He struggled to get his temper under control. Usually, he was calm and composed, able to deal with a crisis reasonably. Ever since he first met this woman- it was as if he was constantly burning from the inside out! “I know what your problem is.” He countered softly.
“You are assuming I have one.”
“Oh, yes, you do. You are twenty-eight years old and still single. This job is your only existence, so you try to exercise control over everything regarding what happens here. You are a ballbreaker, meaning men are intimidated by you, and you don’t have a man. How am I doing so far?”
Jacinth had to force herself not to lash out at him. She hated him! It had worsened since he stormed into her office and started talking and behaving like she was invisible.
“I will not stoop to your level; my personal life has nothing to do with you.” Her eyes swept over him scornfully as she headed from the room. “I will have the notes typed and sent to you in an email.”
Reginald sank in the chair on legs that refused to work, his expression bleak.
Chapter 4
“Oh, I am sorry. I thought you had already left for the day.”
“What is it? And what the hell are you still doing here at this time of night?”
She bristled at his tone. “I don’t owe you an explanation.” She said primly, moving forward to put some documents on his desk.
“Quite the worker bee, aren’t you?” He taunted, leaning back in his chair and observing her through hooded eyes. “Is that your way of sucking up to my Dad?”
Jacinth reined in the spurt of anger by sheer force of will.
“It’s called being a dedicated employee.”
“But it just proves my point, Ms. Lewis. You have no social life, so you spend all your time here. It’s now-“ He glanced at his computer screen. “Almost eight-thirty, and you are still here. No one to occupy your bed?”
“I could say the same about you,’ she said sweetly. “What happened to the blonde bimbo? Did she decide to do the right thing and find herself a real man instead of a boy trapped inside a man’s body?” The minute the words were out of her mouth, she realized she had gone too far.
She watched the murderous expression come over his face and was defenseless to do anything but stand there as he rose and came toward her. “You have spirit; I will grant you that.” His deep voice was soft and menacing, his tawny eyes glowing with a strange light that sent fear skittering her body. “I would be running out the door if I were you.”
She suddenly found her voice. “You are not me.” She whispered hoarsely.
She stifled a gasp as his hand came up to clamp around her throat.
“Are you afraid now, Ms. Lewis?”
“Let go of me.” She croaked.
“You want to revise the statement you just made?”
“No,” she told him defiantly. “There are still people here- “
“Are you referring to the security guards on the ground floor?” He asked dangerously, eyes glittering. “How are you going to get them up here fast enough?”
“What are you going to do?”
“I am going to do what I should have done a week ago.” His anger was changing, and he could feel the surge of lust so strong that it stunned him into immobility for a minute.
“Please let go of me.”
“Are you going to apologize?” He asked her gruffly.
“No.”
“You stubborn, outrageous fool! I am the son of the CEO and heir of this goddamned company. You have crossed the lines too many times to count. Are you so secure in your position that you think you can get away with anything?”
Jacinth swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and tried very hard to fight the desire to have his lips pressed against hers. To her horror, she felt her nipples tightening as she stared at the stern, handsome face with the intensely beautiful and hypnotic tawny-golden eyes boring into hers.
“Please let go of me.” She repeated.
“Not until you apologize.” Reginald knew he was playing a dangerous game, but somehow, he could not seem to be able to help himself.
“No.”
Swearing beneath his breath, he hauled her up against him. Jacinth had enough time to wedge her hands between them to fight him off, but that was until she felt the warmth seeping through his thin green sweater and the unsteady beating of his heart.
A shiver went through his body, and she was freezing up as his head swooped down. A moan escaped her as he crushed his lips on hers. For a few seconds, she did not react but just stood there pressed against his muscular frame, her lips clamped together to try and resist him.
Her fingers curled into the delicate material of his sweater, her body trembling in reaction to the touch of his lips on hers.
“Kiss me back, damn you.” He whispered harshly. “You started this, and I need to finish it.”
She kept her lips clamped together, but for all her bravado, she was an inexperienced girl in a twenty-eight-year-old body. She had had just one relationship in her entire life, and it had not prepared her for the onslaught of emotions he was evoking inside her, not to mention the fact that Reginald Tanner had been at this since he was fourteen years old and had garnered enough expertise to break down her resistance.
Changing his method, he softened the kiss, determined to humble her. She’d had the upper hand since the first day he met her, and it was time to switch the position of power.
Jacinth felt the subtle change and instinctively knew he would get the better of her. His mouth softened, brushing against her coaxingly and sending heat spiraling throughout her body.
She made one last desperate effort to resist him by trying to push him away, but he merely moved his hand from her throat and settled it against her narrow waist, bringing her into sharp contact with his body.
One hand came up to cup the back of her head as he continued to coax her lips to part. With a tortured moan of surrender, her lips parted, and with a low groan of triumph, he plunged his tongue into her mouth, sending shock waves roaring throughout their bodies.
He went rigid, his body tightening to uneasy heights as her tongue tangled with his. The kiss took on a wildness that not only stunned him but also had his hands roaming up and down her back restlessly, his body surging with a lust that was rapidly making him lose control.
His mouth turned hungry, and the nipples pressing against his chest were seeping through the material and branding his chest like red hot pokers. His hand settled on her bottom as he pushed her against him hard enough to feel the evidence of his arousal.
What started as a power struggle quickly became more significant and frightening. He wanted her, and for the first time in his life, he wanted someone with an intensity he could not understand.
Dragging his lips from hers, he lifted his head and stared down at her from his lofty height, breath soughing through his chest, eyes glittering with desire. For a few seconds, they stood that way and could not say anything.
And then, as if commonsense had reasserted itself, she pushed at him hard enough to put distance between them.