goes for fifty dollars.” She’d seen the stylish bottle online and drooled over the facet-shaped bottle that looked like a jewel and the tall slender cap, like one of the iconic stiletto heels from the designer’s line of shoes. “Or Dior for thirty to forty dollars. Azature, which is infused with a crushed diamond, is twenty-five, but I only have one of those.” Her one indulgence. “Most of what I have are two-dollar brands from the drugstore. Like Sinful Colors. They’re really nice,” she defended. She didn’t mention that she did have several from the boutique where she worked, but with her store discount they weren’t too pricey.
“Even at two dollars a bottle, that’s close to three grand.”
She leaned back in her chair, her back stiff. “Sure, but I don’t have many shoes.”
His eyes glittered and he laughed again, a deep, delightful sound. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, I’m just saying. A lot of women buy lots of shoes. But I don’t. And shoes are thirty or forty dollars a pair.”
“Sweetheart, I have no idea where you shop, but the last pair of shoes I bought for a woman was over a thousand dollars.”
She crossed her arms. “I think you just made my point.”
She pushed aside her plate, her meal only half eaten. Under the covered silver platter on the side table, more food was being kept warm.
“Look, I don’t want to argue about nail polish or shoes, or why we’re here,” she said. “I have to work tomorrow so I’d like to go home.”
“There’s still dessert.”
“I’m full.”
“Then stay for coffee.”
“I—”
But he glanced at his gold Rolex watch and she sighed.
“Fine.”
He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth, leaving his meal unfinished, then pulled back her chair. “Let’s sit by the fireplace.”
But when she stood up, he rested his hand on her upper arm—the action intimate and totally familiar—and her heart raced. She couldn’t think with him this close. With him touching her like that.
Before she knew what was happening, he drew her close and his lips brushed hers. She sucked in a breath, immobile at the shock of his solid body against hers, her hormones swirling through her. Then his lips pressed more firmly, coaxing, and his tongue slipped inside her mouth. She melted against him, the deep, intense yearning she’d suffered so long … that she’d buried inside so deep she thought it would never resurface … stole away her reasons for keeping him at a distance. Denied her the barriers she needed to keep her sanity while in his arms, plucking each excuse from her brain before it could surface.
Chapter Two
The feel of River’s soft body against him, her lips pliant under his, sent heat flooding to his groin. Kane wanted her more than he’d wanted any other woman. She had become an obsession he couldn’t rid himself of. He’d tried. After what had happened between them at college, he knew that she would never forgive him, and he’d convinced himself it was for the best. For both of them. But she’d haunted his dreams. She’d become the woman he compared every other woman to … and they all came out lacking.
He wanted her more than he wanted anything.
And he’d decided he would have her.
The Kickstarter campaign had been a golden opportunity, practically custom made to help him.
And now here she was, melting against him.
He stroked his hands down her back until his fingers brushed the swell of her lovely ass, then he pulled her tight against him … and his hard, aching cock. Her lips tugged from his on a gasp, then she drew her hands from around his neck and pushed against his shoulders.
She turned away, clearly flustered.
“I really need to go.”
“No, we have some business to discuss.”
“There’s no business. You bought some of my product, and the opportunity to have dinner with me tonight. That’s all. Dinner is over. And I will send the nail polishes in four weeks.”
“Four weeks? That’s a long time for me to wait.”
She turned back to him and quirked an eyebrow. “You’re in a rush for them, are you?”
He smiled. “Personally, I could wait, but if you’d like them to be sold in Rapture, then I’ll need them sooner than that.”
* * *
River’s eyes widened in shock.
Rapture was a boutique that specialized in designer products. Their very high-end clientele included actors, rock stars, multibillionaires.
“What are you talking about?”
Her heart pumped loudly. He couldn’t really mean he’d made a deal with Rapture to carry her nail