Drinks? You are truly delusional, aren’t you, Mr. Wolfe?

I banged my fingers on the keyboard a little more aggressively than necessary before I directed the cursor to send and fired off the message with a nice, hard click.

Shots fired, asshole.

So maybe I shouldn’t be returning messages at one in the morning when I was drunk and still a swoony mess over the gorgeous guy back at the bar.

Believe me, baby, I might devour you, but you’ll enjoy every second of it.

Chills lifted as the memory of the man’s words back at the bar skated across my skin like temptation and sex. My stomach twisted in a needy knot of want, desire rushing free as I thought of the magic that man would surely bring with his hands and that mouth and the among other things.

That sweet spot between my thighs sizzled and tingled.

I covered a giggle with my hand, and a hiccup followed it.

Okay.

I most definitely did not need to be messaging the asshole at one o’clock in the morning.

But I just couldn’t help myself.

Not when I’d climbed into bed and pulled my laptop onto my lap after the relaxing night, so thankful that for a few moments I’d been able to shed the stress and the worry that had haunted me for the last five months.

Nikki was right.

I’d needed the break.

To unwind and let loose.

And God…oh God, had meeting Brody been exactly what the doctor prescribed. I’d known exactly where we were headed, and it had taken all I had to resist, to stand and force myself from the table.

A few flirty moments more, and the two of us would have been a tangle of limbs and needy hands.

Which in my book was nothing but a recipe for heartache and regret.

But that didn’t mean I hadn’t needed the attention. That I hadn’t needed the bolstering. Someone to remind me I was beautiful and strong and appealing. Everyone needed encouragement before they set out for war.

So, I couldn’t stop myself when I’d seen Wolfe had emailed me. With the audacity to ask me out for drinks, nonetheless.

I huffed and started to close down the lid when my inbox pinged.

“I bet you don’t even need to sleep, do you, Mr. Wolfe. You aren’t even human.” It was all a mumble under my breath as I opened his message, hating the way my heart sped an extra notch.

Delusional? I think not, Ms. Redd. I’m merely giving you one last chance to come to your senses before you become an embarrassment. I am a gentleman, after all.

An embarrassment?

How dare he?

And a gentleman?

Hardly.

My fingers flew across the keys.

An embarrassment? Who me? I think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. You are going to be the most embarrassed, embarrassed, embarrassed man to ever walk the earth. You just think you’re so big and bad, don’t you? Well guess what, I’m not afraid of you. Not at all. Because guess what? You’re STUPID and arrogant and, just because you’re supposed to be some gorgeous rich guy and everyone kisses your ass, it doesn’t mean you always are going to get your way. The buck stops here, buddy. So, you can just turn around and go back from where you came, because you won’t be blowing down any houses around here. Assholes like you are nothing but hot air.

I tacked on a nice, “Ha,” when I hit send.

With a victorious grin, I quickly reread my words.

Dread curled in my stomach.

Oh God.

Shit.

No.

What did I do? What did I do?

Panicked, I looked around my bedroom as if I might find the message still floating in cyberspace. The only thing I wanted right then was the chance to put a stake in it.

Kill it dead.

I sounded like a blubbering fool.

I groaned in misery when my inbox pinged. Why did he still have to be awake?

Oh, Ms. Redd, I’m afraid it’s you who is again confused. You seem to be lost in the wrong fairy tale. In the original story of Wolfe and Redd, I win. And did you just imply I’m gorgeous? Hmm…perhaps you do have a few things right, after all.

Grrr. I wanted to scream.

Like I said. Arrogant.

Apparently, I just couldn’t resist. I needed an intervention. But there I was, all by myself with no one to rein in the disaster I was galloping straight for.

Almost immediately, my inbox pinged.

I think you’re confusing arrogance with confidence. I’ll be packing plenty of it when I meet you tomorrow. And I promise you, at the end of it, I won’t be the one who is embarrassed. Get your rest, Ms. Redd. You’re going to need it.

I banged my head back on my pillow.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What did I do?

* * *

“How do I look?”

I smoothed out my crisp, white blouse and straightened my pristine black pencil skirt that landed just below my knees. The uber professional outfit was set off with my hair up in an intricate but flowy twist so I could show off the emerald and diamond necklace I’d bought when I’d passed the bar.

It was my power piece.

It and the pair of super high black pumps that made me feel as if I held the keys to my own little kingdom.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t shaking in my boots.

“You look fabulous, as always,” my assistant, Tina, said as she plucked a stray hair from my shoulder. “Nervous, though. You do look nervous.”

I scowled at her. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Hey, I didn’t say you weren’t going to slay this meeting. All I’m saying is you look a little nervous. You aren’t even getting paid for this one. I don’t get what the big deal is.”

Maybe that was half the problem. No one really understood what the big deal was. Businesses came and went all the time.

“This is important to me,” I told her.

“Obviously.”

I glanced at my watch. “Two minutes.”

“If he’s as prompt as you.”

I sucked in a steeling breath. “Something tells me he’s every bit as prompt as I am.”

“I’d better get out there then. Wouldn’t want to keep the Big Bad Wolfe waiting, now would I?”

“Not helping,” I told her.

“Just getting your blood pumpin’.”

Exasperation widened my eyes, but Tina just grinned before she flounced from my office, leaving me with my nerves and the worry spinning through my mind.

Needing something to busy myself, I moved to where I had Addelaine’s file opened on my desk. Nervously, I shifted through the papers while I was still standing, reciting the presentation and offer I’d memorized under my breath.

“You’ve got this,” I whispered nearly silently right before my head jerked up when I heard the door click open.

My eyes went wide as my mouth dropped open, and I swore my damned heart came to a full stop, stuttered, and then tumbled before it took off at breakneck speed.

Anger bristled just under the surface of my skin as stunned disbelief shook my head.

In sauntered the most attractive man to ever take up my space. There wasn’t any hesitation in his step when his head cocked to the side, and he sent me the most presumptuous, cheeky smirk as his eyes dragged over me from head to toe.

Arrogant.

Cocky.

Confident.

My hands trembled.

“You.”