Dirty Devil / The Fling

‘I’m waiting, Sugar.’ Blackwood didn’t sound impatient and yet that edge was sharpening in the air around him by the second.

I twisted my hands in front of me, trying to project nervousness, and to be honest I didn’t have to try all that hard.

‘Okay, so this is really embarrassing.’ I shifted on my feet. ‘I’m here because I... I wanted to see you.’

He lifted his pierced brow, the ring in it glinting. ‘See me?’

Maybe billionaires didn’t have stalker fans. Surely he would know what I was talking about?

‘Yeah.’ I cleared my throat, pushing on regardless. ‘I...just think you’re so amazing. I read everything about you, see all the interviews you’ve given. I mean, that interview you gave for Vanity Fair was just...’ I injected as much breathlessness into my voice as I could, which for some reason didn’t seem difficult. ‘Anyway, my cousin was sick of hearing about it. She bet me a hundred bucks I couldn’t get into your party and so I... Well...’ I gave a nervous laugh and waved towards the door.

His expression didn’t change, his silver gaze sliding over me, the pressure cool as metal on my skin. ‘Is that a fact? And I suppose you just happened to be an excellent forger, not to mention an expert in breaking and entering?’

Oh, crap.

He’s called you. Time for plan B.

That was plan B. I didn’t have any other plans. Not when I hadn’t expected to get caught.

Fear twisted inside me, but I fought it as I sorted through more options, forcing myself not to panic.

Hadn’t Mr Chen always said to use anything and everything to your advantage when it came to difficult situations? Because there was one option I hadn’t considered yet: using my femininity. Blackwood was, after all, a playboy who’d apparently never met a woman he didn’t want to take to bed. And I’d done it before, with the security guy and the whole undoing the top button routine, and it had worked.

Yes, but he’s not your standard security guy. He’s a connoisseur and you’re not exactly Scarlett Johansson.

This was sadly true. But I didn’t have a choice. It was either try it or it was a jail cell for me.

So I took a couple of slow steps towards him, allowing my hips to sway, ‘Does it matter?’ Much to my annoyance, I didn’t have to fake the husky sound in my voice as much as I’d thought I would. ‘I’m an expert in other things too. Would you like to know what they are?’

He didn’t move, watching me come closer. ‘I feel certain you’re about to tell me.’

I stopped inches away from him, my heart hammering in my chest. He was so very tall, that big, muscular body oh, so close. The black cotton of his shirt gave a hint at the hard musculature of his chest and I found my attention wandering, staring at him. He’d left the top couple of buttons undone, giving me a close-up glimpse of those tattoos, the colours bright reds, golds and blues.

Apparently that trick works on women too.

I gritted my teeth and tipped my head back to look up at him, making myself hold his gaze, listening to the beat of my heart get louder and louder in my ears.

I wasn’t used to people looking at me. I wasn’t used to people noticing I even existed. Yet now Damian Blackwood hadn’t just noticed me; he was looking right at me with so much intense focus I could hardly breathe.

Being unseen and unnoticed had never bothered me before—at least, I hadn’t let it bother me. But it wasn’t until now, with the gaze of the world’s most beautiful man on me, that I realised actually I was bothered by it.

It made me feel cold. Because it was cold being a shadow. Cold and lonely. And he was like...the sun. Like summer. The promise of light, warmth and everything I hadn’t known I was missing.

You’re insane. Remember who he is and don’t get carried away.

‘Are you going to seduce me, Sugar?’ His voice was soft and deep, and I could feel that heat in it now, the cold edge fading, leaving behind it something that sounded a hell of a lot like amusement. ‘I mean, I assume that’s why you’re looking at me like that.’

Damn it. The bastard was seeing every play I made.

Shoving away my weird emotional reaction to him, I lifted a brow, consciously copying him, dropping the ‘stalker fan’ nonsense. ‘I’m looking at you like what? You’ll have to be clear, Mr Blackwood.’

And strangely, as if he’d simply been waiting for me to drop the act all along, he smiled that wonderful smile, slow and devastating. ‘Oh, I can be clear, Sugar. I can be very clear. You want to give me a blow job. Or maybe a quick fuck on my desk. Anything to distract me, right?’

Electricity fizzed in my blood. I hadn’t expected him to see through me. I hadn’t expected any kind of challenge at all and I...liked it. But I had to be careful. He could steal control of the situation away from me so easily and I couldn’t let him do that.

I took the last step so I was almost touching him, looking up from underneath my lashes. ‘I could do any and all of those things,’ I said huskily. ‘If you think it’ll work?’

That blinding, wicked smile deepened. ‘It might. I guess the only way you’ll know is to give it a try.’

He was goading me, I was certain of it, because that beautiful smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. That hard gleam was still there. A challenge. And I knew I shouldn’t respond to it, but what else could I do? My only other option was to turn and run, and I didn’t think he’d let me get far.

If you play your cards right, you might have some time to search for the necklace later.

Good point. I could seduce him and that would at least mean he’d forget about calling security and throwing me out, wouldn’t it? And, if I was very good, maybe I could even convince him to let me stay the night, which would then give me time to find and take that damn necklace.

You’d have to be very good, though. He’s used to experience.

Which I didn’t have. Then again, I was a quick learner. And I’d done my share of looking at sexy videos on the Internet when Mr Chen hadn’t been around. I had some idea of what to do.

Blackwood’s scent filled the air, the heat of his body so close, and my palms itched with a very real desire to touch him.

It wouldn’t be a hardship to seduce him. He was beautiful and, according to all the gossip columns, extraordinarily good in bed.

An unremarkable virgin seducing the billionaire playboy? Since when does that happen?

Cold fingers of doubt caught at me, but I forced them away. I couldn’t hesitate—that was when mistakes were made, as Mr Chen used to say. Once you’d made a decision you had to fully commit to it.

So I took that final step, holding his gaze with mine. ‘Let’s find out, then, shall we?’ I said and, putting my hands on his lean hips, I pushed him up against the windows.

I could feel his heat through the wool of his suit trousers and hard muscle too, a tensile strength that made my mouth go dry.

A silver flame burned bright in his eyes.

We stared at each other, the atmosphere around us getting denser and denser, more electric with every second that passed. As if a storm was gathering around us, full of lightning and thunder.

A storm about to break.

This is a mistake.

The thought was fleeting, but I ignored it. I was committed now, and the way he was looking at me, as if he really saw me, with that wicked smile and the gleam in his eyes...

It was addictive. It made me feel like I wasn’t a ghost. That I was real.

‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’ he drawled, the dark, hot thread winding through his voice making me shiver. ‘Because it looks like you do. And I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings.’

He was so hot. His heat glowed against my palms like the embers of a fire and suddenly, desperately, I wanted to press myself against him, have him warm me up.

‘What kind of misunderstandings?’ I tried to sound cool, but knew I was failing. ‘I don’t think blow jobs are all that confusing. At least not to a man like you.’

His laugh was a soft, deep rumble in his chest, as wicked as his smile. ‘A man like me,’ he echoed. ‘And you know what that is?’

Of course I knew. He was a womaniser. A playboy. A party animal. He threw money around like it meant nothing at all and probably treated people the same way. Which was fine. In fact, it was perfect.

I could seduce him, spend the night with him. Get the necklace and then go. Besides, he must do this all the time. I would be just another woman to him; he probably wouldn’t even remember my face come morning.

He smelled like heaven and the glitter in his eyes was making my mind go blank, a low throb starting up between my thighs.

My hands tightened on his hips as I leaned in close, meeting the challenge in his stare full on. ‘Of course I know,’ I murmured. ‘But I’m always happy to have a few pointers.’

‘Sugar, if you know already then what are you waiting for?’ His smile set fire to something inside me, making it burst into flames. ‘Get down on your knees and show me what you’ve got.’

CHAPTER FOUR

Damian

I WAS SURE the little gate-crasher-waitress-thief wouldn’t take up my challenge. Not only was I a complete stranger to her, but I was also the one who’d interrupted her in the middle of whatever she was doing in my office.

And, despite the fire flickering in her dark eyes, I was pretty confident she’d stop short of actually giving me a goddamn blow job.

A pity. Because, despite how pissed off I was at the way she kept lying to me, the moment she’d pushed me up against the windows, her delicate hands on my hips, every rational fucking thought vanished from my brain.

I hadn’t felt chemistry this strong in for ever.

There had always been women in my life and some I’d been really attracted to. But not like this.

I wasn’t sure what it was, whether it was her lush figure and unconventional beauty, or whether it was more about that watchful stillness she had to her. That cool, quiet lake, tempting me to dive in as if it was a hot summer’s day.

Or maybe it was just because I had no idea who she was or what she was doing here, and she wasn’t giving anything away.

Possibly it was all three.

Whatever, I was fascinated. Absolutely bloody riveted.

I hadn’t thought I liked complicated women, but apparently I was wrong, since I was certainly intrigued by this one.

I wanted to know who she was and why she was here. Why she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t and why she’d been hiding under my desk in the first place.

I wanted to know what was going on behind those lovely, unreadable black eyes, because the glimpses I’d got so far had been of heat and, yeah, I was pretty fucking interested in that.

Then she dropped to her knees in front of me and every other thought vanished from my brain.

Okay, so I was wrong. She would take up my challenge.

My heart kicked, my dick hardening.

Her hands slid slowly from my hips to my thighs, and I could feel the heat of her palms through the wool of my suit trousers.

Holy shit.

I caught my breath. This was a problem.

Of course, I shouldn’t have been baiting her the way I had, but hell, I hadn’t been able to resist it. There was undeniable physical chemistry between us like a slow-burning fire, banked embers smouldering away, getting hotter the nearer she got to me. Until one breath of wind and the whole thing would go up in flames.

Fucking hot.

I liked the hungry way she looked at me and, unlike her nervous waitress and breathless fan acts, I was pretty sure that was real.

But what I didn’t like was the fact that she probably wouldn’t be getting ready to suck my dick right now if I hadn’t caught her hiding out under my desk.

‘Do this a lot, hmm?’ I asked. ‘Suck off complete strangers?’

Colour tinged her cheekbones, making her pretty eyes glow. Her ivory skin had the most incredible lustre, like the finest, most expensive of pearls. Did that go all the way down? If I took off that cheap uniform, uncovered the rest of her, would I find that lustre all over her lush little body?

My cock was all in, the dirty bastard.

‘Oh, all the time.’ She lifted her hands to the button of my trousers and they were trembling slightly.

So that was a fucking lie. She did not do this all the time. Which, sadly for me and my cock, meant I had to put a stop to it. Because I wasn’t going to take advantage of some pretty little thing, no matter what she was doing in my office.

I reached down and put a hand over hers.

She blinked, genuine surprise flickering in her eyes, which was satisfying. Clearly she’d been expecting me to settle back and enjoy the ride, no questions asked.

‘What?’ Her surprise morphed into uncertainty.

I shook my head, keeping her hands trapped. ‘Not tonight, Josephine.’

‘What do you mean, not tonight?’ She blinked. ‘I thought you said—’

‘I did. But I changed my mind.’

She didn’t move, kneeling at my feet and studying me. Her hands were warm beneath my palms, the slight pressure of them against my stomach making me aware that my dick was not happy with me stopping her.

Too bad. It would live.

‘Just to be clear,’ she said, ‘So we don’t have any “misunderstandings”. You don’t want me to give you a blow job?’

‘No. Like I said, I changed my mind.’

‘Why?’

‘I’m a lot of things, Sugar. But I’m not a man who takes advantage of women.’ I gave the back of her hand a reassuring stroke with my thumb. ‘Even women who break into my office and lie straight to my face.’

Another flicker in her eyes, and this time it was definitely fear.

It wasn’t an emotion I liked to see in a woman’s face.

‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ I said before she could reply, giving her another stroke to calm her. ‘But you broke in here. And I can’t have—’

She pulled one hand out from under mine and without hesitation laid her warm palm directly over my fly and squeezed.

I jerked as lightning shot through me in response, jagged and sharp, igniting sparks in my blood and making my stupid dick very happy indeed.

Fucking hell.

‘Naughty girl,’ I said roughly. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

Her lashes fluttered, thick, black and silky. ‘Seems to me like some parts of you haven’t changed their minds.’

Jesus. Determined little thing, wasn’t she?

‘Yeah, but those parts aren’t in charge.’ I pressed her palm against me so she couldn’t move it. Which was probably a mistake, given how good the pressure felt. ‘On your feet.’

But she stayed where she was. Again.

‘Oh, come on,’ she murmured. ‘What kind of playboy says no to a blow job?’ And she gave my dick another squeeze, as if to prove her point.

More lightning strikes of pleasure shot through me, bright and intense, making my breath catch.

Holy fuck. I’d never had a reaction like this to a woman handling my cock. What the hell was she doing to me? And why her?

I tried to pull myself together, pressing down hard on her hand so she couldn’t move it. She was staring up at me, giving me a smoky look, yet I hadn’t missed that shake in her fingers as she’d touched me. She might act as though she’d seduced thousands of men, but I’d bet all my billions that she hadn’t.

‘I know what you’re doing,’ I said. ‘But I’m afraid that shit’s not going to fly. I prefer a blow job where everyone’s into it and no one has any ulterior motives except to get naked, understand?’

Her brows rose. ‘And yet you’re still standing here.’

Fuck.

She’s got you.

I opened my mouth to respond—though Christ knew what I was going to say—when she leaned forward, pressing her tight, warm body against my legs. ‘You don’t know me. Getting naked might be exactly what I want to do.’ She was soft against me, and hot, and then she leaned farther in, brushing her mouth over the back of my hand. ‘Shall I get naked for you, Mr Blackwood? Is that what you’d like?’

Mr Blackwood.

It shouldn’t have made any difference. I had women say that kind of shit to me all the time. But there was something about this particular woman... She’d gone from frightened waitress, to nervous stalker, to practised seductress in the space of five minutes and damn if that didn’t make me even more fascinated than I already was.

Which one was the real her? Was any of them the real her? Or was she someone different? Was the real woman hiding deep inside, just waiting for the right man to come and find her?

Desire and fascination wound together, tightening their grip on me.

It had been a long time since I’d had a woman like this one. A woman I couldn’t read and didn’t know just by looking at her. A very long time...

Yeah, and you discovered her hiding under your desk, don’t forget. Not only do you have no idea who she is, you also have no idea what she’s doing here.

This was true. And security was an issue when you were as rich as I was. Which meant letting myself get side-tracked like this was the height of stupidity.

I stared down into her bittersweet chocolate eyes, saw the glaze of heat in them. Her pupils were dilated, the pulse at the base of her lovely throat fast, all the classic signs of physical arousal.

She wasn’t faking this, that was for sure.

Keeping one hand over hers against my fly, I reached down with the other, taking her chin in my fingers and gripping her. ‘I don’t sleep with women who don’t want me,’ I said flatly, holding her gaze so she knew how serious I was. ‘And I fucking hate being used.’

Her chin got a stubborn slant, the muscles in her jaw tightening. ‘I’m not using you.’

‘Sure you are. You’re using me—or rather my cock—as a nice little distraction technique.’

For a second she said nothing. Then her face emptied of the flirty expression that had been there before, the mask of the practised seductress dropping. ‘Okay, so maybe you’re right. Maybe that’s what I was planning on doing.’ Her eyes were very dark in her pale face, but there was no mistaking the heat in them. ‘Except, now, I just want you.’

I gritted my teeth because, shit, this wasn’t a mask now. The truth was all laid out for me to see in her beautiful eyes and in the raw note in her voice.

She did want me. And my cock liked that far too much for its own good—or mine, for that matter.

You should be calling Clarence, not thinking about taking her up on her offer.

This was sadly true. She was a serious security breach and one I couldn’t let slide.

I stroked my thumb over the line of her jaw, enjoying the warm, silky feeling of her skin, watching her eyes widen fractionally as I did so. ‘That all sounds very convincing,’ I said. ‘And perhaps you’re telling the truth. But I’ve got a lot of enemies. And you’re here where you’re not supposed to be, which can lead me to several conclusions, if you catch my drift.’

‘What conclusions?’

‘Oh, conclusions such as you being an assassin sent to kill me.’

‘No.’ Her throat moved as I touched her, a convulsive swallow, but she didn’t pull away. ‘I’m not here to kill you. If I was, you’d be dead already.’

I laughed at that. ‘So sure of yourself. I like confidence in a woman. Okay, so if you’re not here to kill me, maybe you’re here to rob me instead. Is that it? Have I got something you want?’

She didn’t answer, turning her head suddenly, and before I could move her lips had closed around my thumb.

My breath caught. Hard. Her mouth was hot and wet, her tongue tracing the tip of my thumb, her gaze on mine. Watching me. Gauging my response.

Little witch. She could see what she was doing to me and, unfortunately, being a man meant I couldn’t hide it. Not that I particularly wanted to hide it, because quite honestly, I was starting to get past caring.

I didn’t often deny myself what I wanted and I couldn’t see any reason to deny myself now. Or her, for that matter, given she’d made it very clear she wanted to do this.

And, really, how much could she get up to on her knees in front of me?

My brain was shutting down, all the blood in my body heading straight to my goddamn cock. And all I was conscious of was the heat of her mouth and the touch of her wicked tongue on my skin. Imagining how it would feel if she had that tongue touching my dick instead.

‘Minx,’ I drawled. ‘You think I’m that easy?’

A stupid thing to say. Of course I was that easy.

She didn’t speak, just tightened her lips around my thumb and began to suck. The gentle pressure felt fan-fucking-tastic and it was all I could do to keep my breathing under control.

So much for finding out who she is.

I almost smiled. Oh, I’d find out; no doubt about it. Afterwards.

This mysterious creature, creeping into my office to take whatever it was she was here to take, thinking she could distract me with a good old-fashioned blow job?

Yeah, not happening.

This was my territory, and seduction was my expertise, and she’d given away one vital advantage: she’d let me know that she wanted me.

Well, I was going to use that.

It was time to show her exactly who she was dealing with.

Gently, I pulled my hand from her mouth and undid the button on my trousers. ‘You want to suck on something, Sugar? Then you know what to do.’

CHAPTER FIVE

Thea

MY HEART WAS jumping around behind my breastbone like a gymnast on a trampoline, a dim part of me wondering what the hell I was doing.

Seducing him hadn’t seemed like that big a deal when I’d first decided on it, but now I was on my knees in front of him, with the salty taste of his skin in my mouth and the hard ridge behind his zip staring me in the face...

Well.

It seemed like kind of a big deal now.

I’d followed my gut when he’d started asking questions, dropping my act and giving him the truth—or at least a bit of it. Letting him see a piece of the real me: the woman who wanted the sun, not the shadow. Yet still he’d asked questions about whether I was there to kill him or to rob him, so I’d had to do something.

Taking his thumb into my mouth had seemed like a good idea at the time, giving me some control over what was happening. But somehow—and I still didn’t know how he’d done it when I thought I’d been making progress—he’d taken charge of things again.

He was looking at me now, one pierced brow raised in arrogant challenge, a man supremely aware of his own beauty and his extensive sexual prowess.

Daring me to refuse. To say no and pull away.

But I couldn’t. I was used to being unnoticed, yet he was noticing me, his focus so intense it was as if he was memorising every inch of me.

It was intoxicating. Addictive. And I wanted more.

You can’t afford to have him notice you, not like that.

No, I couldn’t. Then again, the chances of him ever actually remembering me were remote to non-existent. Not me, with a face you wouldn’t look at twice in the street. Your average, every-day everywoman.

I could let myself have this moment, couldn’t I, where I felt like the centre of the world instead of not even being part of it?

I took a slow breath, then another, trying to get my heartbeat under control, but he smelled so good, spice cut through with musk, and it made me ache. While the heat of his body made me want to stretch out and warm myself against him.

Yes, I could have it. I wanted it, so I was going to take it.

I lifted my hand and took hold of the tab of his zip. Then I drew it down.