Male stubble tickled my neck as Will placed an open-mouthed kiss beneath my ear. “Wake up, gorgeous.” His sexy murmur had me stretching against him like a contented cat. The hot arousal pressing into my ass suggested he liked that, or maybe it was having his thigh between mine that he enjoyed.

Light streamed in through the curtains, confirming I’d spent the night in his bed. I expected that to bother me, but it didn’t. If anything, I felt relieved, which was bizarre. Intimacy didn’t scare me, but Ryan did. Except when I thought of him, all I felt was a mild annoyance rather than fear. That’s new.

Teeth scraped over my tender skin as Will gently bit my pulse. When he sucked the spot into his mouth, I practically purred. “Mmm, I like this. Learning your tells and finding what makes you tremble.” The arm beneath my breasts tightened as his leg slid upward between my thighs. I fought a moan when he met my core, and quivered. “Just like that,” he whispered.

I found myself beneath him not a second later, staring up into eyes filled with dark intent. My heart thundered in my chest at that look because I recognized it. Determination laced with desire. I was trapped and he knew it.

“Do you know what I do when I find a new subject or activity that excites me?”

I swallowed and shook my head, unable to speak. Not with him staring down at me like that.

“I master it,” he murmured. His lips brushed mine in a gentle kiss that belied the heat radiating between us. “You’ve been warned.” He rolled off the bed and stretched his arms over his head, showcasing all those delicious muscles and his impressive arousal. I wanted to rip those gray sweatpants off, trace all those hard muscular lines with my tongue, and taste every inch of him. If that bulging outline was anything to go by, he would certainly be a mouthful. Yum.

“We have a conference call in fifty minutes with Jeff and Janet; otherwise, I would take you up on the offer in your eyes.” He gripped my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. “I’m going to take a shower. I suggest you do the same and meet me downstairs in thirty.”

“So bossy,” I replied, finding my voice. It came out a bit breathier than I wanted, but the words were clear.

He traced my lip with his thumb and grinned. “We’re just gettin’ started.”

I liked the sound of that. He left me on the bed, staring after him. I couldn’t help it. The man had a fine ass.

“Twenty-eight minutes,” he said when he reached the bathroom. He nailed me with a look over his shoulder that sent heat rushing to all the right places. “Don’t be late, Miss Dawson.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mister Mershano.” Not because of the taunt in his gaze, but because I was never late on principle.

His chuckle teased my senses as he disappeared from view. That man was doing things to me I never thought possible. Self-assurance always turned me on, but never like this. Will took it to a whole new level by adding his alpha tendencies to the mix and creating an intoxicating persona I stood no chance against. I’d fought it for all these months, determined to dissuade him, yet he’d only managed to deepen my attraction. To the point where I wasn’t sure I wanted to say no at all anymore.

What would he do if I joined him in the shower?

It was so tempting. I could hear the spray against the tiles and knew he was in there naked and taking care of his arousal. I shivered at the image of him taking his hard cock into his hand and stroking himself to climax. All those muscles bunching, his full lips parting on a groan meant for me . . . My thighs tensed as sensations built low in my belly, curling tight with the indecent fantasy flashing behind my eyes. The urge to touch myself, just as I knew he was, overwhelmed me. He’d taken me to a high last night unlike any other, but it was like he’d lit my blood on fire. I needed more, so much more, and he’d denied it this morning.

Because of a meeting.

My eyes drifted to the clock on his nightstand to find ten minutes had passed already.

“Damn,” I muttered, my libido cooling. The last thing I needed was to be late for my own debriefing with the partners. It took considerable effort to leave his bed, but my desire to keep my job proved a healthy motivator.

Every part of my body felt alive and more sensitive than usual. When I pulled off my clothes, my nipples hardened to a painful degree and my legs trembled. The water felt like daggers against my burn but massaged other parts of my body in interesting ways. Especially when it dribbled over my belly to the apex between my thighs. Will had awoken something inside of me that did not want to be put to rest, which was likely his intention all along.

Determined, insufferable man.

I soaped myself clean with light, hesitant touches and rinsed my hair. It did nothing to put out the fire brewing deep inside, nor did dressing in my charcoal-gray skirt suit. My pale blue blouse seemed to stick to my clammy skin, and my lacy bra abraded my tender skin. By the time I walked downstairs, I was a hot mess, while Will looked the epitome of sexy casual in his black slacks and white button-down. The sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and his collar was open since he’d forgone the tie. My eyes trailed over every inch of him. Fine didn’t even begin to cover it.

“You look hungry,” he murmured. “Banana?” He held up my usual breakfast of choice, but his innocent tone and gesture were not lost on me.

“Funny,” I grumbled, grabbing the fruit from his hand.

“Someone needs coffee.” He pushed over a fresh mug. “You were two minutes late, by the way.”

“My hair wasn’t cooperating.” A partial truth. The hair dryer had been too hot this morning thanks to my hypersensitized skin. It’d taken an extra five minutes to finagle a solution, which resulted in the partial bun at the back of my head. “Besides, our meeting starts in fifteen minutes.” Plenty of time. I peeled the banana and took a bite while he watched me over his coffee mug.

“I look forward to you doing that to my cock.”

I choked on the fruit in my mouth and had to force myself to swallow. Holy shit. He said that so casually, like he was commenting on the weather or something.

“How are you feeling about the meeting?” he asked in that same tone, completely unfazed by my reaction or the fact that I was openly gaping at him. “Ready?”

I took a fortifying sip of my coffee while he observed in that relaxed way of his. How he managed to maintain nonchalance after saying something like that, I would never know. Because my face was on fire. He said nothing as I continued holding my cup like a lifeline and taking the caffeine into my body. Why I thought drinking a hot liquid would help was beyond me. It only seemed to sizzle my insides.

“So this is you flustered?” He sounded so amused. “It’s cute.”

“Jackass,” I managed.

His dimples flashed. “There’s my favorite lawyer. You know how much I adore our verbal sparring.”

“Verbal sparring?” I repeated, my wit returning. “You mean all those conversations where you failed to understand the word no?”

He brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “You weren’t saying no last night, darlin’. I believe I heard the word yes roll off those luscious lips more than once.”

And the heat was back. Awesome. Just what I needed five minutes before our conference call. I cleared my throat, forced the banana down my gullet—much to Will’s amusement—and slammed my coffee cup on the table. This meeting could make or break my career, and I wasn’t going to let a little flirtation unsettle years of poised confidence. Even if I did still feel like a furnace.

“You better behave yourself, Mister Mershano. Or what you just witnessed with that banana is never going to happen to your cock.”

Excitement brightened his expression, which was the opposite of my intent. “Duly noted, Miss Dawson. Shall we take the call in my office?”

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge—I had a feeling I would need it—and nodded. We’d spent a lot of time in his oversized home office this week, both working at his desk and reviewing all the materials Baker Brown put together for the meetings next week.

The purpose of this morning’s call was to go over any residual questions or concerns Will had. It also served as a way to confirm whether or not I was ready for the meetings next week. If they sensed even the slightest bit of hesitation, I knew one or both of them would join us in France. Mershano Vineyards was too big a client to disappoint, and we were down to the wire with our flight leaving in less than twelve hours.

I smoothed my hand over my jacket while Will fiddled with his teleconferencing equipment. When Jeff and Janet appeared on his projector screen, I smiled. It was time to knock their socks off.