My body was like dry kindling, and that kiss lit a fire in me that spread from our lips to my chest, and there, it grew into a furnace that burned fiercely in my whole body.

Every muscle in me lit up with energy, alive like never before at her touch. My mind dissolved into a burning mess of white noise as I focused on the feeling of Jillian Hargrove’s soft lips against mine.

When a sweet, single note of a delighted, guilty sigh escaped her, I knew I had to have more.

My hands slid down from the wall I was pinning her against to her hips, caressing the black fabric of her dress and gently squeezing her, feeling her give, her warmth, her everything. I was already looming over her, my body taking up so much space around her that I was worried for a second that I was crushing her in against the wall. But I came closer still, pulling her hips into mine.

I let her feel the thick width of my cock against her.

From the moment she’d stepped in with that dress, it had begun to swell up with need. My eyes had drank in that form-fitting outfit, so conservative and so enticing all at the same time. There was no way she couldn’t have known what a dress like that was going to do to me. She was playing with fire, and now, my heat was damn close to burning her like she’d been burning me up from the moment I saw her.

I was holding awkward, shy, nerdy Jillian, my own best friend’s sister, the blushing wall flower in the background of some of the best years of my life. And I wanted to slide my cock between her wet lips and buck into her until I’d spent every drop of seed in me.

The thought of coming inside Jillian made my cock pulse, and I pinned her against the wall completely, slipping a hand behind her neck to kiss her more deeply. The thing inside me that had been roaring to get out was bursting free at last, and I recognized the way Jillian was gasping, sighing into it, her body nearly melting to my touch.

She was nervous, but God, she wanted me. And for once, the thought of letting all her old fantasies run wild with my cock inside her made me all the more excited.

I was ready. I was primed. I was hungry for her, and I wanted to devour every last inch of her. The taste of her lips was sweet on my tongue, and I finally broke the kiss to move my lips down to her neck.

And with a single word, the fantasy of the moment shattered back into reality.

“Wait.”

I stood back as though she’d shocked me with a jolt of electricity. My hands went back to the wall, leaving her still pinned under me, but no part of me touched her. I glowered down at her, the hunger in my eyes obvious as the lust I could see in hers.

And for half a second, she looked sad that she’d told me to stop, her lips opening as if to beg me to come back.

Then, her professional side came rushing back to her, and she steeled her will, glaring at me and shaking her head as she pushed my arms out of the way to take a few steps to the side.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Jillian asked, breathing heavily as she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, her face still flushed.

“The same thing you were,” I said, taking a step toward her, but she mirrored it and stepped back. It took her a few moments to compose herself enough to talk.

“I was thinking I was coming here for a professional meeting,” she gasped, her face going even redder.

I’d really rocked the boat with her, it seemed. From the moment she let me kiss her, I could read the fantasies in her mind wanting to cut loose and let me go wild on her.

That storm was still raging in her heart.

“And you did,” I said with a casual smile. “We’re professionals, and we’re meeting. We just have some tension to take care of before we get to business.”

“B-bruin, I don’t…” she paused, swallowed, and started again with her composure trying to make a comeback. “I came here because I want you to sign this sale, Bruin. All I’m here to do is to buy this boat from you, for my brother,” she emphasized, putting force in the last three words.

I frowned. There was no way she didn’t know about the tension between Jeff and me over her. He probably didn’t even have to say anything. She would have just known. They knew each other well.

“Is it really?” I asked, and her eyes widened at being challenged. I took a step forward, and this time, she didn’t move, rooted in place. “You could have come up with any reason to avoid coming here in person. A simple lie would have done the job. Instead, you show up here with a dress that makes me want to do unspeakable things to you and step into my bedroom,” I said, my voice getting lower and huskier with every step I took toward her.

I was looming over her again, looking deep into those green eyes that were like a forest I wanted to get lost in forever. But they were so defiant and willful, yet so full of desire. She was holding herself back as much as she was holding me back.

“I came here,” she said slowly, her own voice low, “because I’m doing everything I can to make this work. For Jeff, and for me.”

“Forget Jeff,” I said, the impatience starting to show in my tone. “What does he have to do with any of this? You’re a grown woman, Jill,” I said, looking her up and down. “And I can see in your eyes that you’re a grown woman who knows what she wants.”

“What I want is what’s best for the company,” she said, and even I could tell by her tone she didn’t believe that.

“Is that what’s best for you?” I asked, and she opened her mouth to argue, but no words came to her. She clenched her jaw, glaring daggers up at me as I loomed over her, so close that I could feel the heat radiating off her.

One of my massive hands slipped around one of her small ones, giving it a gentle squeeze that she didn’t resist at first. “Forget Jeff,” I whispered in a husky tone. “Forget the company. Think about what you want. I saw the look in your eyes a minute ago. I felt the way you groaned into me. We both want this. I want you.”

Those words sent a shiver up her back that I could feel at her fingertips, but she drew her hand away, nearly shaking.

“I’ve made my offer, Bruin,” she said, fighting hard to maintain her professional tone. I couldn’t help but smile. The way she was trying to keep carrying herself, you’d think we’d been having a chaste, businesslike meeting from the very start. “If you’re interested at all in selling this yacht, then we can talk. Until you decide on that, though, I think you’re wasting our time here.”

Her face was beet-red, but she let the words come out with force before she turned on her heel and strode out of the room.

I was nothing short of stunned. That was a kind of fire I’d never known Jillian was capable of. It took me a moment to realize what was even happening. I gave my head a shake and started to walk after her.

“Jillian,” I started, and for an instant, I almost went after her.

But I held my place and let her go, watching her slam the door shut and listening to the sound of her hurried footsteps down the hall and around the corner while I stood in my place. Bruin Kincaid did not run after women.

I let my shoulders relax, and I glared out the door with new resolution.

No, I wasn’t going to chase her down the hall like a love-struck puppy. But I was going to have her.

When I wanted to have something, I made it happen. Always.