I spun the pen in my fingers as I looked across the city. My legs were crossed, my suit fit me like a glove, and I stared at the skyscrapers I owned. Manhattan wasn’t mine, but I was an ambitious man with a driven mind. One day, I would own everything.

And everyone.

I had a few meetings that morning, but my head wasn’t in the game. My thoughts kept drifting to a queen in stilettos, a woman who countered my confidence with her own majesty. She was so certain in her worth that she assumed I couldn’t afford her.

She was wrong.

Face-to-face, I noticed the corners of her mouth. The skin was creamy white, and I imagined how soft it would feel if I brushed the back of my finger across her cheek. My jaw ached when I thought about those lips, that plump and pink mouth that would feel good all over my body.

She had almond-shaped eyes that were distinctly feminine and accented the green color of her irises. As womanly as she was, she showcased the kind of presence a king held every time he addressed his subjects. I’d never met a woman more beautiful, more exquisite, and so abundantly powerful at the same time.

Jesus Christ.

She turned me down without caring about the money on the table. She was so wealthy, so suave, that she didn’t care about missing a deal. She was headstrong and stubborn, playing by her own rules and not even entertaining mine. When I suggested she come to my office, she nearly laughed.

I spotted it.

Women threw themselves at me constantly, wanting to be a visitor in my bed for the night. They wanted to ride on my expensive yacht in the Caribbean. They wanted a glimpse of the fast lifestyle that I experienced on a daily basis.

They never said no to me.

I couldn’t remember the last time I heard the word.

But Ms. Titan wasn’t impressed by me. She didn’t care about my money. She didn’t care about my line of cars and yachts. There was nothing I had she didn’t already possess.

Except her bed.

I continued to spin the pen in my fingertips, thinking about those long legs underneath that skirt. She was five years younger than me, but just as successful. It was hard to earn my respect, but she’d earned it a million times over.

She was magnificent.

Natalie knocked on my door before she stepped inside my office. “Sir, your next meeting is in five minutes.”

My back was to her, and I continued to stare at the city, knowing her building was just a few blocks away. “Cancel it.”

Natalie didn’t question my decision, knowing that was a big mistake. “Shall I reschedule?”

“For tomorrow.” I rose out of my chair and buttoned the front of my suit. “Cancel everything for the next hour. I have somewhere to be.” I knew exactly where I was going, but now I wasn’t entirely sure why I was going.

I told myself it was just a business opportunity, a way to steal a dying business and turn it into a thriving one.

But I’d never lied to myself—and I didn’t want to start now.

---

Jessica’s jaw actually dropped when she saw me standing in front of her desk.

When it was obvious she wasn’t going to say anything, I took the reins. “Diesel Hunt here for Tatum Titan.”

Jessica continued to stare at me before she finally grasped this was reality—and she was still staring at me. “Uh, of course.” She frantically flipped through her schedule book before she realized she was already on the correct date and flipped back. “Uh…”

My hands slid into my pockets. “I don’t have an appointment.” If she wasn’t going to give me any of her time, fine. I’d just take it.

“Titan doesn’t see anyone without an appointment…”

Until now. “I’ll take a seat.” I sat in the comfortable lobby outside her office. She had two large glass doors that led to her expansive space. I didn’t look inside because I didn’t want to be caught staring. Her couches were gray and the walls were white. Vases of flowers were everywhere, and nothing but the sound of keyboards and ringing phones filled the air. Her three other assistants kept looking at me, recognizing me instantly.

Jessica walked into the office and returned a few minutes later. She approached me with her fingers interlocked tightly. She was a nervous mess, and it made me wonder why Titan employed someone so unsure of herself. It was a direct contradiction to her own personality and work ethic. “She’s unavailable.”

Man, this woman was infuriating. “I’ll wait.”

Jessica glanced at the door then looked at me again. “Uh…”

I watched her, hostility in my gaze. If Titan wanted to get rid of me, she’d have to see me. She’d wasted enough of my time dismissing me. Now it was my turn to waste her time.

Jessica walked back into the office. She was gone longer this time before she came out. “She’ll see you in ten minutes.” She walked back to her seat and sat down, her head bowed and her eyes concentrated on her desk.

A smile formed on my lips, the sensation of success running through my veins. No one said no to Diesel Hunt—not even Tatum Titan. I always got my way eventually.

I suspected she made me wait ten minutes out of principle, just to retain some of the power in the situation. The second she agreed to meet with me, she lost some of her leverage over me.

I loved this game.

Jessica spoke to Titan on the phone before she approached me on the couch. “Titan will see you now.” She opened the glass door for me.

I dropped my smile and walked inside, surrounded by the pleasing aesthetics of her office. Her entire back wall was a large window that overlooked the city, giving her the exact same view I got from my office. A white desk sat in front of the window with white bookshelves on either side of the wall. I’d walked into a Pottery Barn catalogue but still felt the radius of her professional control.

She didn’t look up from her computer until I was standing directly in front of her desk. Even when she was sitting, she had perfect posture. Her back didn’t touch the chair, and her shoulders were held in precise alignment with her spine. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, soft and long. A slight curl was in the strands, and it made me wonder if her hair was naturally curly. Her makeup was the same was it was last time, subtle and sexy. She rose from her chair, standing in a black dress that was tight and highlighted the perfect contours of her body. With an hourglass frame, she had noticeable tits, a tiny waist, and an ass that was luscious.

She extended her hand to me. “Hunt.”

I took it, squeezing her wrist harder than she’d squeezed mine last week. “Titan.”

She dropped her hand and sat down again, her legs crossing. Her black stilettos were visible under the desk. Her legs were long and beautiful just like last time. She wore a shiny watch on her wrist and a white gold necklace around her throat. There was a subtle hint of vanilla inside her office, and that’s when I noticed the vase of lilies on her table. There were hydrangeas in the lobby. Fresh flowers were a rare sight in corporate offices like this. It seemed like a feminine touch she specifically requested.

“Can I get you something to drink?” She glanced to the shelf on the right side of her office. A liquor cabinet was there, a full wet bar with glasses, a bucket of ice, and fresh fruit. She opened a bottle of whiskey and poured a glass.

I watched her, my eyes entranced by her movements. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.” It was eleven in the afternoon, and she was already drinking.

Fucking sexy.

“I hope you like Old Fashioneds.”

My eyes narrowed with interest. “I do, actually.”

She made the drinks and even tossed the orange peel and cherry inside. Her green eyes were locked on mine as she walked across the gray rug and placed the glass on the coffee table beside me. Her heels clapped against the floor with every movement she made, a song that matched her aura perfectly.

I watched her walk around the desk, my eyes focusing on her perfect ass.

It was tight.

She didn’t just sit on that ass all day. She hit the gym—at least three times a week. Her arms were toned, and her stomach was as flat as a solid line.

I liked a fit woman. Not just someone who ran every morning, but someone who could pick up a barbell and do twenty squats. I appreciated her physique and wondered how she looked in just her beautiful skin.

She sat down again and took a long drink. When she licked her lips at the end, it almost seemed deliberate.

I drank my own, noting how strong it was. It was definitely a double.

“I don’t have much time, Hunt. Get to the point.”

The harder she became, the more I admired her. She didn’t dance around with bullshit and meaningless words. Everything was clear and concise—just like the rest of her. “Your publishing house has been failing every year for the past three years. It was never that profitable to begin with, but now it’s costing you more to keep the lights on than ever before.”

She drank from her glass, finishing half of it without seeming even somewhat affected by the booze. This must be something she did on a regular basis so she grew immune to it. She could hold her liquor as well as I could. If I were out with a woman who downed a single one of these, she’d be giddy and right on my lap. “I’m aware of the situation, Mr. Hunt. That doesn’t change what I’ve already said—repeatedly. I’m not interested in selling.”

For the richest woman in the world, that didn’t seem like a business decision that made sense. “Why?”

“Why doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. You seem like a smart woman. You wouldn’t be where you are if you owned unsuccessful businesses.”

She brought the glass to her lips and finished the rest of it. A lipstick mark now stuck to the glass, a perfect outline of her mouth. I wondered if the same thing would happen if her mouth were pressed against something else. “Why are you so adamant about buying it? You aren’t the kind of businessman to reinvent a brand. You start from the ground up. What’s your exception in this case?”

I cracked a smile, knowing she’d read up on me. Maybe she Googled me. Maybe she saw the way my life was represented by reporters. Or perhaps she was smart enough to know there was always more to the story. “I think I can turn your publishing house around. I have big plans for it.”

She stared me down with her stark green eyes. They were lively like a forest of pine trees, darker more than vibrant. They held profound mystery, a collection of undiscoverable secrets. She displayed very little of her mind, hiding behind her powerful front and absorbing endless information around her. She examined me like a specimen under a microscope, looking at me at an unparalleled magnification. “Diesel Hunt isn’t the kind of man to wait for anybody. He’s driven, but doesn’t chase. He’s smart and indifferent. You’ve attempted to command my attention four times now—to buy a failing publishing house.” She leaned forward over her desk, getting a better look at me. She reminded me of a lion of homing in on her prey.

I loved being her prey.

She cocked her head to the side, her expression sexy when it was this serious. “Do you want to fuck me?” Her eyes didn’t close, not even for a second to blink. She had me cornered so she could watch every little reaction I made.

The skin on the back of my neck immediately prickled, standing on end like a cold draft had entered the office space. My hands rested on the armrests, my fingers gripping the edge of the wood. My cock came to life, unable to resist its natural urgency to grow. The pounding blood left my temples and circled down below, answering the question that my mouth refrained from admitting.

She asked the question with such confidence, looked past my actions and explored the motivations behind them. She didn’t arrive at the conclusion because she viewed herself as beautiful. It was simply the most logical explanation for my behavior.

And I found that sexy.

She didn’t stop herself from speaking her mind. She said exactly what she thought, regardless of how I would view her. Her eyes shifted back and forth as she examined my face, waiting for the answer she’d already predicted.

I could lie and ignore the way my cock pressed against my fly in my slacks. But she had agreed to see me on short notice, probably canceled a different meeting to give me an audience. She only would have done that if she was going to get something out of it.

I clenched my jaw hard before I answered because I couldn’t remember the last time I was this turned on. She made my spine tighten until it was about to snap in half. All the muscles in my body tensed as the heat flushed through me. Images of me plowing into her right on that desk overcame me. I fucked her mouth, her pussy, and finally finished by coming deep inside her ass.

“Yes.”

Her expression didn’t change, showing the same hardness as before. She slowly sat back, returning to her stick-straight position behind her desk. She swallowed slightly, the muscles of her neck shifting.

My hands continued to grip the armrests.

When she rose from her desk and walked around, I hoped she was going to straddle my hips and ride me then and there. My cock wanted to be buried deep inside her, to make a home there and never leave.

“As flattered as I am, I don’t mix business with pleasure.” She leaned back against the front of her desk, her hands gripping the white edge.

“Then I won’t buy your publishing house. Problem solved.” When she gripped her desk the way I gripped my chair, I knew she wanted to feel my hard cock sink inside her. She wouldn’t have addressed me so deliberately if she weren’t prepared for the answer I gave. She wanted to fuck me too, even if she didn’t admit it the way I did.

That diplomatic smile stretched across her lips. “You know what I mean, Hunt.”

We both operated in the same stratosphere. We knew the same people. Reporters followed us everywhere we went. She had a bigger reputation to protect than I did. I could fuck every woman in Manhattan, and no one cared. If she simply did her hair wrong, she would make negative headlines.

That was the sad world we lived in.

“I should get back to work. It was nice seeing you, Mr. Hunt.” She grabbed my half-full glass from the table and walked back around her desk.

I got another peek of her ass before I rose and walked to the door. Once dismissed, I didn’t press my argument. She was right. I didn’t want her company that badly. I’d only chased her this far because of my pride. And once I got a good look at her, I only wanted sex. I was willing to buy her company just for the opportunity fuck her.

That was how much I wanted her.

But she turned me down—again. And she did it so easily.

I glanced over my shoulder before I stepped out.

She had my glass to her lips, and she downed the rest of it, her eyes locked on me. She tipped her head back, getting every single drop and letting the orange peel come into contact with her mouth. When the whiskey was gone, she set the glass on the table. Like last time, she licked her lips.

She licked her lips just for me.