“I was thinking dinner on Saturday. My place is a mess with boxes still unpacked but I am sure we can find space somewhere.”
“You want me to come to your place and have dinner with you?”
“You don’t eat dinner?” he asked her in amusement.
“Jason, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I am not asking you to have sex with me. It’s just dinner and conversation.”
She had been silent for so long that she was sure he thought she had hung up on him. “Okay,” she had finally said.
“See you then.”
had spent the entire day reflecting on the conversation and wondering what he wanted to discuss with her.
*****
“Make yourself at home,” he said with a wave of his hand as she came into the living room. He took her coat and hung it on the coat hanger before steering her into the kitchen. “I ordered Italian and I have the perfect wine for it.” He indicated for her to sit on one of the stools against the marble counter.
“How long have you been here?” she asked him as she stared around at the boxes strewn everywhere.
“Three weeks.” He grinned at her. He looked relaxed and unlike his formidable self when he was in the office. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was wearing faded denims and a white t-shirt that fit against him like a second skin. His dark brown hair was tousled as if he had just come out of the shower. “I keep forgetting to call the agency to get me someone to clean up.”
“Or maybe you don’t want to unpack because you will be leaving soon,” she surmised as she accepted the glass of pinot noir.
“I am staying the required time.” He poured his own glass and came to join her. “Or maybe more than.”
“How was your trip?” He was sitting too close to her and she was starting to feel it again.
“It was lucrative.” He turned to look at her. “Why are you single?” he asked her abruptly.
“Why are you?”
He laughed and lifted his glass to his lips before responding. “I am too busy. How about you?”
“The same.” She shifted a little bit to get away from being so close to him.
“So we have something in common.” He leaned forward to put down his glass.
“You said you have something to discuss with me.” She sounded a little nettled and tried to calm down.
“We have more than enough time to do that.” His hand lifted and he touched the fringes of her thick hair which she had left loose around her shoulders. “I love your hair like this,” he added softly.
“Jason, what are you doing?” she asked, feeling her breath catch inside her throat.
“I have no clue,” he said with a soft laugh as his hand went up to curve against her cheek. “I have been thinking about us for the past few days and not in a business sense.”
“You don’t mix business with pleasure, remember?” she asked him as she desperately tried to get him to move away.
“We are not in the office now.” His head bent and she turned her face away from him but he used his hand to turn her back. His dark blue eyes met hers as he lowered his head aiming for her lips. “I want to feel you,” he whispered as he took her lips with his. Her mouth opened beneath his. This was the man who could decide whether or not she got to keep her position at the company and here she was locking lips with him and wanting to! His breath fanned her lips and she moaned her mouth opening to accept his. Their tongues met and became one as he pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss, his hand going around the back of her neck to grip her head of hair. The passion exploded between them as he had suspected it would have ever since she had sat in his office and worked through the night with him. He had been thinking about her ever since that night and he had not been able to get her out of his mind. Suddenly, she came to her senses! She pulled away from him, her body trembling in the aftermath of the very passionate kiss and she stared at him, her eyes wide.
“This is not a good idea.” She had to clear her throat in order for the words to come out.
“Maybe not.” He still had her by the neck, not wanting to let go. “But I still want you.”
“And then what?” she asked him softly, her heart beating erratically inside her chest. “We have a brief affair and you leave?”
“I am not leaving yet,” he pointed out. His fingers caressed her neck and she closed her eyes at the emotions he evoked.
“Is this the way you work? You go from country to country and find some suitable available woman there to occupy your time for when you are around?”
He laughed at that. “Never,” he told her wryly. “I am attracted to you, , and you are attracted to me. It is as simple as that.”
“I cannot do this.” She twisted out of his hold and stumbled to her feet.
“Why not?”
“Why not?” She looked at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. “You are Jason Collins, billionaire several times over. I am just an employee in one of the companies you are taking over. When you leave I will be left to pick up the pieces.”
“You don’t know that.” He got to his feet and came towards her. Other than taking flight which would have been ridiculous she had no choice but to stand her ground. His hands went to her shoulders and he started rubbing them slowly. “Let us see where this goes.”