out again when she’d made it abundantly clear she didn’t have time in her life for a relationship. Or for him.
Another business proposition, he guessed. The thought rubbed him raw, but he couldn’t help being curious. Neither could he help wanting her as badly as he did.
Man, she did have him tied up in knots.
He closed the distance between them, catching the awareness glittering in her gaze, the flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat and the slight quiver of her breasts beneath the dark green, silk blouse she wore. The satisfaction he experienced was heady.
“I see you’ve met my brother,” he drawled, smiling pleasantly.
“I, uh, yes,” she stammered, a nervous smile on her lips. “We were just trying to make your tree a bit more presentable for Santa.”
His gaze flickered to the ugly duckling of a tree she’d transformed into a swan, then back to her. “As much as I’m sure Santa will appreciate your efforts, I’m certain you didn’t drop by to make sure I had a well-decorated tree for the holidays.”
Jordan frowned at his brother’s cool tone. But in Austin’s mind, even though their mother had taught them to be gentlemen, there was the matter of his ego being bruised.
“No, I didn’t,” she admitted, that chin of hers lifting a notch. “I’d like to talk to you. Privately, if that’s okay.”
He stared into her unwavering brown eyes, tempted beyond all reason. For all of three seconds he considered telling her no, that whatever was on her mind could be said in front of Jordan, but he wasn’t that much of a jerk. Besides, he really didn’t care to share this conversation with his brother.
“Private it is,” he said. “Why don’t we step into my office.”
“Behave yourself,” Jordan muttered beneath his breath.
Austin glared at his brother’s protective gesture toward Teddy before heading toward the back room. Geez, whose side was Jordan on, anyway?
Teddy watched Austin go, suddenly doubting the wisdom of her visit. Austin was hardly welcoming, nor did he seem inclined to accommodate yet another request of hers.
A gentle hand nudged her. “Go on,” Jordan murmured from beside her. “I swear, he’s all bark and no bite.”
Encouraged by Jordan’s support, she smiled her thanks and followed the sexy, moody man she couldn’t get out of her mind through a door that connected to a kitchen, where he stopped to grab a can of root beer from the refrigerator. Popping the top, he offered her a drink of her own that she declined, and they continued, to another room transformed into a makeshift office. He closed the door behind her, and her heart leaped in response to just how alone they were.
There were no chairs other than the one behind the scarred desk dominating the room, so she advanced no farther. The phone rang at that moment, and Austin rounded the desk, propped his jean-clad hip on the surface and reached for the receiver.
“Fantasy for Hire,” he greeted the caller.
Teddy tried not to let that deep, rich voice of his affect her, but her attempts were futile. The warm male tones stroked her senses and settled in the pit of her stomach like a potent shot of liquor.
“Hi, Ryan,” Austin said after a moment, and turned to flip through the schedule open on the desk. His index finger scanned down a page, then stopped. “I’ve got you lined up for two fantasies tonight. A fireman at seven-thirty, and Zorro at ten.”
Teddy listened to the conversation with some amusement as she glanced around the cluttered office, trying not to think about Austin performing his share of fantasies for countless women. In her attempt to keep her mind occupied, her gaze was inevitably drawn to his wide, muscled shoulders stretching the cotton of his T-shirt, then moved to his profile, and eventually stopped on those incredible lips of his.
He grinned at something the caller said. “Hey, you’re the one who thought up the Zorro costume, and it’s become a favorite. Just be careful with that sword of yours.” Austin chuckled at the other man’s response, which Teddy didn’t doubt was a dirty one.
Excusing himself from the conversation for a moment, Austin covered the mouthpiece with his hand, his gaze on her. “C’mere and sit down, Teddy.” With his bare foot, he pushed the rolling high-backed chair out a few inches from where he sat. “I’ll be done in a minute.”
To refuse would make her look uptight, so she sat down and waited while Austin gave his employee