Draco

by Saskia Walker

  “Very good choice, if I might say so, Sir,” Carmichael said and took the three suits Draco had looked at, gesturing for him to follow as he went toward a curtained area on the far side of the room.

  Lara sat down then shifted from her original position on the sofa, moving to one end, so she could see where they’d gone. Only when she’d done so, did she realize what she’d done. She had a clear view into the changing rooms. Before she had a chance to move back and pick up a glossy magazine on the coffee table, Draco started stripping off his T-shirt.

  As he pulled the soft jersey over his head his muscular chest and arms were revealed, she was rooted to the spot.

  He flicked back his hair as he cast the T-shirt aside and, as he did so, he locked her gaze to his. It was too late to look away. He knew she was watching and grinned at her.

  Showing off, she thought to herself, but it tickled her. Grabbing a magazine, she flicked through it, but all of her attention was still on the dressing room area.

  Slowly, he unbuttoned the fly on his jeans and shucked them off, revealing tight black jockey shorts beneath. She swallowed, suddenly hot and restless. His thighs were solid, leanly muscled, hard and defined. She managed to stare down at the glossy magazine in her hands for what might have been two seconds or two minutes—she had no way of knowing—when she heard his voice.

  “Any preference which I try first?”

  He was standing close by, a suit in each hand.

  He’d come all the way out to flaunt himself in front of her. She knew that, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at the suits because he was fully naked, bar those tight jockey shorts. Her gaze had locked on, even while she told herself to look away.

  There was a six pack.

  She blinked and stared some more, unable to do otherwise.

  The effect it had on her was quite devastating, as if something inside her responded acutely and innately to the sudden and very real presence of pure masculinity. All her sensory awareness plummeted into her groin, where it simmered expectantly. She’d never seen a six-pack before. Not in the flesh, as it were. What would it be like to touch it? she wondered. To stroke her hand over the hard wall of his chest and then meander down to stroke those oh-so-delicious abs? As the question teased her conscious mind, her gaze followed the line down until it met the bulge in his jockeys and she blinked.

  “Madam?”

  “The blue one,” she blurted.

  “They’re both blue.”

  Silently berating herself, she told herself it didn’t really matter which he tried on first, and he knew that. Nodding her head in one direction, she tried to look at that suit. It was a lovely shade of blue. “I meant the darker blue one.”

  He nodded and turned away.

  She got an eyeful of the rear view.

  His broad back looked sculpted, it was that honed.

  The sight of his muscular buttocks in the clingy underwear made her whole body flash hot. Get a grip, she told herself, and stared out the window at the street outside, while she counted to ten. This was business.

  When he returned, any sense of cool she’d gathered was shot down in a glance. He looked as if he’d stepped off the cover of a magazine—classy, handsome and smart. There was a sweet, questioning look in his eyes as he approached and it made her swoon. He wasn’t sure it looked right. Bless him.

  Quickly, she smiled and nodded.

  The truth of the matter was he was smart and well groomed anyway, but seeing him in an expensive suit set it all off, at least it did for her. Right then he could have walked in to any business organization anywhere in the world and been welcomed and accepted. She had to swallow hard while she tried to think of a more appropriate reaction than staring and drooling. “Great. Let me see you in the other one, the black one.”

  Draco frowned.

  Carmichael nodded. “Madam is right, the black will suit Sir even better than this one.”

  Draco went back into the changing area. This time he omitted to close the curtain behind him. Whether by accident or on purpose Lara didn’t know. Or care, for that matter. Mesmerised by the sight of him shucking off the jacket and undressing, her skin needled with arousal, her breath catching in her lungs. His body was so alive and fit something very deep inside her fluttered vibrantly. Just then he turned to face her. His insinuating smile barely touched her conscious mind. He knew she watched, and still she couldn’t look away.

  She reminded herself to keep a clear head. This was possibly the most important project she would ever undertake in her life and if she messed up, her relationship with her father would falter also. It was a sobering thought.

  She’d addressed the possibility many times. If her father found out what she was doing and threw her out of the last, so be it. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be part of his business empire anyway. It felt like being thrown crumbs from the table after so many years of being let in on the occasional visit. Meanwhile her brothers got treated to every possible foot up the ladder you could imagine.

  Attention magnetized back to Draco, she caught him just in time as he threw aside the blue silk tie and went for the fly. He dropped the pants to his knees and went to step out of them. The assistant walked across her view, obscuring it for a moment, and she found herself leaning to one side trying to catch another glimpse. By the time the assistant moved, Draco was pulling on the second pair of trousers. She found herself witnessing him doing them up on the waist.

  Moments later he walked toward her again, putting on the jacket as he closed the space.

  “Gorgeous,” she murmured.

  “I didn’t realize I’d have to look ‘gorgeous’ for the task.”

  “You don’t. I consider it an added bonus.” Staring at him as calmly as she could she brazened it out.

  His mouth twitched into a smile, the look in his eyes brooding.

  What happened to staying level headed? Within minutes the sight of him half undressed led to mutual flirting. Could she even be trusted to watch him undress a third time? Probably not. “No alterations needed, do you agree, Carmichael?”

  “Absolutely, Madam.”

  Once they were done and he was back in his own clothing, Lara rose to her feet and crossed to the glass cabinet where the cash register was located. Harry had warned her the fancy register was for appearance’s sake only, which was just as well because she wouldn’t have known where to start with it. It was a brass contraption and looked as if it was a hundred years old. Tucked discreetly behind it she noticed a credit card scanner.

  “You sure about all this expense?” Draco was by her side but was looking at the suits hanging over his arm, searching inside for price labels.

  “You have to look right, and that means the right sort of office armor.”

  “Armor?” Instantly he stopped searching for labels and looked at her with disbelief. “You serious?”

  “I like to think of it that way. Makes it seem a bit more interesting.” She gave him a quick smile and handed over her card to Carmichael when he stepped behind the desk.

  He set the card in a small brass dish and then relieved Draco of the garments he was carrying. Laying them out on the glass cabinet, he set about the mammoth task of folding them and placing each item in tissue paper and boxes, before he rang up the tickets he retrieved from somewhere deep in the pockets.

  “Office armor,” Draco repeated, with a laugh. “I’ve never heard it called that before.”

  She was about to ask if he’d ever worn a suit before, then thought twice about it. Right now the atmosphere between them was relaxing and she was actually looking forward to the rest of the day, when she would introduce him to their living quarters, and take that first leap into software at Compton Finance.

  “This situation seems to be getting out of hand,” Draco said when their purchases were all neatly boxed and stacked.

  He was right, there was far too much for them to carry. “Thank you, Carmichael. Once you’re done, could I trouble you to call
us a taxi?”

  When the cab arrived, Carmichael insisted on loading the packages himself.

  “I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would,” Draco commented, looking deep into her eyes once they’d climbed into the car.

  She clicked on her seatbelt. “Good. The business look suits you.”

  “I meant being with you.”

  Blatant, and he seemed closer still, without having moved.

  She could smell his cologne, see the confidently-seductive look in his eyes.

  The taxi driver’s door shut, the car pulled away, and still Draco held her gaze.

  Her pulse raced, her desire soaring.

  How was she going to stop herself melting into a puddle every time they were alone? Ironically, she realized it might have been easier if he had been an obnoxious teen in a hoodie. But he wasn’t, and every atom of her body kept reminding her of that fact.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “This will be your home for the duration.” She unlocked the heavy oak door and Draco followed her in.

  He stared around the elite riverside apartment, trying not to look impressed. “It’ll do.”

  She actually laughed. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

  She flashed him a fiery glance.

  He closed the space between them in three paces. “No need to try to impress me. I have my own place.”

  “Does it look like this?” She nodded across at the floor to ceiling windows and the view of the River Thames beyond.

  “Not quite. Then again, I’m supposed to be your buddy Steven Smith, a first year student. Do students in their first year on a business degree really live in this kind of apartment?” He really was baffled. “If you’re a student, how can you afford a place like this?”

  “I’m teasing you. I don’t usually live in a place like this.”

  Teasing? Fine. As far as he was concerned it meant she was free game to be teased back. He took off his jacket.

  “You might as well know. It’ll come out at some point.” She looked at him for a long silent moment as if deciding what to say.

  Draco waited for her to spill. He needed to know everything there was to know before he waded any deeper into this situation.

  “My mother rented this place for me for the summer placement, so I didn’t have to live with my dad and my brothers.” She paused. “I usually live with my mum. My parents are divorced.”

  She didn’t really want to share the information, but Draco figured it was relevant. Anything that set her apart from her brothers in this ludicrous competition was important. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

  She shook her head. “It would’ve come out eventually, so you might as well know now.”

  “How well do you feel you know your dad, and your brothers?” It could be important.

  “Well enough to second guess them, I think. I was nine when my parents split, but I spent part of every summer and other holidays with my dad and my brothers. We’re not close but we get on okay, I guess.”

  Draco sensed she was on the outside trying to get in. This was really important and she had a lot invested in it. “I get on better with my stepbrothers than my sisters,” he offered, mainly to put her at her ease. He’d discovered the best way to get people to open up was to offer something about himself. “I guess sometimes being related makes it more difficult, the expectation that you’ll all get on, whether you spend time together or not.”

  She looked at him with wide-open eyes and nodded thoughtfully. Neither said it aloud, but they exchanged it in glances—despite the differences in their lives there was something in common there, although he supposed you could find common ground with anybody if you tried hard enough. This felt significant, though.

  “I’m afraid my mum has a grudge against my dad,” she continued. “He had an affair while they were still married. She wasn’t happy about me taking the student placement with him, so she paid out for this place so I didn’t have to live in the house with them.” She considered him thoughtfully for a moment. “Don’t think I’m a spoiled brat, because I’m not. I have a private allowance from both parents but I only use my allowances for tuition fees. I hold down a part-time job in a bookstore during term time, to cover my living expenses. I only agreed to the rental of this place to pacify my mother.”

  “I see.” He wasn’t expecting such an in-depth explanation, but it was eye opening. He’d come from a very basic background where the biggest luxury was fish and chips on a Friday night. Why was she so worried he would think she was spoilt? His opinion of her mattered. Was she the same with everyone, or was it just him? Time would tell. One thing he knew for certain, spoiled brat or not, he wanted her. “Not your usual run-of-the mill student though, are you?”

  “You’d be surprised.” She rolled her eyes, threw the keys down on the long marble breakfast bar carving up the massive space in open plan apartment. “A lot of the guys on my course have a similar background, parents in the finance district. I try to focus on my studies and do the best I can, because I don’t automatically have a cushy job in the family business at the end of it the way many of them do.”

  Interesting. Was that why she was embarking on this crazy endeavour?

  “I’d love a place of my own,” she continued, “but my dad insists I stay at home with either him or my mum until I finish my degree.”

  She bent down and took off her high heels, kicking them to one side. Draco watched in surprise as she went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It certainly didn’t look as if she wasn’t going to hand him the keys and leave immediately. This gig was looking better and better all the time.

  After the simmering hot looks she’d been giving him in the suit shop, Draco sensed there might be perks other than the fee he’d been offered. Had she picked him because she fancied a bit of rough, a known criminal at large to seduce the panties off of her?

  He followed her to the refrigerator, leaned in close and looked over her shoulder. “What are we having for dinner, honey?”

  She laughed and jostled her elbows, pushing him away. “Dinner? You’ll be lucky. I have some sandwiches for while we’re working this afternoon.”

  Before she closed the refrigerator she pulled out a catering tray covered in plastic. It contained fancy looking sandwiches and things on sticks with dips. In her other hand she had a bottle of champagne.

  “To toast our arrangement, later.” She gestured with the bottle and then put it back in the fridge. “First we’ve got work to do.” She nodded into the area beyond the long low leather sofas, where a glass dining table with fancy chairs stood.

  Draco saw two laptop computers there on the table.

  “There are some juices in the fridge, would you grab them?”

  Draco collected the orange juices as requested, kicked off his shoes near hers, and then padded across the plush cream-colored carpet after her. He stared down at it. Never before had he seen a less practical floor covering.

  “As I mentioned, you’re going to be introduced as a friend of mine from my class, Steven. Therefore the first thing you need to do is hack into the University student list and add your ID photo instead of Steve’s.” She set the bottle on the table and walked along the laptops, opening them and switching them on.

  Draco laughed. “That simple, huh?”

  “Let’s hope so. We can use the student ID link for your Compton Finance work pass, which will be set up once we begin, tomorrow. I used mine when I started, so they’ll accept it. It just has to look like you.” She peeled open the food. “Sandwich?”

  It took a couple of hours to find his way around, but Draco got into the college records and uploaded an indistinct photo of himself over Steven Smith’s. He didn’t want a decent image stored there in case it was used to track him down, later.

  Throughout the afternoon she’d sat by his side, observing with interest. She also kept him supplied with coffee, water, and sandwiches. Whenever she left his side, he wondered if he was insane, entering into this. I
t didn’t exactly shatter his vow not to hack, because she was taking responsibility. Nevertheless, it didn’t rest easy on him.

  He didn’t like to think about the money either, not until he had it in hand, although it would come in useful. His younger sister Sky was in London trying to get herself hooked into an art course. She’d need money. So he could certainly use the fee, but there were no guarantees he’d be around long enough to get paid. He might not be able to put his hands on the knowledge she wanted. He might be outed as a hacker, or worse still banged up like his stepbrother. Enjoy the gig while it lasts, he told himself.

  “Flawless,” he told her once he was done.

  “Excellent.”

  At some point her shirt had slid loose from her waistband. She’d curled her legs under her on the chair. Relaxed, that’s how she looked. It pleased him.

  She pulled the second laptop closer, clicked onto a desktop icon and logged in to an account. “Let me quickly show you what the Compton Finance system looks like, it’ll save time tomorrow.”

  Draco stared at the screen. If she could log in remotely he could do the task from here. Restraining himself, he didn’t comment, and let her show him around the system set up, watching her fingers on the keyboard, his mind whirring as he stored away details.

  “Looks pretty user friendly,” he said, once she’d done.

  “Great. We can crack open that champagne.”

  “One question.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “You said this was my home for the duration, so does this mean you’re staying with me?”

  With a laugh, she gave him a knowing look. “I want you here so I know where you’re at and you don’t disappear on me.”

  “I won’t disappear. Trust me.”

  “I’ll try.” She studied him with interest.

  Draco swore she was thinking about the same thing he was. When she got flirty it showed in her eyes, like a tell. Did she even know how sexy she looked? God, she was delicious. “You haven’t answered my question. Are you staying over?”

  “I think I’ll let you settle in on your own tonight. I’ll stay with a girlfriend. Once we’re both working at Compton Finance together and we’re fully locked into the project, I’ll be here, making sure you don’t do a runner on me.”