Bedding The Boss (Bedding the Bachelors Book 8)
Page 18
And then his eyes dropped to her breasts.
“He’s lucky I didn’t stitch his eyes closed for looking at you the way he was, Jessica.”
Aurora’s mouth dropped open. Aaand the asshole was back. Scanning her body with those deep blue eyes and calling her by the wrong name.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Callaghan?” Her professional veneer burned to a crisp as her temper spiked. She took a step forward into his space and planted a finger on his broad chest. Aurora was tall in her heels, pushing six feet, but he still towered over her. His sinful mouth quirked in a smile and his dark hair fell over his brow. “We work together for four years, you hitting on me like a frat boy the entire time, and now you can’t even get my name right? Jesus. What am I, a magnet for fuck boys?”
She threw her hands up, as if asking that question of the cosmos itself, and Dante easily reached up, snatched her hand out of the air and laced his fingers through hers.
“I know your name, Aurora. Trust me. I’ve grunted it into my pillow enough times after business meetings with you.”
Aurora schooled her face into a neutral expression, refusing to give him the satisfaction of her shock. “You’re an absolute pig, Callaghan.”
“No,” he corrected, holding her hand tight when she tried to tug it free and tracing a circle on the inside of her wrist with his thumb. “I’m a man. And you’re the most beautiful woman in the room no matter which room it is.”
For a moment, his words caused pleasure to ripple through her, but she reminded herself that’s all they were: pretty words being uttered by a master of seduction. She smirked and tugged at her hand again. “Yet you can’t seem to remember my name.”
“I only called you Jessica because you look like Jessica Rabbit in this dress.”
Aurora instantly regretted the surprised laughter that bubbled up out of her. She bit it back, ignoring the pleased look on his face. Aurora looked down at her red floor-length gown. It was pretty sexy, she supposed. But it was far classier than it was sex bomb. “I do not.”
“You do too. Trust me, when I saw you from across the room my eyes did the cartoon awooooga thing.” He used his hands to show his eyes bursting out of his head.
Aurora bit back another burst of laughter, crossed her arms and tucked her hands safely away from him. “Well. That sounds like your problem, not mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have clients to speak with.”
She knew she was being snooty. And the Esposito Group did often partner with Dante’s firm on larger projects, but honestly, if her behavior lost them the partnership, part of her would be relieved to not be around him as often. He was just so irritating. So big and direct. So frustratingly gorgeous and tempting, even if it was all a game to him.
Thankfully, she managed to walk away without Dante trying to stop her again. She told herself she wasn’t disappointed. And in truth, she wasn’t terribly surprised. Dante was a flirt, and he’d made it clear on more than one occasion how badly he wanted her, at least physically. But he never pushed too far. Moreover, he was always scrupulously professional in any meeting they had.
She didn’t mind the attention he paid her. Just like she didn’t mind his eyes on her ass as she strode away. She just couldn’t give in to him—even when she was devastated by the knowledge that Gio was at this very moment with the redheaded woman of his dreams.
Aurora melted into the crowd and immediately let herself get sucked into a conversation. Ten more minutes and she was out of here.
With nothing but a weekend of eating ice cream and thinking about Gio. Oh joy.
She was just ducking away from the party, time obligations completely fulfilled, when a hand tapped her shoulder.
Aurora schooled her face into a friendly expression and turned right into Gio’s chest.
“Leaving so soon?” he asked in a friendly way, no censure in his tone at all.
He looked happy, Aurora realized with both a sinking and a rising in her gut. She wanted him to be happy. She was just still reeling from the fact that he was happy with another woman.
“Headache,” she said, knowing full well she was taking the coward’s way out.
Gio’s eyes instantly narrowed in concern. “Are you sick?”
“No, no,” she hurried, feeling bad for lying. “Just a little tired is all.”
“Well, do you have it in you to make small talk for five more minutes? There’s someone I’ve been wanting you to meet.”
“Sure,” Aurora said weakly, knowing full well who he wanted her to meet. Her chest tightened and her pulse kicked up like a storm off the water. She followed Gio in a daze through the crowd.
And then, there she was, the lovely redheaded woman. Standing right there. Looking perfect and petite and saying something to Aurora that she could barely hear over the roaring in her own ears.
Aurora shook hands, nodded her head, laughed politely in the right places. And then three minutes later she was drifting away from them, having said her goodnights.
She found herself in the back hallway toward the coat check, staring at a blank spot in the air. What the hell had just happened? She’d just met the woman that Gio was going to take home and make love to tonight. More than that, she’d just met Gio’s future wife. She just knew it. She felt it in her bones. She was no psychic, not like her mother, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have above-average intuition.
Aurora felt a nauseous panic race through her. Gio’s woman was so pretty. Sweet and kind. Rose. The prettiest flower there was.
“Aurora?”
She gritted her teeth at the gravelly voice that instantly sent shivers down her spine.
“What?” she couldn’t help herself from snapping as she turned and faced Dante in the dim light of the back hallway.
He raised his hands in surrender. “I didn’t come back here to irritate you. Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Aurora studied him in the bluish light, her blurry vision suddenly painfully clear. The noise of the party faded away as shadows cut across his face, accenting his sharp jaw, bottomless blue eyes, and dark brows. He was so big he damn near took up the entire hallway. He was so big, in fact, that he made Aurora feel small. Which was saying something, because she’d never been delicate or petite, even as a child.
The scent of him—soap and detergent and whiskey—drifted toward her in the small space and her pulse started racing. In that moment, for the first time ever, she willingly opened herself up to the attraction he made her feel and considered the possibilities…
She cocked her head to one side, studying him, and his brow furrowed like he was trying to figure out her mood.
A thought was uncurling inside her. A dangerous thought. But an interesting one nonetheless. Why should Gio be the only one getting busy tonight? She could damn well do with some good old fashioned sweaty sin. It had been long enough.
And maybe it would help. But only if it was hot. She needed something hot enough to burn these feelings of jealousy and loss right out of her.
So, the question was whether or not Dante Callaghan would fumble in the end zone or if he’d give it to her right. Her eyes dropped to his large hands tucked halfway into his pants pockets. They moved to the confident width of his shoulders. And lastly, they focused on the noticeable bulge behind his zipper.
Her eyebrows raised. Well, even if he was terrible in bed, she could work with that.
“Was it all talk?” she asked him, her voice husky and seductive even to her own ears.
He frowned and cocked a brow. “Excuse me?”
She took a step toward him. “All the pretty words you’ve had for me over the years. Was it talk? Were you ever going to do something about it?”
Dante’s eyes immediately narrowed in comprehension while the rest of him remained perfectly still. “Are you asking me to do something about it?”
Aurora slowly shrugged one shoulder, feeling the fabric of her dress tighten around her breasts. She was feeling reckless
and needy and like her soul might just dry up tonight if she didn’t feed it something. And right now, what she wanted to feed it most was Dante Callaghan.
“For some reason, yes. I am. So what do you say?”
Purchase BEDDING THE BABY DADDY
Books by Virna
KISS TALENT AGENCY
Book 1: Lip Action (Simon): Click here to purchase
Book 2: Locking Lips (Caleb): Click here to purchase
THE BEDDING THE BACHELORS SERIES
Book 1: Bedding The Wrong Brother (Rhys): Click here to purchase
Book 2: Bedding The Bad Boy (Max): Click here to purchase
Book 3: Bedding The Billionaire (Jamie): Click here to purchase
Book 4: Bedding The Best Friend (Ryan): Click here to purchase
Book 5: Bedding The Biker Next Door (Cole): Click here to purchase
Book 6: Bedding The Bodyguard (Luke): Click here to purchase
Book 7: Bedding The Best Man (Gabe): Click here to purchase
Book 8: Bedding The Boss (Eric) Click here to purchase
Book 9: Bedding The Baby Daddy (Dante) Click here to purchase
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Book 2: The Way Love Goes (Conor): Click here to purchase
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About The Author
Virna DePaul is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of steamy, suspenseful fiction. Whether it’s vampires, a Para-Ops team, hot cops or swoon-worthy identical twin brothers, her stories center around complex individuals willing to overcome incredible odds for love. Bedding The Wrong Brother, which begins the Bedding The Bachelors Series, is a #1 Bestselling Contemporary Romance and a USA Today Bestseller.
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Bedding The Boss
Copyright © 2017 by Virna DePaul
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