I bit my lip hard as I peered at Jett’s relaxed features from the corners of my eyes. We didn’t sleep together on the shore of Lucazzone’s estate. For some reason he just adjusted my panties back in place and sat up, turning away from me as though to give me enough privacy to regain my composure. My hands shot up his strong back, massaging his lean muscles in the process, hopefully signaling just how much I wanted to go all the way.

“Don’t,” Jett said, holding me off with a simple request. My hands jerked away, as though seared, and somehow his words burned more than fire. No man I ever slept with had behaved like this. If they went down, they would demand that I return the favor. Why didn’t Jett? Why wouldn’t he finish what we started right there and then?

I couldn’t stop the sudden onset of feeling inadequate making me doubt myself. Had I done something wrong? Maybe it was the way I reacted to his touch that put him off sleeping with me.

Even though I didn’t want to, my sex kept twitching at the sight of him. It wasn’t natural and certainly not something I ever experienced before. This dark, sultry, earth-shattering lust had to stop. I couldn’t deal with hot waves of wanting that made being around him—without touching him—unbearable. He was so close and yet so far. The attraction was palpable, and yet I didn’t feel confident enough to act on it. I was in this zone in which things were not black and white, but a blurred in-between shade where nothing made sense.

Jett didn’t say a word as I shrugged back into my clothes and followed him up the path and back to his parked car. We kept silent as he helped me into the passenger side and loped around to the driver’s seat, put the car in gear, and drove all the way home.

His home, I reminded myself, the beautiful house on the lake and the pretend normalcy of a work relationship that wasn’t. Ignoring the sting in my eyes, I peered out the window at the blurred countryside, no longer minding Jett’s dangerous driving. It seemed like an eternity passed before we finally reached his house. The moment the tires screeched to a halt, I jumped out of the car and only stopped as I reached the front door, my back turned to Jett as I waited for him to catch up.

He unlocked the door and let me enter first, then closed it behind us. Avoiding his gaze I hesitated, unsure what to say. In the end, all I managed was a feeble, “Thanks.”

His brows shot up, and a glint of irritation appeared in his eyes. “For what? The ride? My highly appreciated company?” A nerve twitched on his right temple.

He was angry and I had no idea why. My mouth clamped shut. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he change from sensual and passionate to cold and calculated in the blink of an eye?

“Or do you mean for going down on you?” He inched dangerously close. His fingers gripped my chin and forced my face up. His height intimidated me. Peering up his towering body into blazing eyes, I felt tiny and powerless against his caginess. Only he knew what went on inside his mind, and he certainly made no attempt to share it with me.

“Thank you for what, Brooke?” His arm wrapped around my waist and turned me around, pushing me against the wall, his thigh parting my legs in the process. His palms moved up the front of my shirt as his teeth grated my earlobe.

“The contract—I wanted to reciprocate,” I whispered. “You didn’t let me.” I don’t know why it was such a big deal, but for some reason it was. He had made me feel an intense pleasure I had never felt before, and I wanted to see whether I could make him feel the same way.

I wanted to be as special to him as he was to me. I wanted him to surrender to me. To what I could give him.

And where would that take you, Stewart?

Probably nowhere.

“Ah, the contract. You think it’s about giving and taking in equal measures.” He sighed impatiently. His hot breath on my neck made me shudder. “I play by my own rules, Brooke. As they say: sometimes it’s all about you, and sometimes it’s all about me.”

I nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. His thumb brushed my cheek a moment before he moved away from me.

“Go take a shower and meet me in my office. I need you to prepare some paperwork for me.”

What the hell?

He was playing mind games or how else could I explain his constant changes? My breath came in ragged heaps as I hurried past him and up the stairs to my room, eager to escape him, if only for a brief time.

 

***

 

The shower cleared my head a little. Unfortunately, it didn’t clear my confusion about Jett. I kept telling myself that I only knew him for a couple days, which wasn’t nearly enough to find out how a man ticked. My mother had taught me men were complex, but once you got to their core they weren’t that different from us. Based on my brief encounter with Jett, I begged to differ. In the end he was my boss and not some random guy I dated, I reminded myself. So I didn’t need to understand. All that mattered was doing my job well.

Figuring I had wasted enough time, I tied my long brown hair in a high ponytail, put on clean underwear, a new shirt and slacks, and headed for Jett’s office, not knowing what to expect next.

I found him sitting at his desk, engrossed in a mostly monosyllabic phone conversation with the prevalent words being ‘no’, ‘crap’, and ‘uh-huh’. He motioned for me to sit down on the padded chair opposite him and turned back to the notes in front of him, the frown on his forehead deepening. God, being serious suited him. I discarded the sudden memory flashes of his sexy mouth between my legs, and forced my mind back to reality. He didn’t even bother to look at me as he resumed his conversation. I sat there for a minute or two, trying hard not to tune in, but Jett’s anger was so palpable, it made focusing on anything else impossible.

“Next time, don’t let anyone string us along. Either they sign or they don’t. Have I made myself clear?” Jett said a moment before he slammed down the phone.

Bloody hell, he sure knew how to end a conversation. I definitely hoped I’d never have him on the other end of the line.

“Everything okay?” I asked hesitantly.

“Another fucked-up deal,” Jett replied, massaging his temples. “I swear, at times I’m thinking I might just have to do everything myself if I want this company to stay afloat. It’s hard finding reliable people.” Looking up he smiled, and I knew he was about to change the subject, as though he’d already said too much.

“I need you to go through my correspondence and cancel any meetings, physical or otherwise, I might have this week,” Jett said. “Then clear my schedule.”

“Sure.” I frowned but knew better than to ask questions.

“Good.” He pushed a thick file across the desk. “I trust you’re accustomed with the Lucazzone estate by now?”

The telltale heat of a blush rushed to my cheeks. Oh, I was accustomed with the Lucazzone estate all right, though not the way I’d initially thought. Jett’s lips curved into his panty-dropping grin.

“I thought so. Anyway, I want you to take care of it. Look through each and every note, find a loophole and then get us the estate.”

“But—” I almost choked on my breath. This was a multi-million dollar deal.

Jett pushed back his chair and walked around the desk. Stopping in front of me, he sank into a crouch so I could feel his hot breath on my skin. “James said you were the best. Was he lying?”

God, he was beautiful. His eyes...his face...his lips. I leaned back, as if the little distance could protect me from his magnetism, and shook my head. “No. But this is huge and I—” Didn’t have the experience, I wanted to add when Jett cut me off.

“I believe in you,” he said slowly. “Don’t disappoint me.”

Jett Mayfield was huge and he believed in my skills. For a moment I just stared at him, unable to utter the two words I desperately wanted to communicate.

Thank you.

The air charged between us. My gaze lowered to his open lips, so close to mine, and moisture gathered between my legs, soaking the sheer material of my panties. Clearing his throat, Jett stood and returned to his seat, but not fast enough to hide his own shallow breath and the lust in his eyes. He wasn’t as unaffected as he pretended to be. A sense of pride and victory grabbed hold of my heart. I crossed my arms over my chest, amused.

“Lunch should be waiting for you in the kitchen,” he said coolly, avoiding my gaze. “I’ll be in Malpesa for the rest of the day.”

“Why?” The word slipped out before I could stop myself. His gaze shot up, brows raised.

“Meeting with a client.”

“There’s nothing on your schedule.”

He leaned back in his chair and regarded me for a few seconds. “Not everything’s noted in my schedule, Brooke. Like our little stroll this morning. Do you think the Lucazzone household had an enjoyable view?” A devilish grin lit up his face, sending me into yet another blushing frenzy.

“What? You said—” I stumbled over my words, not able to finish the sentence.

“No. I said no one is living there...literally, on the shoreline. I didn’t say no one is living inside the house.” His grin widened. My cheeks caught fire from yet another wave of sheer mortification.

Dammit, the ball was in his court again.

I had just lost another battle.

“Do you think anyone saw us?” I whispered.

He shrugged. “Does it matter?”

It did because I wasn’t the kind who had sex in a public place where everyone could gawk at me.

“Relax, Brooke,” Jett said softly. “The house’s been standing empty for months.” His finger brushed my flaming cheek. “But you liked the danger of being caught, didn’t you?”

I nodded even though it wasn’t just the chance of being caught that had made my blood boil.

“Good, because there are so many other things I plan to do with you,” he whispered in that deep, sexy voice layered with intrigue.

My breath hitched. Oh, I definitely couldn’t wait.

The phone rang, interrupting our moment. Jett groaned and turned to check the caller ID.

“Fuck!” Letting go of me, he grabbed the phone and pressed his hand against the microphone. His dusky eyes were on me, leaving no doubt his words were meant for my ears only. “I want you so badly but, unfortunately, work’s calling.” His mouth moved to mine in a quick but heated kiss, and then he was back in his no-nonsense work mojo.

“Mayfield,” he said into his phone. His voice was hard and determined, showing none of the passion I could sure as hell still feel rushing through my veins.

Straightening my back, I mustered all my poise and forced myself to walk out of the room slowly, minding each step so I wouldn’t trip over my own two feet.