Her Perfect Match (Liaison #1) (3 page)

Her fists clenched at her sides.
 
When she stepped into the elevator, she was determined to ignore the effect he had on her.
 
She blew out a breath and forced herself to relax as she reached for the button that would take her to the lobby, and escape.

Chapter Three

Gabriel stepped off of the elevator.
 
Even though the appointment had been on his calendar for more than a week, he hadn’t realized how much he needed to see her again until he heard her soft laugh in the next room.
 
He tightened his grip on the briefcase at his side for a moment, getting ahold of his awareness of her.
 
He forced himself to relax his tense shoulders, knowing that he would soon be able to see the woman who had rarely left his thoughts since their first business meeting in his office.

He never showed any vulnerability with women—it made him feel exposed and out of control—but for the first time, he couldn’t bring himself to care about the artifice.
 
Of course, he would never let on that he couldn’t get her out of his mind.
 
When he thought of those stolen moments in his office where he tasted her and caressed her, his body heated and he craved her with an intensity that shook him to his core.
 

In his office, it took all of his willpower to pull away from her and let her leave, when he wanted to whisk her away somewhere they could be alone.
 
He ached to taste every inch of her skin.
 
Once he had touched her, loved her, then he could get her out of his head and he could concentrate on something other than the pleasure they would both experience.

His body responded to his nearly constant thoughts and to distract himself, he looked around her very elegant outer office.
 
The furniture—sofas, chairs, and ottomans—were light beige to match the accent tables; the lone distinction was the dark wood of the reception desk.
 

There were chairs that were separated from one another, so that her clients wouldn’t feel exposed in the lobby of the dating, and recently added, escort service.
 
The wall behind the reception desk stood out, painted in dark burgundy with a gold-framed painting he recognized as Leonid Afremov’s Expectation of Love.
 
Its beautiful and vivid colors drew his eye to the work and he smiled at her taste.
 
Her business was comfortable and understated, and managed to put you at ease.
 
He knew at that moment that she would excel at this business venture.

Movement drew him from the painting, and he watched as she walked into the lobby.
 
She looked graceful with her white v-neck top that wrapped around her midsection and a pair of flattering black slacks that emphasized the curve of her hips.
 
His eyes devoured her, but when he noticed that her hair was pulled up into a loose bun, exposing her neck, the craving that he thought he had under control flared.

Her eyes found his at that moment, and he noticed hers widen.
 
The lobby echoed her loud intake of breath.
 
She couldn’t hide the need for him that crossed her face and sparkled in her eyes, but she tried when her eyes closed and shut him out.
 
When she looked at him again, her face was a mask.

Instead of the desired effect of deterring his attraction to her, her determination to protect herself from him ramped up his desire to taste every inch of her body, and memorize where she loved to be touched.
 

“Gabriel.
 
This is my wonderful assistant, Tilda.
 
Tilda, this is Gabriel.”

He nodded at the woman he had failed to notice, keeping his face placid.
 
But her smile and manner were infectious, and his mouth tipped up at the older woman.

Rebecca stood there, shocked at his smile, but recovered and motioned him back to her office.

Instead of taking in his surroundings, he found his gaze glued to the sway of her hips.
 
“How’s business?” he asked.

She sat down behind her desk, but he continued to stand, leaning his hip against the corner of her desk effectively blocking her in.
 

She looked relieved at his question, but more than a little startled at his nearness.
 
She glanced at him and looked away before she cleared her throat.

“It’s better than expected.
 
The waiting list has grown and I need to hire several escorts today to fill the demand.
 
I hope that we find what we’re looking for.
 
I have the personality questionnaires for the applicants if you want to see them.
 
Or do you want to go over the contract first?” she asked.

“The contract.”
 
He knew his voice was clipped, but he couldn’t help the frustration from coming through.

He reached for the briefcase he sat against her desk and pulled out a lengthy contract that both lawyers thought beneficial.
 
He laid it on the desk and when she reached for it, he placed his hand over hers.
 

A smile formed as he heard her loud intake of breath.
 
She wasn’t as immune to him as she wanted him to believe.
 
He turned her hand over and circled her palm with his thumb, and she shivered.
 
Her innocent reactions to his touch had a definite effect on his body.
 
But when he spotted the flush of her skin against the white of her blouse, he gritted his teeth and willed his body under control.

“Have you missed me, sweetheart?”
 
His voice was low.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His body jerked slightly at her admission, but before he could pull her into his arms and kiss her, she pulled her hand away.

“But we have an interview soon, and I would like to go over the contract.”

He noticed a little quiver to her voice and he realized that again, this wasn’t the time or the place to seduce her.

He went around the front of her desk to grab a chair and dragged it back around and placed it near her.
 
He sat so close that his thigh touched hers.
 
He ignored it when she stiffened and pulled the contract closer as he placed his arm on the back of her chair.

“The lawyers agreed to thirteen percent.
 
Is that still acceptable?”

She nodded, but swallowed hard as his hand trailed from her shoulder and down her arm.

“And again, no dating any of the escorts.”

“Is that in the contract?” she asked.

“No, it’s a verbal agreement between the two of us.”

She glared at him, but she nodded her head, knowing it would be impossible to talk him out of that one.

“Something has been included in the contract.
 
Every other Friday night, we have dinner and we go over the numbers for your business.”

“You don’t trust me?”
 

It wasn’t a matter of trust.
 
He craved her like no other woman in his life, and until he figured out how to deal with it, he wanted to spend time with her, getting to know her as the brilliant and sinfully sexy woman she had grown into and hopefully get her out of his system so he could think clearly again.

“I trust you, but I know that a fledgling business needs all the help it can get.
 
If you have any business questions or if you need help with something, I want to be able to discuss it with you.”

“I guess that does make sense, but can’t it be once a month?
 
I’m already swamped with the dating service and I have a feeling that the escort part will be more chaotic.”

He shook his head.
 
He knew that he was being unreasonable, but he wouldn’t budge on this.

She blew out a breath and nodded.

“And I want a say in which escorts you hire.”

She thought about this for a moment, and must’ve found no reason for not agreeing to it and nodded.

Furious thoughts coursed through his head when he thought about her being alone with a man who was being hired based on his looks.
 
Although he didn’t want anything permanent, he sure as hell didn’t want another man touching her or flirting with her.

“I think we need to talk about what’s happening between us.”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
 
“No, we don’t, because it’s nothing.”

He brushed a kiss against her cheek.
 
Heat exploded throughout his body when her hand reached out and gripped his thigh.
 
He trailed kisses down her cheek, until he buried his face in her neck, inhaling her light scent.

“Don’t fight this.
 
I know you want me as much as I want you,” he growled.

She leaned into his caresses without confirming his statement.
 
His hand traveled up and down her back as he nipped at her neck and down to her collarbone.

“Kiss me,” she breathed.

“I want to but we have an interview in ten minutes, and if I start, I won’t stop this time.”

With a shaky breath, she leaned back and looked into his eyes, mesmerized by the possessiveness that shone through.

“When I said no dating the escorts, I meant no dating anyone, including the escorts.
 
That is, until your business is in the black for at least six months.”

“That’s ridiculous!
 
You just told me that you want me.”

“Sex is different than a relationship, sweetheart.”

He could see a flash of hurt pass her features, before she straightened her shoulders and nodded.

“Fine, no sex and no dating, including you.
 
I got it.”
 
Her voice was clipped while flames of green sparked in her eyes.

He knew that he was speaking out of jealousy, because until he figured out what the hell was wrong with him and why he couldn’t get her out of his mind, he didn’t want her tempted by another man.
 
That thought stopped him short.
 
He’d never been jealous over a woman in his life, but the thought of her with another man had him feeling murderous.

“I didn’t mean me,” he growled.

“I own this business, and how I run it is up to me.
 
I’ve agreed to some of your terms, but you can’t dictate who I can and can’t see.
 
I won’t sleep with you, and I would appreciate it if you would stop touching me.
 
Now that we have that out of the way, why don’t we get ready for the string of interviews we have coming up?”

He wanted to argue with her, and when he opened his mouth to do just that, the next words out of her mouth surprised him.

“Shut.
 
Up.”
 
She emphasized each word and it ricocheted in his head with surprising force and kept him quiet.

Tilda cleared her throat from the doorway.
 
“Bec, you have a call on line one.”

“Thank you, Tilda,” she said.

He stood and strode out of the room with measured steps.
 
Instead of punching the wall like he wanted, he paced in front of Tilda’s desk as he replayed their argument.
 
He had never demanded anything from a woman, whether in business or in bed, but as soon as his demands left his mouth, he stood by them and he wanted her to bend to his commands.
 
Briefly, he recognized his feelings as jealousy, but dismissed them without too much thought.

“It’s about time,” Tilda whispered.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and glanced at her, confused.

“She’s attracted to you, but she’s fighting it.
 
I’ve worked for her for seven years.
 
I started as her assistant at the marketing firm and quit to work with her here.
 
She’s never reacted to a man the way she does with you.
 
I see clients and associates hitting on her—even her lawyer asked her out—but she’s turned them all down.
 
I saw the way her face lit up when she spotted you.”

His heart kicked in his chest.
 
With this new information, he relaxed his tense muscles, and knew that he had to rethink his reactions.
 
Each time they had met, he had set restrictions that he knew she would balk at, and yet he continued because he loved her reactions.
 
More than that, he could see the fiery passion that he ignited in her whenever he pushed her, and his body reacted with more intensity each time.
 
He would have her soon, or go crazy with lust.

“Thanks.”

She nodded.
 
With a wicked smile, she added, “But one word of advice.
 
If you hurt her, I’ll find some way to destroy you.”

Chapter Four

Rebecca smiled and listened as the applicant explained the reasons he would be a great candidate for one of her male escorts.
 
But as her mind tried to stay on task, her body remained tense as Gabriel crowded next to her as they sat behind her desk.
 

As she concentrated on another glowing smile from the man she knew she wouldn’t be hiring—he was just too full of himself—she had a strange urge to crawl onto Gabriel’s lap to relieve the ache that he started when he first kissed her.
 

She was aware of his every move after he sat next to her.
 
When he brushed his fingers through the back of her hair, when he slid closer so his thigh would rub against hers, and when he leaned close as he pretended to glance at her interview notes.
 
By the time she’d asked her final question and missed most of the answer, she forced herself to glance at Gabriel to see whether he had anything to add.
 
His eyes brightened with such intensity that she had to look away.