by Sabrina York
Sara was in rare form, discussing the various pages of their presentation. Adam, Jenny and Jack made contributions where their data fit into the flow. The meeting was animated, spirited and very productive. Before long, the room became warm. In their zeal, no one noticed—at least not enough to comment. But Adam-of-the-watchful-eye noticed a trickle of sweat form on Katherine’s brow and then trace a delicate path down her cheek.
He removed his blazer and like dominos, they all fell. Jackets and sweaters were removed as their erstwhile wearers hunkered in closer and focused on the presentation. Katherine was the last to succumb. Adam watched through veiled lashes as she stood and unbuttoned her jacket. She slipped it off.
His breath snagged, his pulse leapt, an agonizing ache swelled in his groin, in his chest. A burning pain roared through him as her jacket fell to the back of her chair, revealing an elegant damask vest. It was tight on her, emphasizing her rounded breasts and pinning her tiny waist. Turning her from a tightly wrapped businesswoman into a tempting seductress.
Oh. And it was red.
The vest was red.
Scarlet.
A silence settled on the room and Adam realized with a shock that everyone, with the exception of Sara, was gawking at Katherine. They had noticed this blatant departure from her usual style. She glanced around the room at the astonished faces and twitched a brow in a silent query.
“Um.” Tristan cleared his throat and attempted to wrench his attention from the sight of her well-bound bounty. “Nice vest.”
“Thanks.” Sara glared at her boss—who never noticed her fury. “It’s mine.”
Adam found himself glaring as well. At Tristan. At Jack. At the men in the hallway who stopped to ogle.
Bloody hell. This wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want other men staring at her. No one needed to stare at her but him. No one else needed to measure those magnificent breasts with his eyes. Imagine his hands circling that waist. Wonder how those lips would feel on his neck, his belly, his hard, aching cock… No one.
Clearly the woman needed to stay dressed. Buttoned up.
With a dark frown, he stormed over to the thermostat and flipped it to frigid.
“Wow.” Sara kicked Katherine’s door shut with her foot. “That was interesting.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“What?” Katherine busied herself organizing papers into orderly stacks, pretending she didn’t know what was coming. But the truth was, she knew. It had surprised her to abruptly attract so much male attention. Maybe frightened her a little. She’d spent most of her adult life avoiding such scenes and she’d become very good at it. She didn’t really want men looking at her. Not like that.
Well. There was one man whose burning gaze had set her wick on fire.
Adam.
Adam had looked at her. Seen her as a woman. The arousal in his eyes had been unmistakable.
Dear God, what a moment.
Katherine was certain everyone in the room had noticed the interaction between them. Sara certainly hadn’t missed it.
She leaned toward Katherine and grumbled, “He was practically ogling you.”
“He was, wasn’t he?”
“I never should have loaned you that vest.” Sara frowned.
“What?”
Sara put out a lip. “He’s never looked at me like that and I’ve worn that vest a hundred times.”
“Adam?”
“Adam? Who’s talking about Adam? I’m talking about Tristan.”
“Trillo?”
“Was there another Tristan in that room? He was practically slavering over you. Like you were dessert.” Sara crossed her arms and frowned. “He wants you.” An accusation.
Katherine bristled. “Tristan Trillo does not want me.”
“You didn’t see the gleam in his eyes when you took off your jacket.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“They all got it. The deer in the headlights…staring at your headlights. I never should have loaned you that vest.”
“Do you want it back?”
Sara shook her head. “The damage has been done. Now, no matter what you do or say, or wear, they’ve all been primed to see you as a hot mama wearing a tight red corset.”
“It’s not a corset.” Technically it wasn’t.
“I hope your internet stud is happy. Making you wear something red has done only one thing.”
“What?”
“It’s thrown you to the wolves.”
“Oh, that’s just ridicu—”
She was interrupted by a knock on the door. Through the window she could see a coterie of coworkers milling about. All of them male. They all had notebooks or spreadsheets or printouts. They all wore earnest expressions. They all had a certain glint in their eyes as they peeped around the floor-to-ceiling window, waiting for Katherine to usher them in.
“It begins.” Sara snorted. “You want my advice?”
Katherine nodded mutely. Did she have any choice?
“Keep the jacket on.”
Son of a bitch.
There was a fucking line outside her office. At that moment, no fewer than five idiots waited for an audience with Katherine. Adam wanted to rip their fucking throats out.
A deep, dark vitriol roiled in his gut. He recognized it as jealousy but knowing that really didn’t help. What he wanted to do was grab her and whisk her away. Away from the office. Away from the line of perverts in the hall, drooling over her.
And yes, away from the computer. He wanted her warm against him, soft against him. He wanted to touch her body from the inside out. He wanted more than cold black words against a white screen, more than a disembodied voice floating through the night.
He glared at his laptop…and inspiration struck.
Quickly, he logged on, hoping against hope this would work. His computer chimed softly as he logged in to his chat room, typed his message and hit send. He heard a corresponding chime from her office. He watched surreptitiously as she glanced at her screen and shook her head. His belly took a nosedive but rebounded when he heard her say, “Sorry, guys. I have to deal with this right away. Can we finish later?”
Like disappointed puppies, the men nodded and drifted from her office, the last one to depart magnanimously closing the door.
Adam could barely contain himself. Anticipation hummed in his veins.
SAVAGE: So, Wildkat. Did you do it? Did you wear red like I asked you to?
WILDKAT: Yes, I did. And thanks a lot.
SAVAGE: Why? What happened?
WILDKAT: I wore a red vest and apparently now every man in the office thinks I’m a brazen hussy.
SAVAGE: I’m sure they don’t think that.
WILDKAT: Well, they think I’m available.
SAVAGE: Every man? How about him?
WILDKAT: Him who?
SAVAGE: Come on, Kat. We’ve been through this. You know damn well who. What was his reaction? Did he look at you like that? Like he wanted to bend you over the desk and fuck you?
Adam noticed out of the corner of his eye that she flicked a quick glance in his direction. He smiled to himself, but at her response his smile fell.
WILDKAT: He…noticed. But not like that. I don’t think he sees me like that at all.
SAVAGE: What do you mean? How could he not want you?
WILDKAT: Please, Savage. Don’t do this. It’s hard enough for me to acknowledge to myself that the only man I’m even remotely attracted to doesn’t know I’m alive. Don’t make me admit it to you as well.
Were those tears she was wiping from her cheeks?
SAVAGE: Kat…
WILDKAT: Just accept it, Savage. I’m not the kind of woman men like him want. That’s just the way it is.
He couldn’t bear it. Reading her heart-wrenching words, realizing what she really thought of herself—and how wrong she was—made him want to storm into her office and wrap her in his arms. But what he wanted more than anything was to prove to her just how much he wanted her.
> But at that moment, just as he was about to race across the hall and take her into his arms, Tristan appeared and knocked softly on her door.
WILDKAT: Gotta go, Savage. My boss is here.
SAVAGE: Kat, wait…
But she had already logged off.
With rising bile, Adam watched his brother sidle into Katherine’s office and shut the door. Then, in utter horror, he saw Tristan close the blinds.
They were closeted in there for what seemed like an eternity and no matter how many times Adam strolled casually by and peered through the glass, he couldn’t see past those damned venetian blinds. Why, oh why, hadn’t they gone for verticals instead?
When the door finally opened, Adam managed to appear as though he was just passing by, but only just. He could tell from their positions in the room they had been wrapped in a long, full-bodied hug.
Too bad.
He was going to have to kill his brother.
“Can I talk to you?”
Both men stepped back in surprise when identical words came out of their mouths at the same time.
Adam blinked. “My office okay?”
“Yes.”
Adam led the way, planning the speech he needed to give. Warning your brother off your girl wasn’t something a man did every day but in this case, his argument needed to be ultra-effective. He couldn’t have Tristan panting after Katherine. He wouldn’t share her. Not even with his brother.
But when he turned around, he discovered Tristan wasn’t the only one who’d followed him into his office. Katherine was there as well.
Aw, hell. Adam sucked in a deep breath. A pulse began to ping in his left eyelid. “Sit down.” He waved at the small conference table in the corner. Katherine complied but Tristan paused to close the door.
Uh oh.
A ball formed in Adam’s gut. Their expressions were somber. This couldn’t be good. Surely she hadn’t discovered his identity and gone to Tristan to complain about his behavior. Had she?
Would she?
He decided to keep quiet and wait for Tristan to take the lead. Maybe it was something less disastrous. Maybe…
“There’s been a crisis.”
Adam glanced from Tristan to Katherine. She seemed sad and weepy but hardly enraged. Okay. So maybe this wasn’t about him and his sexual proclivities. “What happened?”
“Sara’s mother went into ICU this morning. They’re not sure she’ll make it.” Katherine spoke softly, visibly shaken by her friend’s heartbreak.
Tristan shoved his fists into his pockets. “She found out after our meeting this afternoon. She’s on her way home right now.”
“Wow.” Adam leaned back in his chair. He’d known Sara for years, had no doubt how close she was to her mother. “How’s Sara doing?”
“Not well. I had Shannon drive her to the airport. But here’s the problem.” Tristan’s gaze narrowed on Adam. “Sara was supposed to do the presentation at ComputerCon with you.”
Adam glanced at Katherine. Her eyes were trained on Tristan’s face, his mouth, watching intently as the words emerged. Adam found he didn’t like her attention fixed on another man’s lips like that. He didn’t like it at all. So he cleared his throat and was gratified when she turned to him instead, her eyes wide and damp, like a doe’s. Almost immediately, Tristan spoke again.
As irritating as it was to have him steal her attention once more, his brother’s words were fascinating. “Katherine, I’m going to have to ask you to take Sara’s place. You worked with her on the PowerPoint and know your way around the presentation.”
“Me?” she squeaked, flicking a panicked glance in Adam’s direction.
He smiled encouragingly—although inside he was grinning like a wolf. If Katherine took Sara’s place, she’d be traveling with him to Vegas.
They’d be alone, together, for two whole days.
Who knew what might happen?
What would happen.
Adam bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crowing. “I don’t know.” He tipped his head to the side and furrowed his brows. “Are you sure you can handle the equipment?”
An affronted expression crossed her face. “Of course I can.”
Yeah. He thought, I’ll just bet you can.
Chapter Seven
Before Katherine knew what had happened, she was packed on an early morning flight headed for Vegas with Adam by her side. Sitting next to him—his thigh warm against hers, his muscled arm brushing hers, his scent drifting toward her with every breath—was torment.
She’d never been so close to him and to be plastered against him like that for an hour and a half had her mind and senses in a tizzy. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but that only made the sensations that much more intense.
The lack of activity started her mind wandering. Fantasies were not far behind. That’s the way it was with Adam. He got close and she started thinking about sex. Then again, when he wasn’t close, well, she thought about sex then too.
He, on the other hand, was oblivious to her existence. Oh, he smiled and chatted and handed her drink over when the flight attendant brought it by. But for the entire duration of the flight, he kept the tray table down with his notes for the seminar spread out upon it. He alternately studied the pages and tapped them with his pen, undoubtedly preoccupied with thoughts of the coming presentation.
As he should be. This was a huge opportunity for Adam, for the whole company. As soon as they landed, they would have to rush to the convention center and get set up for their session. It made sense that he would be preoccupied.
But deep down, Katherine couldn’t help but feel slightly miffed.
Maybe she should have worn Sara’s red vest. She’d packed it after all. Even that, she feared, wouldn’t be enough to snag Adam’s attention. He was known around the office as being a single-minded businessman. Nothing derailed his train of thought when he was on a mission. Certainly not a dreary, dreamy coworker.
Fortunately, all of Adam’s preparation paid off. The presentation went over perfectly and was a brilliant success, creating an enormous buzz with the attendees. He spent several hours afterward with Katherine by his side, fielding questions about Trillo–Maris products, taking down orders and collecting business cards. By early afternoon when the crowd dribbled to a handful, they were exhausted.
Because of the timing of their workshop, they hadn’t had time to check in to the hotel. They’d merely dropped their bags at the bell desk and gathered all their handouts and presentation materials before rushing over to the annex where their session was held. So once they finished up with all their potential customers, they headed back to the hotel to check in and get some much-needed rest before the reception that evening.
As she stumbled into their suite, Katherine was once again impressed with Shannon’s competence. Not only had she made the plane reservations at the drop of a hat, she’d handled all the tiny details of this trip, including reserving a digital projector, copying and overnighting presentation materials and making sure a light breakfast was waiting for them when they arrived at their assigned breakout room.
But the suite was the pièce de résistance. Laid out like an apartment, it had a kitchen, living-cum-dining room and three bedrooms, each with a private bath. A balcony overlooked the sparkling lights of the Vegas Strip in the distance.
Katherine didn’t notice much of this at the moment. Her bleary-eyed focus was on that bed.
Adam glanced at her. “Go lie down. You’ve worked hard today and you deserve it. Besides, we both need to be on point tonight.”
Katherine nodded. “The reception.”
“It’ll be a great chance to network some more.”
Katherine fought back a yawn. “Okay,” she said, resigning herself to the prospect of another late night. “Do you care which room you have?”
Adam opened his mouth and then closed it again as though the question had caught him off guard. He shook his head. “No. You pick.”
She g
rabbed her bag and plodded back toward the bedrooms. She opened the first door she came to, dropped her suitcase on the floor, plopped her laptop on the desk and fell face first onto the bed, fully clothed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Following behind her, Adam stopped at the door to Katherine’s room. He stared at her, sprawled on the bed. Do you care which room you have? It had taken all his self-control to keep from answering, Yours. What would she have said? What would she have done?
He snorted to himself. She would probably have said, Oh, okay and promptly fallen asleep. She was exhausted. He was tired as well but the vision of her on the bed was appealing enough to awaken several aspects of his being.
Quietly, he stepped into her room and crossed to the bed, gazing down at her luscious form. Her bottom was a tempting target, thrust up toward him like an offering to the gods. He itched to caress her ass, test the resilience of her flesh.
He’d thought about her all morning long. On the plane, he’d had to drop down the table and pretend to study his notes because his raging hard-on would have been otherwise impossible to disguise. The sight of her had spurred his passionate presentation. Through it all, she’d urged him on with that sweet, encouraging smile.
She brought out the best in him, in oh so many ways.
God. He wanted her.
And he would have her.
Just not right now.
He bent over and gently slipped her shoes from her feet, one after the other, and pulled a spare blanket from the closet. He wrapped it around her—trying not to laugh as a delicate snore rumbled through the room. He retraced his steps into the hall and quietly closed the door.
When Katherine woke up, the sun was going down. She felt rested and reenergized. She checked her watch and noted it was after five. Adam had mentioned he wanted to leave for the reception at about six thirty, so she figured she had time to go online and check her email before getting a quick snack—assuming Shannon had thought to stock the fridge.
