7

Her eyes rounded and she flattened her hands against his chest to push him away. “What are you—”

She should have known from the devilish gleam in his eyes that he was up to something, but when he dipped his head to press his lips against hers, there was no longer any doubt.

She gasped in surprise as she stood there frozen, but that was a big mistake. As soon as she parted her lips, he swept inside, his tongue teasing the moist flesh of her mouth as he stroked it around, coaxing her to surrender. He didn’t have to wait long. Shocks of warm pleasure skated across her skin and warmth pooled at her hot center as every nerve in her body crackled with energy. She closed her eyes, twisted her arms behind his neck and simply melted against him as her body disintegrated into one big mass of jelly. Wet heat gushed from inside her to dampen her panties when he cupped her ass and drew her closer to the temptation of his lengthening cock. A sigh of pleasure tore past her lips and she rocked her hips against him, causing him to grow harder against her belly.

Lost so deep in the euphoria of his kiss, it took her a second to realize he’d unfastened her jeans and was already tugging down the

zipper. From somewhere deep inside of her she tapped into that buried well of reserve willpower and found the strength to wrench her lips from his and push him away.

His face was flushed as he stood there panting. She was sure she looked pretty much the same. Even now her lips still tingled with the taste of him. “You need to go,” she rasped out breathlessly, but her tone was firm.

He opened his mouth to protest, but instantly closed it, apparently glimpsing the steely look in her eyes. He dipped his head in a slight nod, seeming to accept her words. But he didn’t move as a lopsided grin slowly spread across his face.

*

“I never even thought to ask you this before I kissed you, but are you single?” he said sheepishly.

She coughed nervously as her gaze dotted around the room, landing on everything but him. “Um, I don’t see how that is important—”

He crinkled his forehead as he frowned, ignoring her flippant brush off. “It’s very important to me. I need to know if you are taken before I invest any more time in this and possibly make a fool of myself, if I

haven’t already.”

She drew back slightly, her hands curling into fists against her hips as her eyes began to simmer with fury. “Invest more time in this? You make it sound like it’s a chore. I guess you’re referring to getting to know me, or something, but for the record you haven’t invested any time in

doing that. And that kiss certainly doesn’t count,” she snapped.

Was she crazy? He’d been trying to get to know her for two years! His nostrils flared and his own temper began to take root. He knew it wasn’t wise to argue with the woman you were actively courting—or trying to, but he chalked his stupidity up to sleep deprivation.

“Getting to know you is all I’ve been trying to do from the day I met you, but woman you are a hard person to get to know. With your Ice Bitch routine it has been virtually impossible –no, make that completely impossible.” Matthew instantly regretted his harsh words when a

wounded look flashed in her eyes. He opened his mouth to apologize but never got the chance when her pained expression immediately disappeared and was replaced by the cold, hard woman he was so used to seeing every day at work.

“If I’m such a bitch then why would you even want to get to know me? And besides, did you ever once consider that this Ice Bitch routine isn’t a routine at all. I know it may be hard for you to believe, but maybe

I’m not interested in getting to know you,” she shot back.

He gritted his teeth together, before closing the distance between them, to grasp her by the arms and drag her flush against his muscled frame, ignoring her shocked expression.

“I know what you’re doing but it won’t work. It would be so easy for you to push me away and have me walk out that door. You probably do that with a lot of men and it works—”

“That’s ridiculous. Now let go of—”

“I just want to know if you’re available Lana because I want the chance to get to know you better.”

Her eyes grew wider, if that was even possible. “A chance?

Matthew I am almost twice your age. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t even entertain the idea. You are far too young for me.”.

He wanted to shake her. She wasn’t even close to being twice his age. Still, their age difference was the obvious obstacle for her and he knew that she would use that as her first excuse. He also knew what some

of the others would be so he laid them on the table before she could throw

them up in his face.

“I guess I’m too white for you too. I know that’s your next excuse. If you hadn’t quit you could have used the fact that I was your new boss as a good one. I think that one would have actually had some merit,” he mocked. “What else? Am I too tall? Too inexperienced? Too—”

“I get it okay,” she bit out. “Matthew, this is ridiculous—” “What is ridiculous about wanting to get to know you?”

She must have heard the soft plea in his voice because the fire seemed to go out of her and her brown eyes instantly softened. She shook her head. “Nothing, I guess,” she said quietly. “I’m very flattered that you’re interested in getting to know me, but you are a very young man and I am sure there are plenty of women your age that would suit you better.”

His fingers tightened around her arms as he struggled not to let his irritation with her show on his face. Hadn’t they just gone over this? He didn’t need a lecture from her about their age difference.

“I’m sure there are a lot of women that would suit me just fine, but that has nothing to do with the question I asked you,” he bit out. “Are you single Lana, yes or no—yes or no,” he repeated when she parted her lips to resume her protest.

“Yes, I’m single but—”

“Great. That’s all I needed to know.”