Slade sat in the lobby and waited for his guest. It was ten of eight, and he was beginning to wonder if Mandisa would show up or not. The realization that he was actually concerned about being stood up rattled him.

Slade didn’t have much use for women. They were a practicality in his life. He had open and honest liaisons with women who understood up front all he wanted was a little fun and no attachments.

He’d never been worried about being disappointed before. If one didn’t show up, there was always something else to do. He wasn’t a playboy by any stretch of the imagination, didn’t have a different woman hidden in every city. He simply had friends he occasionally slept with when the need or desire arose.

But from the moment he’d seen Mandisa step into that lounge he’d wanted to know her. He’d only been in that damn lounge because Lori, the New York rep for Venus Cosmetics, lived near Downtown Brooklyn. When she picked him up from the airport he’d told her to take him someplace he could drink in peace and get his mind off of the shittastic day he’d had. She’d taken him to Syn, and he’d done just as he said he’d wanted to—enjoyed his drink quietly.

When he spotted Mandisa stepping into the lounge and making her way to the bar, suddenly a quiet night alone didn’t seem so inviting. Once he’d actually kissed Mandisa, had the opportunity to feel her smooth skin under his own, he knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had the opportunity to taste all of her.

Last night she’d seemed like she might not be opposed to that idea. But since he hadn’t heard from her since he’d given her friend his number, he was beginning to question if she’d even bother accepting his dinner invitation.

He looked at the entrance once more and then at his watch. Five after eight. Maybe it was time to pack it in and head upstairs to his room.

“Slade.”

The sultry heaviness of her voice made him close his eyes as he savored the sweetness of the sound of his name on what he knew to be delectable lips.

He opened his eyes, searching for her in the hotel lobby. “Darlin,’ you made it.” He stood and tipped his hat for her, pouring on the Southern gentleman act rather thickly. He was in fact a Southern gentleman, but he didn’t go around tilting his hat and deepening the twang in his voice for just any little filly. No, this was simply to keep that satisfied look on her face, the sparkle in her eyes.

She found his charm endearing, and somehow knowing that made him want to be this person for her all the time. It was hokey, it was playing to a stereotype, yeah, but it was also bringing the most beautiful smile to the sexy woman standing before him. That alone made it worth it.

“Please forgive my lateness. I had to go home to get ready before I could meet you. I hope I’m dressed all right.”

He looked at her. She was adorned in an off-the-shoulder red fitted dress that hugged every form-fitting curve she had, accompanied by a pair of black leather knee-high stiletto boots. Her eyelids sparkled with shimmering shadow that accentuated the lovely dark brown eyes fanned by full midnight lashes. Her lips were covered in a matte red color that dared him to kiss her right now.

The combination of those boots, her curves, and the sexy red lips made his slacks tighten around the semi hard-on the vision of her was creating.

Act right before you screw this up, Slade. Act like you’re more than a horny teenager.

“You’re beautiful. Let me take you inside and get you fed right nice, darlin’.”

* * *

Mandisa smiled at him again, the same way she always seemed to when he used that pet name on her. She couldn’t stop it. The sound of it just made her face muscles bend her lips into a sappy little grin.

“Is that a Texas custom? You tipping your cowboy hat and calling the ladies darlin’?”

“Yup. We also have two more very important customs in Texas I need to show you.” She watched him stand to his full six-foot-whatever-the-hell-inch height and tip his hat again.

He took a slow step toward her. When she didn’t back away, he continued until he was standing directly in front of her with hardly enough space between them for air to pass.

He tilted her chin with his finger and bent slightly to bridge the difference in their heights. “The first custom is this. When a beautiful woman that you fancy enters a room, you greet her with a kiss.”

He pressed his lips to hers. Soft and tentative at first, as if he were giving her the chance to decide if this was where she wanted to be. He didn’t have to worry about that. She had no plans of moving from this spot.

When she met his kiss with a soft purr, he pulled her closer to him, surrounding her with his arms, tucking her into his chest. He deepened the kiss, nipping at the softness of her lips, sliding his tongue inside the heat of her mouth, allowing her to savor the cinnamon flavor of it as she opened wider for him.

The feel of the hard planes of his large body pressed against her soft curves made every nerve she possessed tingle with electricity. She’d known this man less than twenty-four hours. Yet being near him, allowing herself to wallow in the luxurious feel of the broad pads of his fingers on the curve of her neck, stroking her with their hypnotic rhythm, seemed so familiar. As if it was usual, expected.

Kandi’s reprimand about Mandisa needing to take a break, to enjoy life, weighed on her. Maybe there was something to Kandi’s idea. Maybe she really did need to break loose, get back to her former wild ways, and live a little.

“Mmm, I think I like this custom of yours,” she moaned in the brief breaks between their kisses. “What else you Texans got?”

He pressed another quick peck to her lips and held his hand out with the palm side up. “You have a cellphone?”

She reached inside her purse, pulled it out and handed it to him. When he went to wake it from its sleep mode, he smiled at the flashing demand for a password and retina scan.

“You really need a retina scan for your cellphone?”

She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Can’t be too careful in this day and age.” She picked up the phone and lifted it while it scanned her eyes. When the phone was open, she handed it back to him. “What do you need it for?”

He tapped a number onto the keypad and pressed the call button. She heard a light vibration coming from his chest pocket, then he ended the call and locked his information into her contact’s list.

“That second custom says, if you find a beautiful woman you want to spend a little more time with, make sure you exchange contact information with her. This way she’ll never be able to lose you again.”

She took her phone from him and looked down at it. “A cellphone number is all I need to guarantee I’ll never lose you…” She looked down at the bright screen again. “Mr. Slade Hamilton?”

He leaned in for another kiss, then pulled his own phone out to secure her contact information.

“Darlin’, the way you say my name, like it’s dipped in something decadent, is a pretty sure bet I’ll always be at your beck and call. Now, what’s your last name, Ms. Mandisa?”

“Avery,” she offered. “And it’s not Ms., it’s Doctor. Doctor Mandisa Avery.”

Slade quickly lifted his eyes from the screen of his phone and stared openly at her, his gaze slightly clearing the warm haze his kisses had created a few moments earlier. “Doctor?”

She nodded and took a step back, giving him a chance to process what she’d said. There were men in this world, even in the twenty-first century, who couldn’t deal with an educated woman. Somehow having brains seemed to be a threat to their masculinity. She was desperately hoping Slade wasn’t one of those men, but if he was, now was the time for her to find out.

“Is that a problem?”

“No. Why would it be? It just means I’m in capable hands should I require mouth-to-mouth.”

She tilted her head and watched, trying to gauge his truthfulness as his lecherous smile was accompanied by his lifting eyebrows. Not that she’d known him long enough to be able to read his non-verbal cues, but his response didn’t give her pause, just made her want to roll her eyes, and so she did.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not that kind of doctor. PhD, not MD.”

He waved his hand. “Doesn’t matter. You still seem to know what you’re doing when you put your mouth on mine.”

She stopped for a moment, making an exaggerated appearance of mulling over his findings as she stepped back into his personal space.

She whispered, “I really do. Don’t I?” before she ran slow fingers up his chest and circled her arms around his neck, drawing him to her. When their lips met, she pressed her mouth to his, happy to feel the warmth his touch brought to her.

God, this feels so right.

It did, for reasons she couldn’t fully understand, she felt grounded in his arms. She pulled away slightly, looking up into the crystal blue of his eyes, getting lost in their tranquil lure. She was standing in a hotel lobby, damn near climbing a perfect stranger, and the world seemed more level than it had at any other time in her recent years.

“Not that I’m complaining about how we’re spending the present, but I thought there was gonna be a nice shared meal in our future.”

“Does this hotel have twenty-four-hour room service?”

He took a moment to gaze at her, as if he were trying to connect the breadcrumbs she was dropping. “Yes, it does. Why?”

“Because I was thinking maybe we could skip the table and the people in the restaurant and have that meal in your bed.”

He stared at her for a beat before he smiled and nodded his head. “Dr. Avery, I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

* * *

As soon as he clicked the door shut behind him and turned around, removing his hat, Slade pulled Mandisa into his arms. Her warm curves tickling his skin in the most delicious way brought a moan to his lips. Even fully clothed she felt like heaven against him.

He reached down to kiss her, and she leaned back. “Can I use your restroom to freshen up?” He nodded and pointed her in the direction of the bathroom. In her absence, he removed his jacket and boots. He padded over to the bed and took a seat. He reached for the top button of his shirt ready to loosen it. A small creak in the air stopped his moving fingers and pulled his attention to the bathroom door.

“Please, allow me,” she crooned. Her voice alone was enough to make his semi grow to full mast. But when he looked up and saw her standing there with her stiletto boots on and a matching demi bra and panty set, he couldn’t breathe.

“Jesus.”

“I don’t think that was exactly the reaction I was looking for.” She stepped slowly, taking entirely too long to get within his grasp, in his opinion. When she finally arrived, he had to lick his lips in delight.

He wanted to jump right into the feast, but decided to savor the bounty before him. He took a moment, inhaled deeply, and looked up to meet her gaze.

“Darlin’, you do know I’d have been happy spending the night with you, good food, and conversation. Are you sure you want to do this with me?”

She raised a skeptical eyebrow and slowly smiled at him. “Is this you being a gentleman, Slade, or are you just trying to earn brownie points by being a nice guy?”

“Would you believe a little of both?”

She nodded, then took a moment to lean beyond him, grabbing the purse she’d dropped on his bed before she’d gone to the bathroom. She opened it and pulled out a string of foil condom packets, holding them up for him to see.

“Does this show you how serious I am about spending the night with you?”

He groaned and pulled her closer to him, resting his head on her breasts. “God, woman, where have you been all my life?”

She chuckled as she wove firm fingers through his hair and lightly scraped his scalp with her fingernails. “I don’t know if I should be impressed or concerned about your use of religious outcries while I’m trying to have sex with you.”

“Trust me, in the Bible belt, we take the name of the Lord seriously. As a good Texas boy I’m only calling on God for two reasons: because I need Him, or because I want to thank Him.”

“Which reason are you calling Him now?”

He lifted his hand, securing it at her nape, threading his fingers into the thick loose curls that framed her face and shoulders. “Both.”

He pulled her down on top of him, loving the feel of her body’s weight against his chest. He slid sure hands down her back, letting them glide down the curve of her ass until his fingers rested on the backs of her thighs. He pulled her up until her legs straddled his hips, loving the feel the heat of her cunt supplied as she seated herself gently on his cock.

He slid his hands down her thighs and moved on to her calves, smiling when he encountered the leather leg of her boots.

“You have no idea how much Texans love boots,” he whispered against her mouth.

“The boots are really doing it for you, huh?”

“You in the boots is really doing it for me. Keep ’em on.”

* * *

The crooked smile on his face and the streak of devilment in his eyes should have let her know she was in for an intense ride. Everything about Slade Hamilton said unpredictable and different. From the way he wore that big-ass cowboy hat with such confidence to the powerful way he walked—even the way his rich voice dripped with sex appeal—Slade Hamilton was a powerful man who played his cards close and kept a woman on her feet. In one smooth motion, he flipped them over, never once interrupting the kiss they were locked in. She was on her back, spread beneath him, happily basking in his heat without the slightest bit of concern for how wanton her spread legs and desperate moans made her appear.

That was Slade. Since that first moment in the bar, he’d made her care less about everything she should be doing and drew her focus to the things that pleased her. His ability to make her forget about the world outside was intoxicating, something that could be dangerous in excess.

She gave herself a mental shake. There was no need to worry about becoming addicted. He’d be gone, back to his life in Texas, in a matter of hours. There would be no time for her system to become fixated on the things his body could do to hers.

Secure in the fact she had this under control, she slid sure hands down his muscled flanks, hooking her fingers into the elastic of his boxer briefs. She tugged, and he rolled from side to side until she got them down far enough that he could kick them off.

When he leaned to the side it gave her the opportunity to see the monster he’d been hiding beneath his clothes. She’d known he was more than a handful when she’d straddled him. The way his cock protruded through his jeans, resting hard and heavy between the lips of her pussy, creating the most delightful friction across her clit was proof enough of her assumption. If he’d left her there, a few swivels of her hips would have gotten her off. But seeing him now, naked, hard, and cut, she was glad she hadn’t wasted that orgasm dry-humping him like a teenager.

“Gimme that,” she moaned. He made enough space between their bodies for her to slide her hand between them. Discovering her fingers were unable to touch when she attempted to wrap her hand around him made her pussy clench. She hadn’t stroked him once, and he was firm and heavy, cock standing at attention, proudly reporting for duty.

She attempted to stroke him, but he wrapped his hand around hers and shook his head. He pulled her hand from his length and secured it over her head. He did the same to her other hand, swallowing both her wrists in one meaty palm. He positioned himself to her side as he used his free hand to glide from her ample bosom down to the soft base of her abdomen.

When his fingers reached her folds, he wasted no time in swirling his fingers around the hood of her clit, coaxing it from behind its silky cover. The feel of his hands on her, rubbing her, sending shocks of electricity from his fingertips to her cunt, causing it to weep with excitement, begging him for more, brought her closer to the climax she could feel building inside.

Her breath came in gasps as she mewled and moaned for him. When skilled fingers slipped inside her, her moans became an open cry.

“Shhh, darlin’. I promise I’ll give you everything you want.” He leaned in and kissed her. It was hungry, desperate. He broke the kiss only to whisper in her ear as his fingers continued to stroke her, caressing the spongy knot inside her that threatened to break her apart.

The sound of his voice both soothed and excited her. It stroked her soul just as gently and surely as his fingers stroked her velvet walls.

Sometimes his words seemed like meaningless sounds, others nearly shattered her with the depth of their meaning. Repeatedly he told her how beautiful she was, how fucking sexy she was with the lips of her cunt spread open and dripping for him. How he wanted to bury his face in it and lick every delicious drop she had to offer him. And when one of his fingers lightly slid against her puckered hole and her entire body quivered, he told her how the thought of sliding inside made his dick weep.

She wasn’t sure if it was his touch or the filthy things he whispered to her in his sweet voice, but without warning her entire body tightened into one long spasm and then shattered. The tremors of her orgasm were still causing her walls to quake when she heard the distant sound of a foil wrapper being torn open.

She expected him to climb on top of her, but he didn’t. He remained at her side, maneuvering her limp body so that she fit perfectly into his big spoon. He wrapped one of her legs over his hips and entered her from behind.

She’d come, he’d stretched and prepared her, but his girth still pulled at the lips of her cunt. She stiffened in anticipation of the pain, but he soothed her by wrapping his arm around her, caressing her clit, and whispering in her ear again. This time his words cheered her, told her how he knew she could handle him, how much pleasure he was going to give her because she was being such a good girl, taking him just the way he liked it.

Logically, his words should have meant nothing. But the way he whispered them with such sincerity, the way each whisper was always accompanied with a gentle touch of his hand or a deep stroke of his cock had her coming again. This orgasm was harder, more intense than the first time, making her seize in his arms, her nails digging into his flesh as she grasped for purchase, needing an anchor to keep her from falling.

As she broke apart for him, he dug deeper, buried himself to the hilt of his cock. His balls slapping against her swollen opening, making her moan with each movement, made her ache with need. He sped up his motion as he ground into her, making her body bounce to the rhythm he was creating. She begged him for more, even though she was shredded by the pleasure he’d already bestowed on her, she shamelessly begged him to continue his destruction of her.

He left her on her side as he moved to his knees. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder. The move had her spread wide, allowing him to deepen his angle and pivot at a faster pace. The hard ride he was giving her kept her screaming into the pillow beneath her head. When his cockhead scraped across her G-spot in just the right way, she screamed his name a final time, clawing the sheets beneath her fingers while her cunt conformed to the mold of his dick.

He laced his fingers in her worn curls, holding her in place while he snapped his hips, pummeling through her orgasm and triggering his own. He slammed into her one last time before his cockhead swelled, and the first warm jet of cum spilled into the condom.

She turned her head just in time to see bliss soften the sharp angles of his face.

He should always look like this…perfect, peaceful.

Of course Slade hadn’t disclosed anything to her that suggested he wasn’t otherwise happy. Mandisa had hardly spent enough time with him to know anything more than his name. But in the beauty of their sex, another layer of Slade Hamilton was revealed to her and she knew she wanted him to always carry the serenity this moment seemed to give him.

In their short time together he’d shown her kindness and generosity with his money. But in this moment, when he’d loved her body into exhaustion, he’d shown her that he garnered the most soul-deep pleasure when he was in the midst of giving it to someone else.

* * *

Slade stroked her arm softly as he watched her lie next to him in bed. She was tranquil, barely moving, relaxed into the soft bedding surrounding them.

“Mmmm, feels good.” She moaned and snuggled closer to him. “I could fall asleep if you keep doing that.”

“Good. Means I get to start my day doing what we just did again.”

“I wouldn’t be the least bit upset if my day started like this night has ended. Too bad I have to be an adult tomorrow morning and attend a work meeting.”

Slade could feel the tension moving through her body as she spoke about tomorrow’s concerns. She’d been relaxed since they’d come down off their orgasmic high. He’d been barely able to move enough muscles to breathe after the intensity of their coupling, let alone tense up enough that someone else would notice it. There had to be something serious going on at her work for it to intrude on their good time like this.

“What kind of work do you do?”

“I’m a chemist.” A heavy breath followed her utterance as if the three-worded sentence was just too much for her to bear.

That bothered Slade. He wasn’t exactly certain why, but he knew it just felt wrong to watch her in any form of discomfort. He’d known it when she walked into that lounge last night. It was the first thing that drew his attention to her.

Sure, he’d noticed her physical beauty—he’d have to have been blind not to—but it wasn’t the thing that made him want to think of her beyond his initial appreciation for her physical form.

Beautiful women weren’t exactly rare finds in his circle. Having money meant you could surround yourself with pretty things whenever you wanted. But Mandisa’s beauty was clouded by the weight of something. He didn’t know what it was, only that it was real and tangible, as evidenced by the change in her body language now.

For some reason Slade hadn’t quite figured out yet, from the very moment he’d noticed her burden, he’d wanted to relieve her of it.

He gathered her in his arms and held her tightly in his hold, hoping somehow his strength alone would be enough to ease her discomfort.

“Problems on the job?”

She nodded her head absently. “Yeah.”

“What? Your boss pissing you off?”

“If it were that simple, I’d just find another job,” she answered.

“Then what?”

“I am the boss, but that’s the problem. I became a chemist because I loved science, loved creating new things with my science. Eighteen months ago, some major changes happened in the company, and I ended up becoming the boss. Running a business is fine for those that really want it. But I’d rather be lost in my lab than dealing with the crap bosses have to.”

Kindred spirits.

He knew exactly what she meant. Logan Industries was his birthright. Something passed down through four generations of his maternal kin. It was the last connection he had to his late mama and her family. On most days Slade wished he could hand the worries of his family’s company to someone else. His heart was firmly planted on his horse ranch in Austin, but his body was shackled to an office in the city.

There’d been so many times he’d thought to walk away, just let his father have it all. But then he knew if he did Bull would tarnish it the way he did everything else beautiful in his life.

“Take it from me, darlin’, don’t let anyone steal your joy. If being the boss ain’t what you want, set yourself free.”

She turned in his arms then, placing a gentle kiss on his lips, running a careful finger through his hair. “You make it sound so simple, Slade.”

“It is.”

“I wish it were, but it’s not.”

“Let me ask you this. If you had a magic wand that could instantly take you away from this situation, allow you to give it all up in the snap of your fingers, would you use it?”

With no hesitation she whispered, “In a heartbeat.”

“Then there’s your answer. Let it go.”

She leaned in and kissed him. Deepening it, allowing the tension in her body to bleed out with each press of her flesh against his. “I’m still not certain it’s as easy as you make it seem. But when you say it, I want it to be.”

“If there’s ever any way I can help you make it simple, you call me, and I’ll do everything I can to make it so.”

She offered him a smile in return for his promise, and he suddenly felt like the wealthiest man in the world.

“You know what is simple, Slade?”

He gave his head a brief shake.

“Forget what I said earlier about having to adult tomorrow. The decision to spend the night with you, that’s as easy and simple as it gets.”

* * *

Slade burrowed into the soft warmth pressed against him. The front of his chest, groin, and legs were on fire, and his sleep-drunk mind couldn’t immediately decipher why. The heat wasn’t burning him, so he figured it must be a good thing and snuggled closer to the source.

As he was just about to doze off again, he heard the repetitive sound of a bird chirping. It was cute enough the first time, but as more moments passed the sound picked at his ability to reclaim his precious sleep.

Needing to shut it off, he turned away from the glorious heat he’d been wrapped up in. His body, instantly cold once he’d lost contact with the source of the inferno in his bed, shivered at the loss of heat. He slapped his uncoordinated palm around until it finally made contact with something that felt electronic in his hand.

He lifted it to his face and fought to open, then focus his eyes on what was in front of him. He was conscious enough to realize it was a phone he was looking at. He put it to his ear and said hello, but the sound still continued. He pulled it away from his ear and forced his eyes to focus on the shiny face. When he could see, there was a flashing message across the face of it that read:

10am meeting w/Lori Harris of VC at Oceanview Hotel

Re: Sweet Sadie’s

Dammit. Either his father or Lori had put this on his calendar and set that notification. Every alert he had was set to vibrate because Slade couldn’t stand the sound of cellphone notifications pinging all over the place. Being an executive for a company like Logan Industries, his phone was constantly going off. An audible alarm sounding incessantly throughout the day would drive him insane.

He went to unlock the home screen and turn the sound off, but it kept denying him access. Just when he was ready to throw the thing across the room, he felt a warm hand snake over his arm and pull the device from his hand. Mandisa silenced the noise, looked at it for a minute with a single opened eye before tossing the now silent gadget back on the nightstand.

The slight press of comforting fingers drawing circles against his chest calmed Slade. The motion soothed him, lulled him back into the restful sleep the alarm had rudely pulled him from.

Slade slept until he heard a hard vibration against the nightstand and pulled himself up in bed. He didn’t have to wonder if Mandisa was still with him. Her lack of comforting heat against his skin alerted him to her absence.

He picked up the phone to read the incoming text, a smile blooming across his face when he saw Mandisa’s name as the sender of the message.

Sorry my phone woke you.

Had to leave to get ready for meeting.

Done by lunch. You wanna hang later?

Hell, yes, he wanted to hang later. He typed out a quick response and looked at the time. He had about an hour before he had to be downstairs to meet Lori for this meeting. He picked up the room phone on the nightstand and placed a breakfast order with room service. Hearty food and a fresh batch of coffee were the means he had of coping with this bullshit Bull had placed on his plate. Better to go ahead and get it over with. At least then he could spend some time with Mandisa.

He showered and changed just in time to hear the tap at his door. When he opened it, a young man pushing a cart laden with several covered platters and a pot of coffee was waiting on the other side.

While Slade sat and ate he thought about the fiery night he’d spent buried so deep inside Mandisa. His cock was twitching just thinking about what it felt like to be sheathed inside her. From the moment they’d met, he’d somehow known the two of them would go up like dried tinder once they touched. What he hadn’t banked on was how content he’d feel while providing a listening ear to her.

Thinking about her made him lift his phone and find her message again.

Sorry my phone woke you.

Had to leave to get ready for meeting.

Done by lunch. You wanna hang later?

There was something different about the message this time. The words were the same, he was sure, but with coffee and food in his belly, his brain was actually functioning again, comprehending the language in which he was literate.

“Sorry my phone woke you.” He read the words aloud and turned them over in his head. “Her phone? That was my phone.”

He switched screens, pulling up his calendar to view the events of the day, but there were none. There was no meeting listed with Lori. Was he dreaming? He distinctly remembered being woken out of his sleep by that annoying calendar alarm from his phone.

“Except all of your notification alarms are set to vibrate.”

Sorry my phone woke you.

He read the first line of the text again. Why would Mandisa have a message about a meeting with Lori Harris of Venus Cosmetics on her phone?

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he mumbled softly into his coffee cup as he thought on the subject. It wasn’t until he’d brought a tasty-looking slice of thick-cut bacon halfway to his mouth a rushed thought filled his mind. The only person Lori is scheduled to meet with today was Sweet Sadie’s Sadie King. Why the hell would Mandisa be there?

Convinced there had to be some sort of mix-up, he dialed Lori’s number and waited for her to answer.

“Morning, Slade. You ready for our meeting with Sweet Sadie’s?”

“Yeah, about that. Didn’t you say our contact was Sadie King? You have any dealings with her? Can you give me any insight into what I’m going up against?”

“We’re not meeting with Sadie King. She passed away a little over a year ago when we first began talks with them about some sort of partnership.”

Lori’s answer made the food in his gut sit there like a weighted rock. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before he spoke again. “Then who are we dealing with, Lori?”

Lori’s reply was quick and light. “Her daughter, Dr. Mandisa Avery.”

“Well, shit.”

“Excuse me?” Lori countered, waiting for Slade to explain himself. Except he didn’t really have an explanation. Or at the very least, he didn’t have an explanation that would make this situation sound any less shitty than it was turning out to be.

How fucked was it that the beautiful woman he’d met two days ago, the goddess whose body he’d had the pleasure of worshipping last night and hoped to worship again, was also the woman his father had sent Slade to steal a company from?

“Slade?” Lori questioned him, her concern evident over the phone line. “You okay?”

“Yeah, Lori…never better.”

* * *

Mandisa fought the smile that threatened to appear on her face as she returned to the very same hotel lobby she’d rushed out of a couple of hours ago. The memory of the delectable things Slade did to her in his hotel room, how skilled he was with his cock, made her shudder.

So not the time for this, Mandisa. Get your head in the game.

She hoped the internal reprimand was enough to school herself into her respectable Dr. Avery persona. Mandisa may have enjoyed hours of Slade Hamilton’s touch, but Dr. Avery was the person who needed to rock this presentation.

She tightened her fingers around the trendy designer attaché case in her hand. The slight but discernable presence of her tiny laptop reassured her of her purpose in this building. After the meeting was over she could lose herself in Slade all over again. Right now, however, it was time for business.

Even without having seen Lori Harris prior to this meeting, Mandisa was able to spot her the moment Mandisa stepped into the hotel’s restaurant. Coiffed blonde hair pulled into a fashionable roll. Her makeup neatly applied to give off that airbrushed appearance usually attained by a professional’s skilled hands.

Like must have recognized like because before Mandisa reached the table, Lori was standing, waving Mandisa forward.

“Dr. Avery, thank you for meeting with me this morning.”

“Please, call me Mandisa. And thank you for taking the time to hear my proposal.”

Lori nodded as she motioned for the waiter to come to their table. “How about we start this proposal off right with some coffee and breakfast? You can tell me about your company and product, and hopefully by the time the check comes, we’ll have something positive to celebrate.”

Mandisa wasted no time delving into her practiced spiel. She’d been raised in this company by her mother. There wasn’t anything about it she didn’t know. The mission of the company, to serve the average woman who didn’t have the resources to buy high-end cosmetics, but still wanted to look good, was drilled into her head before she was old enough to wear Sweet Sadie products. Although they made shades that flattered all complexions, the company made a special effort to focus on women of color, because it was so much easier to find drugstore-brand makeup that catered to fairer complexions.

Lori appeared interested in Mandisa’s proposal, especially the sales record and the current demand for Sweet Sadie’s Signature products. Mandisa knew she’d done what she was supposed to do when Lori stopped sipping her coffee in order to pay closer attention to the laptop slideshow Mandisa was using as a supplemental tool to her presentation.

“Wow, that’s extremely impressive, Mandisa. Your Sweet Sadie’s Signature cosmetics and body lotions line is exactly the type of thing Venus is looking for. We’re one of the top three cosmetics companies in the world, but we still seem to be lacking when it comes to catering to our clientele with darker skin tones. Frankly, we’ve been looking for a quality product like yours for a long time.”

“Does that mean Venus will invest in Sweet Sadie’s?”

“Well, we certainly want Sweet Sadie’s to be part of the Venus family. But before I can make any offers, or rather counter offers to your investment proposal, my new director wishes to meet with you.”

It wasn’t the immediate yes Mandisa was hoping for, but it certainly wasn’t a no either. She checked this meeting off in the win column of her mental tally and returned her attention to the woman sitting before her. “Do you have any idea when your director would like to meet?”

“Considering he’s walking across the room as we speak, I’d say right now.”

Mandisa turned around to look toward the entrance behind their table. The first thing she saw was a familiar cowboy hat. Panic began to settle in her stomach when the owner of the hat’s face came into focus. When the man was finally standing at their table, Lori stood to make introductions.

“Dr. Mandisa Avery, the new director of Venus Cosmetics, Slade Hamilton.”

Mandisa watched Slade tip his hat to her, then Lori. Lori gathered her things, then left the two of them alone.

When he sat, they both just stared at each other. This was surreal. It couldn’t be happening. She’d spent the night letting this man take her to sexual heights she hadn’t experienced since…well ever, and now he was sitting across from her ready to do business.

“Mandisa,” he began.

“You son of a bitch. You played me. You set me up from the moment I walked into that fucking lounge.”

He held up both hands as he shook his head. “I had no idea I’d meet you in that club. I certainly didn’t know you were the person I’d be meeting with to discuss an investment deal.”

“You must really think I’m stupid.” She spat the words across the table in a quiet but furious fashion. “You really expect me to believe you didn’t know who the hell I was at Syn? That you didn’t target my ass, plan this entire seduction to give you a better advantage in business negotiations?”

“Mandisa, you can’t really believe that.”

“Exactly what am I supposed to believe, Slade? This is too much of coincidence to be accidental. You planned this shit. Unfortunately, the joke’s on you. The dick was sublime, but there isn’t a man alive whose meat is good enough to fuck me out of my company.”

“Enough,” Slade shouted as he slammed his hand down on the table, bringing the attention of the other patrons and restaurant employees to their heated discussion. He cleared his throat, and when the nosy Nellies in the restaurant returned to their own conversations, Slade lowered his voice to resume his explanation to Mandisa. “I did not seduce you with any ulterior motive. The only thing I wanted was to spend time with you.”

He let some of the anger bleed out of his voice as he reached his hand across the table to gently caress hers.

“I promise you, when I took you to my bed last night, I had no idea who you were. Everything that happened between us in that room came from a sincere place, darlin’.”

There it was, that damn word, the one that always felt like silk every time he directed it at her. She wanted to hold on to her anger, but slowly it ebbed away. “You really didn’t know?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t.”

She took a deep breath and leaned into the back of her chair. “What do we do now? Can we even do this deal now?”

“We can,” he answered. “I’m just not sure you’ll actually want to when you hear what I’m offering.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mandisa, you’re looking for an investor. It’s not really Venus’ style to invest in other companies. We don’t want partnership, we want ownership.”

“What?”

“We want to purchase your company and bring you and it on board to the Venus family. Sweet Sadie’s is a success because of your formula. We want to bring you on as the lead chemist in a new line targeted for people of color.”

“So, instead of owning my own company, I’d just be another employee at yours?” If the way she flinched when she finished her sentence was any indication, he understood how she felt about that without her having to say it. “Why would I come work for you when I can just continue to work for myself?”

“Because according to the conversation we had last night, you don’t really want the burden of running your mother’s company anyway.”

“You know what, Slade? Fuck you!”

He smiled, his charm seemingly unfazed by her directive. “Been there, done that, hope to do it again. But that’s not the point. The point is you told me last night that running this business was never something you wanted. It was always your mama’s dream. You just wanted to use your science to make things.”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest before she spoke. “I told that to Slade, a nice man who was showing me a good time and allowing me to relax. I wasn’t talking to the director of a company that’s looking to buy me out.”

“As luck would have it, those two men are one and the same. Mandisa, last night I told you I wanted nothing more than to take all your worry away. That I wanted to show you how peaceful and fulfilling life could be when you’re focused on the important things. We didn’t know I could help you then. Let me do it now.”

She watched him, watched sincerity paint his features and twinkle in his blue eyes. It was there last night when they were naked, eating burgers and fries in his bed, and she’d believed him.

But can I trust him now?

“Slade, you can’t just whisk me away and magically take away my life, my responsibilities.”

“Darlin’, you don’t know this about me, but I can pretty much make anything happen if I put my mind to it. Let me show you there’s another way, a better way.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Spend some time with me. Come down to Austin, let me show you all the reasons why I love my city. Let me take care of you. If you aren’t fully convinced that selling your business to me is the best thing you could do for yourself afterwards, then I’ll bring you back home. No harm, no foul.”

If only it were that easy. The idea of spending her days with Slade, not worried about spreadsheets, account balances, inventory, and government regulations regarding the creation of cosmetic products was tempting. Considering how magical their night spent together had been, the idea of running off to his quaint little ranch, living a simple life, appealed beyond good reason.

“Slade. I can’t do this. I have a life here, a business. I can’t just leave.”

“You have employees, a manager perhaps? There has to be someone you can trust to look after your stores. Let the people who work for you do their job, and you go have some fun. Three weeks. That’s all I’m asking. It’s not an eternity, and it’s not enough time to do any damage to your business.”

He was right. Kandi was phenomenal at her job. She could handle all five stores for any length of time, but that wasn’t the issue. Mandisa belonged in Brooklyn running her mother’s stores.

“Slade, it’s a ridiculous idea. Nothing you say or do in Texas is going to impact my decision. I’m not selling Sweet Sadie’s.”

“You really do underestimate me, darlin’. How about we make a little wager? You come spend three weeks with me in Austin. I’ll show you all the city has to offer. I’ll even take you to visit my little spread of land and my horses for a few days. You completely extract yourself from Sweet Sadie’s. The only time Kandi will be allowed to contact you will be in emergent situations. When those three weeks are up, if I’ve made my case, and you love everything about what I’m offering you—”

“A lowly job versus the ownership of my own company?”

He shook his head. “Your freedom,” he answered. “If you don’t absolutely love being free of all of this and just getting back to the science, getting back to the thing you love, then I will double your asking amount of investment capital for the same percentage you originally offered.”

Double?

She’d asked him for a five-million-dollar investment for fifteen percent of her company. Could she really afford to turn down the ten million dollars winning this bet would yield?

“What’s the matter, darlin’? You scared you’ll lose?”

Three weeks in Texas with him, and she’d walk away with ten million dollars in hand for Sweet Sadie’s. It should’ve been the easiest decision of her life, but it wasn’t. The decision was hers to make, but somehow, she felt Slade’s powers of persuasion might be dangerous enough to become a problem for her.

She shook her head. She couldn’t overthink this. Her company needed this money, and it was being laid at her feet. All she had to do was say yes.

“So what’s your answer, darlin’?”