Chapter 10: An Unplanned Encounter

Lucas's hand settled at the curve of her waist as he deepened the kiss, unrelenting, giving her no room to catch her breath.

He kissed her like he had something to prove, each pass more demanding than the last, until she felt herself unraveling completely.

Claire's breathing turned ragged, her pulse hammering loud enough that she could hear it in her own ears.

Lucas broke away from her mouth only to trail lower, his lips grazing the shell of her ear.

The warmth of his breath against her skin set off a fresh wave of heat that spread through her entire body.

She felt herself giving in wanting more, wanting less restraint, wanting exactly the kind of trouble she knew this was.

She stopped fighting it entirely.

Lucas caught her waist and pulled her flush against him.

"Claire. You started this."

"A little late to be running now."

He lifted her against him and carried her the short distance to the conference room door, locking it behind them.

Some time later.

"Who said anything about running?"

"Lucas. I'm right here." Her voice came out low, breathless, right against his ear.

In that moment, she looked almost otherworldly to him striking in a way that didn't feel entirely real.

Something playful flickered in his dark eyes.

This woman, he thought. She never stops surprising me.

His mouth curved into that same wicked smile before he pulled her in tighter, one hand cradling the back of her head as he kissed her again, deep and unhurried this time, like he intended to take his time with her.

Claire closed her eyes and let herself have this an encounter she never could have planned, and wasn't about to regret.

Later, back at their desks, the office had gone quiet in a very particular way.

The staff all had a fairly good idea of what had happened behind that conference room door. Nobody said a word about it out loud.

No one gossiped about their CEO. Not even close.

If anything, they'd decided Claire had simply been claimed by the only man in the building actually worthy of her.

None of her male coworkers knew about the divorce, but that didn't stop the general consensus from forming quietly around the office: Claire Bennett was clearly out of their league, and Lucas Kane wealthy, powerful, devastatingly handsome was the only man who could possibly measure up to someone like her.

If anything, they felt more resigned than jealous. Like this had simply been inevitable.

The women in the office, for their part, could only sigh with quiet envy.

They marveled at her that effortless, layered beauty of hers, innocent one moment and devastating the next, always just out of reach for the rest of them to imitate.

None of them had her figure, the kind that turned heads regardless of who was looking.

There was simply no comparing themselves to her, and most of them had long since stopped trying.

Lucas Kane, they all silently agreed, was never going to notice someone as ordinary as them.

That kind of man was reserved for someone extraordinary.

And Claire, clearly, was exactly that.