Her Perfect Match (Liaison #1)

by Valerie Ullmer

  As she concentrated on another glowing smile from the man she knew she wouldn’t be hiring—he was just too full of himself—she had a strange urge to crawl onto Gabriel’s lap to relieve the ache that he started when he first kissed her.

  She was aware of his every move after he sat next to her. When he brushed his fingers through the back of her hair, when he slid closer so his thigh would rub against hers, and when he leaned close as he pretended to glance at her interview notes. By the time she’d asked her final question and missed most of the answer, she forced herself to glance at Gabriel to see whether he had anything to add. His eyes brightened with such intensity that she had to look away.

  Whenever she was close to Gabriel, her heartbeat would accelerate and her body would tighten in a pleasurable way. She couldn’t deny the chemistry between them, but what scared her was how much she wanted to forget about everything but him and the pleasure he could give her.

  She didn’t have the same worries about dating an investor as she did dating an employee. Once Gabriel agreed, she knew that he would never go back on his investment, but a large part of her wanted to prove to him that she could be successful in this venture. It was a ridiculous notion, but for a reason she couldn’t explain, even to herself, his opinion of her skills in the business world mattered to her.

  And with her desire to succeed in business came with the desire to continue what he’d started in his office. With each touch, she wanted to beg him to take her anywhere, as long as he quenched her need for him.

  He wasn’t a man who would continue into a relationship with her, but if she could just have him long enough to get over this obsession she had for him, she could deal with the aftermath of her feelings after it ended. Her heart kicked in her chest at the thought. Gabriel cleared his throat and brought her back from her thoughts.

  “Do you have any questions for us, um, Darren?” she asked after she glanced at the application, not remembering his name.

  “Yeah, I was wondering if you had a date for tonight?”

  Her brows drew down at the blatant question but before she could respond, Gabriel growled and stood, letting the other man know that the interview was over.

  “She’s taken, and we’ll let you know about the job.” Gabriel’s voice was low and threatening.

  She shivered as Gabriel all but claimed her for himself. But instead of taking the comment at face value, she ignored the note of possessiveness in his voice and stood as Darren left her office.

  She blew out a breath, grateful that this round of interviews was over. There were several men she wanted to hire but Gabriel had dismissed each of them before even discussing them with her. Instead of arguing with him, she decided that she would hire the ones she wanted.

  “I’m going to hire these seven.” She handed him the files.

  He glared at her, but took the files. He glanced at the names and threw them on her desk. “I thought we would discuss this before we hired anyone.”

  “That was before you dismissed everyone who we interviewed today. I think these seven will fit right in. I have dates lined up this weekend, so I need to get them trained before then. We can hire them as temps until they prove themselves. That way, if we need to let them go, we won’t have a legal problem on our hands.”

  The silence between them stretched, until he reluctantly nodded, agreeing with her plan.

  “Great.” She blew out a relieved breath. One less battle she had to fight.

  He crossed his arms across his chest, letting her know that he wasn’t finished with the conversation.

  “You should have shot Darren down when he asked you out.”

  She glared at him but before she spoke, she stowed her anger. Yelling at him got her nowhere.

  “As I recall, you jumped in and told him I was taken. After you growled at him. What could I have said that would’ve been more blatant than that?” she asked.

  His stance relaxed and again, the intensity of his eyes took her breath away as he perused her body. She had chosen the alluring white top and black high waisted pants with him specifically in mind. She felt sexy when he had fingered the back of her blouse as they were conducting their interviews, and she was ecstatic that he seemed to like it.

  Whenever he touched her, a thrill unlike she’d ever known raced through her and she craved more.

  She glanced down to break the intensity of his gaze, and scanned her schedule to get her breathing back to normal. No man had ever managed to leave her so aware of her sexuality from a look. With Gabriel, she had a feeling that everything he did was with complete concentration.

  “That’s the last one today,” she said.

  His slow gaze traveled up her body, leaving a trail of heat, as if he had touched her. He strode toward her, but caught himself at the last minute. He stood straighter and his hands dropped to his sides, both clenched in fists. She wanted him to kiss her as he’d done earlier, but he shook his head as though he was answering her silent plea.

  “I have things I have to take care of. Let me know when you want to pick this up,” he grumbled and started toward the door.

  She stood there, shocked that he walked out without a backward glance, and she felt jealousy swamp her as she heard his warm good-bye to Tilda. He had been in her office for several hours, and during that time, he never missed an opportunity to touch her. But when they had finished with business, he’d just…left.

  Could she have misinterpreted his actions when he’d kissed her before? She didn’t think so, but she couldn’t help the niggling feeling that he was using any method necessary to protect his investment, and if that included seducing her, she had no doubt that he would.

  The thought depressed her but soon she came to the conclusion that there was no other explanation. They set up meetings through their assistants, and he never called her about anything other than their venture. The both times they saw each other, he touched her and even kissed her, but he never let on that he even wanted to have a sexual relationship with her; she just assumed that he did.

  “Let me get those for you.” Tilda broke into her thoughts.

  She realized that she was shaking as she glanced down at the files in her hands. Tilda removed them and walked to the file cabinet in the corner to organize them, always having a way of knowing what she needed or what she was thinking during their years of working together. At the moment, she looked at the older woman with a need for advice. She sank down behind her desk, because her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer.

  “He…” She swallowed as she tried to explain.

  “Ran like a scalded cat. Yes, I noticed. I also heard what he said when Darren asked you out, so I think that he’s fighting his feelings for you.”

  She swallowed and shook her head at the older woman’s assessment. She’d seen him twice since they reconnected, and both times she realized that she wanted more from him than just an investment. She wanted him to see her as a desirable woman. Although he acted as though he’d been interested, he hadn’t followed through. She was more hurt by his actions than she’d thought.

  “He keeps touching me, and he kissed me in his office,” she mumbled.

  “I knew it. I knew he was interested. A man doesn’t get jealous—well, he doesn’t get that jealous—when a man asks out a woman he’s only interested in sleeping with. He’s probably never had a serious relationship in his life and now that he has feelings for you, he’s protecting himself.” Tilda’s face lit up with a bright smile.

  “I think he’s like that with every woman he comes across.” Her voice sounded small and she hated that it did, that he could make her doubt herself.

  “Did I tell you about how I met my husband?” Tilda asked.

  She shook her head. Pushing aside her feelings and confusion about Gabriel, she turned her attention to Tilda.

  Tilda sat on the edge of her desk, and that one constant in her life made her feel better.

  “I was in the secretarial pool at Hunter Marketing year
s before you and I started working together, helping whichever executive who requested me, until I was permanently assigned to Nathan Hunter’s office to be one of his five assistants. Because I was the last assigned to the office, I handled the uncomfortable tasks, such as buying presents for whichever girlfriend he’d broken up with that week. Parting gifts, as he called them. I was also responsible for making reservations, booking plane tickets and hotel rooms for him and whatever woman he was seeing at the time. I had no interest in the boss; I just needed a job and he paid well for the work I was doing.

  “One morning, I was confronted by one of his girlfriends. She was upset because he’d broken up with her the night before, and she found out I was the one who picked her gift. She thought that he broke up with her because of me. I didn’t say a word to the woman but I dragged her to his office and with a brisk knock, pulled her in behind me. He was surprised but even more so when I told him that I wasn’t his relationship counselor and I didn’t appreciate being ambushed in my workplace because he couldn’t figure out his personal life. I left them there to discuss it and walked back to my desk.”

  Rebecca gasped and shook her head. “What happened?”

  “He liked that I stood up to him and asked me out. I said no, but he was persistent. He would call me into his office, but instead of working, he would find ways to touch me, kiss me, until I agreed to go out on a date. I was falling in love with him but like Gabriel, he ran and I let him. Soon after, I transferred to your department but he kept calling me up to his office. I refused, telling him I wasn’t his assistant any longer. After weeks of back and forth, he’d come to realize that he loved me but that in itself scared the shit out of him and so he ignored his feelings. I went out on a date, trying to forget about him because I did love him but he showed up at the restaurant and dragged me out of there. We had a huge fight and he admitted to me that he loved me. It was rocky for a while, but after a year I agreed to marry him.”

  “Are you two happy?” Rebecca asked.

  Tilda broke into a smile that put her at ease before she walked back to her desk.

  She was happy for Tilda, but she knew that Gabriel wasn’t the type to settle down, and she wouldn’t expect anything other than a physical relationship. But sex with him might put her heart in danger and that was the last thing she wanted. The way he’d left should have been the end of her thoughts about him in any respect outside their business relationship, but her thoughts continued to loop back to his kisses.

  Breathing out a long sigh, she wheeled her chair back under her desk, determined to put him out of her mind and get back to business.

  Chapter Five

  “This is not acceptable,” Gabriel growled at his assistant. “They’ve lost money for the second quarter in a row and rumor is that they’ll be bankrupt before the end of the month. Get our investment back, even if it means liquidating their entire business.”

  “It’s already been taken care of,” Thomas scolded.

  Gabriel ran his hands through his hair as he blew out a frustrated breath. It had been a month since he’d seen Rebecca, and his mood had taken a noticeable turn for the worse. He found himself short with everyone and when he grew bored of that, he tried his best to stay busy and keep her out of his thoughts. But thoughts of her surrounded him and from time to time, he could have sworn that he smelled her light scent whenever he walked into his office.

  He couldn’t concentrate in meetings and for the first time in his life, his desire to make money took a back seat to thoughts about her and whether she was thinking about him, until he drove himself crazy. He’d never let a woman affect him in this way and yet, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

  They’d spoken on the phone, but their conversations had been brief and unsatisfying. She canceled all their bi-weekly dinners, and though he wanted to charge into her office, carry her home, and keep her there until neither of them could move, he had acquiesced each time she told him that she was too busy.

  The more she distanced herself from him, the more he wanted her. He had told himself since she’d reappeared back in his life that he wanted to get her out of his system. But a small part of him acknowledged that if he touched her, there was no way he could walk away from her. More than that, he wanted her to choose to be with him.

  Since the first day in her office when he’d left her without a word, afraid his desire would get the best of him and he would ruin the relationship they’d already established, she noticeably distanced herself from him. She placed his chair on the side of her desk instead of next to her, and put a movable file cabinet between them through the remaining interviews. She dodged his caresses, and found other inventive ways to avoid him. But from time to time, he would catch her as she looked at him with a longing that left him wanting.

  He still found ways to touch her and when she didn’t pull away from him, he felt he had been given a gift. He yearned for those moments; he craved to touch more of her soft skin or her silky hair. Each time he’d left her office, it left him with a need that wouldn’t be satisfied until he had her in his bed, in his life.

  He had known how much he hurt her when he walked out of her office without a backward glance, and it pained him to do so. But he was afraid that she would know the power she had over him if she looked into his eyes, and he thought of nothing but protecting himself. Never did he think that she would pull away from him.

  He glanced at his assistant, Thomas Anders, and mumbled an apology for his outburst. Thomas was his seventh and final assistant since he started the company six years before, and he was grateful for the man’s efficiency. He knew that he was pushing the limits of the job, his employees, and even himself, but he almost couldn’t control his frustration at the situation between himself and Rebecca.

  “Three people almost quit because of your temper, this week alone, and I’m close to doing the same thing.” Thomas’s voice was low and harsh.

  “I know,” he admitted.

  Thomas softened his tone. “You need to get her to see you, and truth be told, probably marry you. I’ve never seen you fall for a woman before.”

  “Hell, just because I can’t stop thinking about her doesn’t mean that I should marry her.”

  Thomas scoffed.

  He knew that his efficient assistant wasn’t done with his say yet. Reluctantly, he walked around his desk and sat, unbuttoning his suit jacket, and waited.

  “When was the last time you’ve wanted a woman this much? When have you ever let a woman affect your work?”

  He didn’t have to think about it. “Never.”

  “What’s different with Rebecca?” Thomas asked.

  “I’m obsessed with her, everything about her,” he mumbled. “I want to kill any man who even looks at her.”

  The truth of his words registered deep within him. He’d thought about nothing else other than her smile, her curvy body, her silky hair, her light scent. He wanted to hear her laugh and talk to her about anything.

  They had shared a passionate kiss, and yet, he couldn’t remember when something so innocent had an effect that powerful. She had destroyed every wall he’d constructed to keep women at a distance, just by being herself. She didn’t flirt with him nor did she bow to his every whim. But she had burrowed her way into his head and if he could be honest with himself, into his heart.

  A soft knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. He stood as Thomas opened the door to reveal the woman who hadn’t been far from his mind since she reentered his life. His heart thumped painfully in his chest, and with effort, he held back a growl as he spotted Thomas place his hand on her lower back, and escorted her in his office. His anger receded when his gaze landed on her face. Even from a distance of a few feet, he could tell that she was exhausted. Jealousy surged again as she gave Thomas a smile of thanks.

  With a quiet click, the door closed behind her and he was, for the first time in his life, speechless. That was, until she walked toward him with obvious weariness.


  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She nodded before she tucked a stray curl behind her ear that escaped her elegant twist. A need to touch her jolted him out of his surprise. He strode toward her and pulled her into his arms. His tense body relaxed the moment she burrowed her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

  “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.” The words were out before he could stop them.

  “I’ve…I’ve missed you, too. It’s been hectic.”

  He rubbed her back and pressed her closer to him. He wanted to step in and help her with whatever she needed but he knew that she wouldn’t appreciate him trying to take over, so he just held her, grateful that she was in his arms.

  “I thought you were avoiding me,” he grumbled.

  She pulled back and studied him; he hoped his face revealed none of his thoughts. He led her over to the overstuffed couch that had doubled as a bed on occasion for times he wasn’t able to go home for the night. As they sat, he reached for her hand and interlaced their fingers. He needed a connection to her, even if it was as small as this.

  “I was at first.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  His gaze moved to her elegant neck as she swallowed with nervousness. He was so close that he could see her pulse that beat in a rhythm that mesmerized him. He wanted to feel the beat on his lips as he licked and suckled her there. His hand gripped hers tighter as he leaned toward her, needing to taste her more than his next breath. But before he could reach her, she stunned him.

  “I want you,” she admitted on a whisper. “I was avoiding you because of how much I want you.”

  He closed his eyes as his breath hissed out of his clenched teeth. It took everything in his power from stripping them both and making love to her in his office. As he opened his eyes and again, noted the tiredness etched on her face, and his concern for her outweighed his need. He wanted to take her home and take care of her, and when she was healthy, he would show her how much he wanted her.