realised she’d already partially closed the door on him. ‘Sorry,’ she murmured, motioning him in. ‘My mind’s everywhere tonight.’
‘I imagine it is,’ he said, stepping inside.
Up close, his sheer size in the cramped, dim foyer, lit only from the street lamp slanting through the glass door panels, accentuated their height difference. All her life she’d hated her lack of stature and accompanying feelings of insignificance. Yet somehow Jordan made her feel small and feminine and not insignificant in any way.
Not good if she was going to maintain her distance and keep things on a business level. She should have insisted on the safer option of conducting their conversation in its entirety at the restaurant. She’d been too quick to allow him to take control. ‘Another coffee?’ she asked, flicking on the passage light as she turned away and headed to the kitchen.
‘Yes, please. Chloe, wait up.’ A firm hand closed over her shoulder and he turned her to face him. ‘You’re not afraid of me, are you?’ Both hands were on her shoulders now, his thumbs drawing tight little circles.
‘Me? Afraid? Of you?’ She choked out a half-laugh.
‘Nervous as a kitten in a tiger’s cage since we signed the paperwork.’
There was a lot more truth to that image than she wanted to think about. Jordan radiated that big-cat power and dominance—she could feel it tingling through his fingers and deep along her collarbones, turning them and every other extremity to rubber.
And so help her, Chloe Montgomery, who refused to allow others to dictate her life, who strenuously avoided the type of testosterone-fuelled, take-charge man that was Jordan, wanted to surrender to all that male dominance. Craved more of his lips on hers—and wherever else he wanted to put them—again.
She stiffened her spine and took a deliberate step away, only to end up with her back against the wall. Had she learned nothing in the past couple of years? ‘It’s myself I’m nervous of—if that makes sense.’
‘Yeah. It does.’ The massage stopped and he trailed his hands lightly over her shoulders, down her arms and up again, his eyes staring into hers with a smile that matched his mouth. ‘You can’t keep your thoughts off us getting naked together either.’
A distressed sound bubbled up her throat and fiery heat exploded into her cheeks. Was it that obvious?
‘And how it’s going to be when I come deep inside you,’ he went on in a kind of murmur that swept up Chloe’s spine like a big tabby cat’s hot, wet tongue, making her shiver—in a dangerously delicious way. ‘But that’s not what we’re about, not what we’ve agreed on, and it bothers you.’
‘No, I … Yes …’ This whole one-sided, erotic conversation bothered her.
And the fact that somehow, without her noticing, he’d moved closer so that the front of his shirt was brushing against her bodice while her useless arms hung limp. Only her fingers curled and uncurled at her sides.
He toyed with the tips of her hair as if he’d never seen fair hair before. ‘Rest easy, Blondie, it’ll be you inviting me,’ he assured her, his deep voice resonating against her breasts and making her nipples tight and achy.
‘Me inviting you.’
A slow confident smile spread across his features. ‘You’re worried about how that’s going to work. Trust me, it’ll work just fine.’
Trust me, Chloe.
‘I am not worried because I intend to stay away from you as much as possible. And don’t call me Blondie.’
‘What will I call you, then? We should have pet names for each other, don’t you think?’
‘No. And there’s that clause in the agreement that states—’
‘We’re not talking coercion here, Blondie,’ he said smoothly. ‘And we both know it.’
Drawing herself up taller, she dared to meet his blue-eyed intensity, but only succeeded in bumping up against another bit that she was sure hadn’t been there a moment ago … and she froze, which was odd since she felt so, so hot. ‘It’s strictly business—you said so yourself.’ Her words were crisp, cool and PA efficient to counteract the heat emanating between their bodies. ‘You laid out the terms very clearly.’
‘That’s true.’ Leaning down, he traced the neckline of her dress with a finger. ‘Just because we have a business arrangement, doesn’t mean it has to be all work. We can still keep it professional—’ he removed his finger from the top of her dress and placed his palm flat on the wall beside her head ‘—but there’s no reason we can’t make it a bit of a holiday