Not that it would matter if anything rubbed off. She was dressed in a plain, khaki T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans she’d borrowed from Stephanie’s cache in the upstairs bedroom. She could press herself against Royce from head to toe, and simply clean up later with soap and water.
The idea was far too appealing. She felt heat flare in the pit of her stomach as an image bloomed in her mind.
“I’ll sign a bunch for you.” His voice interrupted her burgeoning fantasy as he flipped open the checkbook.
She blinked herself back to reality. “I assume you’re joking.”
“Why would I be joking?” He leaned over, hunting through the drawer again, bringing himself into even closer contact with her.
She shifted imperceptibly in his direction, and his cotton-clad arm brushed her bare one. She sucked in a tight breath.
He retrieved a pen.
She suddenly realized he was serious, and placed her hand over the top check. “You can’t do that.”
He turned, pen poised, bringing their faces into close proximity. “Why not?”
“Because I could write myself a check, a very big check, and then cash it.”
He rolled his eyes
“Don’t give me that ‘shucks ma’am’ expression-”
‘“Shucks, ma‘am’?”
“You didn’t just wander in off the back forty. You know I could drain your account.”
“Would you?”
“I could,” she stressed. Theoretically, of course.
He twirled the pen over two fingers until it settled into his palm. “And then what?”
“And then I disappear. Tahiti, Grand Cayman.”
“I’d find you.”
“So what?” She shrugged. “What could you do? The money would already be in a Swiss bank account.”
He braced one hand against the desk and moved the other to the back of her chair, bending slightly over. “Then I’d ask you, politely, for the number.”
She was blocked by the V of his arms. It was unnerving, but also exciting. He emanated strength, power and raw virility.
“And if I refuse to tell you?” she challenged, voice growing breathy.
“I’d stop being polite.”
“What? You’d threaten to break my legs?”
He smiled and leaned closer. Self-preservation told her to shrink away, but the chair back kept her in place. His sweet breath puffed against her skin. “Violence? I don’t think so. But there are other ways to be persuasive.”
She struggled for a tone of disbelief. “What? You kiss me and I swoon?”
His grin widened. “Maybe. Let’s try it.”
And before she could react, he’d swooped in toward her. She gasped as his smooth lips settled on hers. They were warm and firm, and incredibly hot, as the contact instantly escalated to a serious kiss.
It took her only seconds to realize how much she’d longed for his taste. His scent filled her, and his hands settled on her sides, surrounding her rib cage as he deepened the kiss. Her head tipped back, and her mouth responded to his pressure by opening, allowing him access, drinking in the sensation of his intimate touch.
She clutched his upper arms, steadying herself against his hard, taut muscles. He flexed under her touch, and she imagined she could feel the blood coursing through his body. She could definitely feel the blood coursing through her own. It heated her core, flushed her skin and made her tingle from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.
His hands convulsed against her body, thumbs tightening beneath her breasts. Her nipples hardened almost painfully as arousal thumped its way to the apex of her thighs. She gave him her tongue, answering his own erotic invitation. A river of sound roared in her ears as he drew her to her feet, engulfing her, pressing her against his hard body.
His touch was unique, yet achingly familiar, as if she’d been waiting for this moment her entire life. Her palms slid across his shoulders, around his neck, stroking the slick sweat of his hairline as their kiss pulsed endlessly between them.
His hands slipped to her buttocks, pulling her against the cradle of his thighs, demonstrating the depth of his arousal and shocking her back to her senses.
She jerked away, hands pressing against his chest, putting a barrier between them. He leaned in, trying to capture her mouth.
“I can’t,” she gasped.
He froze.
“I’m…uh…” She wasn’t exactly sorry. That had definitely been the best kiss of her life. But she couldn’t take things any further. They barely knew each other. She’d only just left Hargrove. And she hadn’t come to Montana for casual sex.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
She tried to take a step back, but the damn chair still blocked her way. “This is too fast,” she explained, struggling to bring both her breathing and her pulse rate back under control.
He heaved an exasperated sigh. “It was a kiss, Amber.”
But they both knew it was more than a kiss. Then, to her mortification, her gaze reflexively flicked below his waistline.
He gave a knowing chuckle, and she wished the floor would swallow her whole.
“Are you blushing?” he asked.
“No.” But she couldn’t look him in the eyes.
“You seemed a whole lot more sophisticated when we met in the lounge,” he ventured.
She couldn’t interpret his flat tone, so she braved a glance at his expression. Was he annoyed?
He looked annoyed.
She hadn’t intended to lead him on. Nor had she meant for the kiss to spiral out of control.
Surely he could understand that.
Or was he always so quick to leap to expectations?
Then, an unsettling thought hit her. What if Royce hadn’t leaped to expectations in the past two minutes? What if his expectations had been there since their meeting in the lounge?
Had she been hopelessly naive? Did he consider her a one-or two-night stand?
“Is that why you brought me here?” she asked, watching closely, giving him the chance to deny it.
“Depends,” he said, cocking his head and giving her a considering look. “On what you mean by that.”
“Because you thought I’d sleep with you?”
“It had crossed my mind,” he admitted.
Her embarrassment turned to anger. “Seriously?”
He sighed. “Amber-”
“You are the most egotistical, opportunistic-”
“Hey, you were the one who was dressed to kill and insisted on ‘taking a ride in my jet plane.’”
“That wasn’t a euphemism for sex.”
“Really?” He looked genuinely surprised. “It usually is.”
Amber compressed her lips. How had she been so naive? How could she have been so incredibly foolish? Royce wasn’t some knight in shining armor. He was a charming, wealthy, well-groomed pickup artist.
Her distaste was replaced again by embarrassment. She’d proposed paying her way here by doing office work. He’d had a completely different line of work in mind.
She pushed the wheeled chair aside and moved to go around him. “I think I’d better leave.”
She’d have to call her parents to rescue her, head back to Chicago with her tail between her legs, maybe even reconsider her relationship with Hargrove, since, as the three of them so often told her, she was naive in the ways of the real world.
At least with Hargrove, she knew where she stood.
“Why?” Royce asked, putting a hand on her arm to stop her.
She glanced at his hand, and he immediately let go.
“There’s obviously been a misunderstanding.” She’d hang out in the upstairs bedroom until a car could come for her. Then she’d head back to the airport, home to her parents’ mansion and back to her real life.
This had been a crazy idea from beginning to end.
“Clearly,” said Royce, his jaw tight.
She moved toward the door.
Royce’s voice followed her. “Running back to Mommy and Daddy?”