aislinn moaned and tilted her head. He made her forget who she really was, casting a spell over her with his kisses alone. Her skin tingled in anticipation. A tiny flicker of something she’d never experienced before pulsed between her legs, making her fidget and want to rub herself against the hardness pressing into her belly. The feeling was entirely alien, and yet felt so good. Could she do this?
No. No. She couldn’t let herself be drawn into his world. She wouldn’t lose herself to another man. Ever.
So why couldn’t she make herself pull away from him now?
“No, wait. Me licking every delectable inch of you will have to wait ’til round two.” Kyle trailed his fingers down the length of her arms and she let him. Let him make her feel like a goddess when she knew giving in to him would only lead to trouble. And pain and heartache. It was time to leave. She needed to get away from him before this went one step further. Why couldn’t she make her feet move?
“The first time will be fast and furious,” he mumbled, teasing her mouth open again and thrusting his tongue home.
Both of his hands lifted to tangle in her ponytail, pulling it loose from its semi-bun. Their bodies were plastered together. She felt his penis against her belly. Oh God, it was so big.
Aislinn knew firsthand what kind of weapon it would make, had felt the pain David had inflicted on her vagina, her mouth and her bottom, and the searing humiliation she had to live with afterward.
She panicked and threw her hands between them, pushing for all she was worth. With a desperate cry she tore free. Kyle shoved a hand through his hair, leaving it disheveled and sexier than ever.
Tears sprang to her eyes. Damn. She thought she’d gotten over this. Thought she’d finally become a stronger woman. She had, in some respects, but apparently not when it came to men. No matter how much she wanted the one standing in front of her, going any farther would be a disaster.
Readying herself for whatever blow might land, she faced him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Turner.” Her chin wobbled despite her attempt to remain strong.
Kyle smashed his face behind his hands and refrained from yelling in frustration and scaring her off. What had he thought would happen? That he’d kiss her and she’d be cured? Thank God he’d at least gotten the preliminaries out of the way. As long as he could make her see and understand that he could protect her, and that she was safer staying here than running again, he’d have the time he needed to change her mind about him.
He lowered his hands. Tears welled in her eyes, one spilling over her lower lashes and tracking down her cheek. One single tear and his stomach felt weighed down with lead, deflating his raging hard-on in half a second.
He stayed where he was. No need to cause her further distress. That was the last thing he wanted.
“What are you sorry about, baby?”
Her gaze jerked to his, another tear dropping off, and her mouth opened and closed.
“You…I…I didn’t mean to lead you on.”
Kyle shut his eyes and counted to ten. Then twenty. Hell, fifty wouldn’t have been enough.
“Jesus, baby.” Kyle wanted to shout, but if he saw her flinch it would make him come unglued. “Lead me on?” he rasped. “If anyone’s sorry, it’s me. I shouldn’t have forced you.”
Face going red, she spluttered and wrung her hands.
“David really did a number on you, didn’t he, baby?”
“How did you know his name?” she whispered.
“I told you, I know everything.”
“How?” She looked ready to faint.
“Aislinn, sit down before you fall down.”
She did. Or rather, she perched on the very edge of the couch, prepared to bolt if need be. He watched her eye the distance to the door yet again and was getting damned tired of her constant visual assessment of escape routes. He didn’t blame her one bit after what she’d been through, he just wanted her to feel safe enough in his presence that she wouldn’t have the need to size up her location. Of course he knew all about keeping one’s back to the wall.
“Would it help if I opened it?”
“What?” She jerked her gaze back to him.
“The door. Would it make you more comfortable if I opened the door?”
Indecision marred her pretty features. She schooled them and straightened. Kyle released the breath he’d been holding.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Good.” He didn’t want an audience.
“How do you know about David?” she asked again, strength returning to her voice.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Aislinn.”
“I didn’t ask you to, Kyle.”
His heart stopped hearing his name roll off her lips. “Say it again.”
“I didn’t ask—”
“Not that.”
She tilted her head in confusion.
“My name, Aislinn. Say my name again.”
For a long moment she paused, pursing her lips. She hadn’t meant to say it apparently, which meant he was making headway of a sort. If she said his name unconsciously, in the heat of battle, it meant she wasn’t as immune to him as she’d like to be. Her kisses said the same thing.
“Kyle,” she muttered.
He smiled. “Again.”
“Why?” she demanded with a huff.
“Because I’ve waited six long, fucking months to hear it and now that you’ve said it once, you can’t go back.”
“I can.”
The indignancy in her words made him chuckle and he bent over her, rubbing his nose on hers and invading her space another time. It was a risky move but she needed to get used to being near him. He planned on spending a lot of time close enough to touch her.
“You can’t, Aislinn. Get it through your pretty little head. You and I will make love, and you will scream my name when you come. Over and over and over. As many times as I want to make you come.”
Kyle stood before she could protest and walked to his desk chair. He sat and reached for a file folder. When he glanced back at her she looked disappointed.
“I can’t,” she said with a semi-hysterical laugh and slapped her thighs.
“You can’t what?”
Her chin rose. “I can’t come.”
He snorted. “Every woman can come.” With the proper lover, anyway. There were probably a few who were physically incapable but Kyle had yet to meet any of them.
“Not me.”
Kyle held his pencil so tightly he felt the wood crack in his palm. “Sweetheart, just because your bastard ex never gave you the chance, doesn’t mean you can’t.”
Her chest rose on a deep inhalation and her lips parted. Hell, even from the distance separating her from him he saw her pupils dilate.
“Did I have any messages?” he asked, neatly avoiding the topic of her prick ex and the fact he’d never given her pleasure.
He hid his smile—his teeth were starting to hurt from gritting them so much—at her flustered look and watched her compose herself.
“Yes,” she said, reaching for the slips of pink paper she’d brought in with her.
“Go ahead.”
“No.”
Kyle barked out in laughter. Aislinn jumped. He sat back in his seat and twisted it from side to side. “Six months we’ve been doing this every morning. Six months and you’ve never once told me no. Why today?”
Bastard. He knew why. She’d like to wipe the cocky smile right off his face. Where was it written that a man could get a woman all hot and bothered—when they didn’t want to be, no less—and then turn all business in a second flat?
She could practically feel her blood boiling beneath her skin. Her entire body was probably the same hot pink as her cheeks.
“Today, because you’ve never said before you were having me watched.” There. Let him wonder if maybe he hadn’t done a good job trying to get her all worked up.
Her boss raised an eyebrow. “I don’t remember saying I was having you watched.”
Well, he had her there, didn’t he? She searched her brain but found he was right. He hadn’t actually said anything about watching her. But he knew about David and how else would he know those things unless… Lord, why had she ever said anything about the damn duster?
If she had just kept her mouth shut, they would have gone through their normal morning routine. There would never have been a stray of topics and Aislinn would be sitting out at her desk right now—sipping coffee, filing reports, filling out forms and working on how to keep her boss out of kitchens. But no. Christina had put the rogue image of Kyle, naked behind a duster, in her head. She groaned inwardly.
“I’m a smart woman, Mr. Tur—”
“Hey,” he snapped. “You won’t get away with it, Aislinn.”
She gritted her teeth. “Kyle, then,” she ground out. “You may not have said anything about following me, but—”
“Now I’m following you?”
“You are an infuriating man.”
He grinned. She should have been irritated to hell by the action. She wanted to be. Instead it only melted something inside her heart. Kyle made it nearly impossible for her to stay mad at him. A miracle in itself since she hated all men.
Liar.
She took a deep breath. “How did you know about David?”
Kyle shrugged. “I do background checks on all my employees, particularly the ones who will be working the closest to me. I had to do a lot of digging for yours. To quote you, I’m a smart man.”
She was floored. “But…why did you hire me if you knew about me?”
He snorted. “You have to ask me that after the speech I just gave you?”
Aislinn swallowed. She hadn’t gotten up this morning with anything on her mind other than warning her boss of imminent danger. Now she found herself embroiled in digging up a past she wished dead and picturing the man sitting across from her naked. Ripped abs, sleek tanned skin, a thick cock jutting out in anticipation. Of her. Cheeks flaring, she licked her lips and tried to shake the image.
“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”
“No,” she hissed, hating being caught in a lie.
“You are.”
“You have four messages.” She bit her tongue and handed the slips to him, careful not to touch any part of his fingers. “The caterer’s confirming, Michael Whitehall wanting to know why his wife hasn’t been caught yet, Mrs. Givens can’t find Fluffy again and Crystal called. Again. She sounds…sweet,” she couldn’t help adding.
“You don’t approve of Crystal?”
Aislinn cleared her throat and smoothed an invisible wrinkle on her shirt. She’d never questioned his business before. Her flustered attitude was all his fault.
“I don’t know Crystal,” she murmured, trying to redeem herself. She wished now she had begged him to open the door instead of trying to be a tough girl. She looked anywhere but at him and prayed he was done with her for the day.
His silence got to her. She lifted her gaze to find him smiling at her. Again. Her body melted. Impossible. Frigid women did not melt in front of smiling egotistical men, nor did their nipples tighten or their wombs clench. Sweat popped out on her forehead. She had to get out of here.
“Anyway,” she said, standing, “you also have several emails to look at.” She edged toward the door and freedom, for at least the next few minutes. “Some of them looked important, so make sure you actually read them.”
“You mean you’re not going to tell me what’s in them today?”
“No.”
-->
