10

"That is so— Oh, wow…!" Sara gasped as she noticed the view from the huge picture window behind him for the first time—surely testament to exactly how powerfully attractive she found Simon, because the view from the window was amazing. New York City in all its glory.

Sara continued to look at the New York skyline as she slowly walked over to the window, dazzled by the combination of the tall, gleaming buildings and the lush green park.

"I seem to recall you said you thought of Hamilton Tower as just another tall building blocking the view," Simon reminded her as he joined her at the window.

Sara gave a wince at this reminder of the bluntness of her conversation at the party. "I may have been a little…impolite to you at the party on Saturday evening." 

"May have been?" he taunted softly.

"I was impolite," she conceded.

"Any particular reason why…?" 

"I think you already know why, Simon," Sara glanced sideways at him, totally aware of how close he was now standing to her. Close enough for her to inhale the heady combination of the lemon soap and sandalwood aftershave. Close enough that their arms were almost touching. Close enough that she was now fully aware of the heat emanating from his body.

Close enough that Sara could barely breathe for wanting to close that short distance between them and lose herself to the feel of those sensuously chiseled lips devouring her own.

Instead she rushed into speech. "I behaved badly—unprofessionally—and I apologize." 

He arched dark brows and smiled. "And I apologize too, Sara," he said, "About your car…when we met… I should have handled the situation better," 

"I guess you should have." Sara replied with a smile of her own, "Apology accepted," 

He grinned at her, "Does that mean you’ve reconsidered and are now willing to give me—and my reputation—the benefit of the doubt…?" 

"I’m not sure I would go that far," she said warily.

"Liar," Simon murmured huskily. He’d seen the way those luscious brown eyes had darkened, the slight flush appearing in her cheeks. Her lips were slightly moist and parted. As if waiting to be kissed.

As if she realized that was Simon's intention, Sara took a step back and away from him. "I really do have to go now. If you’ve changed your mind about considering my designs—" 

She broke off as Simon took another step forward, until they were now once again standing so close they were almost touching. She gave a determined shake of her head. " Simon, if you’re trying to intimidate me then I think I should warn you—"

"Warn me of what…?" Simon murmured throatily, even as he raised one of his hands to cup the warmth of her cheek, before moving the soft pad of his thumb over the softness of her lips, feeling the warmth of her breath against his fingers as he parted those lips in preparation for his kiss. His own arousal intensified at the feel of that sensual warmth against his skin.

His shaft was hard and pulsing, demanding…

Sara's eyes were wide, deep amber pools as she stared up at him. "I should warn you—" 

"Yes…?" Simon prompted softly, holding that wide and startled gaze with his own as his head began to lower towards hers.

She breathed softly. "I really should warn you—" 

"Warn me later, hmm?" he dismissed gruffly, before finally claiming those full and pouting lips with his own.

Sara totally forgot what it was she wanted to warn Simon about as his other arm moved firmly about her waist and he pulled her in tightly against the heat of his body, angling her face up to his before his mouth finally took possession of hers.

Simon's kiss was everything that Sara had known it would be—not in any way a gentle exploration, but an instant explosion of the senses, taste, smell, feel, and it felt so good to be against the hard heat of his body as they kissed hungrily, deeply, lips devouring, tongues dueling.

Sara tightly gripped Simon's shoulders, her legs feeling weak as he crushed the ache of her breasts against his chest. Heat pooled between her thighs as she felt the hard throb of his arousal pressing insistently against her. The sky could have fallen at that moment, the building collapsed around them, and Sara wouldn’t have noticed, too lost in the heat that consumed them both as Simon's hands moved down to cup her bottom and pull her in more tightly. He ground his erection against and into her even as their mouths drank greedily of each other.

Sara was on fire, her inner ice melting, and her fingers became entangled in the dark hair at Simon's nape as she returned that heat, needing, wanting— She wanted Simon Hamilton…!

It had been so long since she'd let a man touch her. Not since after Bruce… She'd sworn that she'd never let any man hurt her the way he had. Told herself she'd never open up to any man, both emotionally and physically. Never be vulnerable when it came to men, but yet here she was, so vulnerable in Simon's arms. His hands had moved to her breasts now, and despite how damn good it felt, she knew she had to put an end to it immediately. 

Her body became stiff as memories of Bruce and what he did to her came rushing back, putting an end to her desire like water to a flame. She stopped kissing Simon and tried to pull back, but his lips simply moved to her neck instead, dropping kissing all over as he went… He gently bit her earlobe, then ran kisses down her throat… 

"Simon stop…" she gasped. 

He didn't stop…He wasn't listening… His lips moved to her chest… 

"Simon....!" She said again, mustering every strength left inside of her, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away from her. "I said stop…" She repeated, breathing hard as she stared at him through wide eyes. 

Simon on the other hand looked confused, then pissed. "Don't tell me you're one of those women who love to tease and play hard to get," he said through gritted teeth. 

"I'm not playing or teasing," she gasped, "You kissed me!"

"And you kissed me right back," he told her, "Don't tell me you didn't want me to or that you weren't into it. Few more seconds and I would have had you right here on my desk!"