Unleashed Temptation (4 page)

control the impressions she put off. The fact that she felt the need to remind
him
, told

him he might have a problem. He thought he’d done a pretty good job of masking his

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lust, but apparently not. Hell, after the vivid, practically multicolored dream from last

night, who the hell could blame him.

“Noted. Now get back to work, slacker.” He grinned as she rolled her eyes.

Even though she was young and sometimes unpredictable, Alex was one of the best

employees he had. Besides, she was his cousin. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her

hanging around with Carly though. Grabbing a rag, he wiped off his hands and headed

inside.

He found Carly behind the computer, frowning at the screen. “Everything all

right?”

Her head whipped around, sending a lock of that silky red hair cascading over her

shoulder. “I’m fine. Just reviewing some numbers. The last accountant left everything in

pretty good order.”

“When all the guys get back I’ll introduce you to everyone.” He couldn’t believe he

hadn’t done it earlier, but he hadn’t been thinking straight around her. Actually, he

hadn’t been thinking at all. At least not with his brain.

“Sounds good.” Her words came out a little breathless, sending an alert straight to

his cock.

“I hear you’re coming to my cousin’s party Friday.”

“Yeah. That was really sweet of Alex to invite me.” Carly turned in her chair to face

him.

“I’ll probably see you there.” What the hell was the matter with him? He shouldn’t

be hanging around her office making small talk. Every second that ticked by, his cock

got harder.

At his words, a light shade of pink played across her cheeks. “Okay.”

It wasn’t overt, but a whiff of something akin to desire tickled his nose. He wished

he knew what was going on in that pretty head of hers, but his brain froze, making any

further conversation impossible. He grunted something and left her in peace. He’d

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never had a problem around women. Talking to women came as naturally as breathing.

Of course he’d never been around a woman who made his tongue swell and his cock

hard without any sort of stimulation. Just talking to her and he felt like a randy cub

again with his first crush.

“Can you take a look at this, boss?” Jimmy asked as he walked across the garage.

Nick stopped by the Mercedes Jimmy was working on. “Yeah. What’s up?”

“I can’t figure out…”

Nick made the mistake of glancing toward the store. The garage and store were

connected by glass doors and glass windows so he could see practically everything

going on inside. His office was the only room he couldn’t see, but Carly wasn’t in there.

He knew that because she was talking to one of his guys. Jimmy’s words faded away as

he watched Rodrigo, his newest hire, leaning against one of the counters talking to

Carly.

Whatever he was saying must be fucking hilarious. Carly’s red hair swished

seductively around her shoulders as she clutched her stomach laughing. All he could

think about was the fictional memory of watching her hair cascade around his cock

while she sucked him and he wanted to walk inside and wring Rodrigo’s neck for

simply talking to her.

Despite being raised in a shifter family where the alpha and beta lines were clearly

drawn, he’d always considered himself fairly enlightened when it came to the opposite

sex—shifter or human. He’d never before experienced such barbaric sensations about

any woman.

Rodrigo was lucky he was still breathing. Gritting his teeth, he tore his gaze away

and inwardly groaned. What the hell had he been thinking by hiring her?

* * * * *

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Carly shut the computer down with a satisfied sigh. Her first day had flown by

surprisingly fast. Alex had told her that most of the guys were pigs, but everyone she’d

talked to had been so nice.

A lot nicer than where she’d worked in Chicago. Maybe it had something to do

with the sunny weather, but practically everyone she’d come in contact with in Miami

was friendly.

“You getting out of here?” Nick’s deep voice broke her out of her trance.

God, how did he do that? The man was like a ghost. “Yeah. Unless you need me to

stay…”

“No, we’re shutting down too. Unless there’s an emergency, I don’t keep my guys

past five.”

She grabbed her purse from under the desk and fished her keys out. Nick was still

standing by the door and she wondered if she was supposed to say something else.

She’d noticed him looking at her a few times today and of course it had been when she

was talking to one of the employees. Maybe he thought she wasn’t taking her job

seriously. She frowned at the thought.

“So how was your first day?” His lips pulled up at the corners but she couldn’t

figure out if that was supposed to be his version of a smile. He was incredibly hard to

read, but he didn’t seem annoyed with her.

“It was good. I hope it’s okay, but I made a couple changes with the way some of

your billing is set up.” She clutched her purse strap and snapped her mouth shut

because she could feel herself starting to ramble. Since she’d had a pretty good day, she

didn’t want to ruin it.

“I’d like to review any changes you make.” His deep voice sent shivers to all her

nerve endings.

She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I figured. I kept notes of

everything I changed—which wasn’t much,” she added hastily.

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“If you’re ready, I’ll walk you to your car.” There was something positively sensual

about the way he looked at her.

She was sure it wasn’t intentional, but when he stared at her with those pale eyes,

she wanted to do bad, bad things to him. And that wasn’t like her. Carly normally

dated a man for weeks, usually months before even contemplating sleeping with him.

Nick Lazos only needed to look at her and she was ready to strip her clothes off and let

him have his way with her. Ugh. He was her boss, she reminded herself for the

hundredth time that day.

Somehow she ordered her legs to move. She needed to get out of there before she

did or said something incredibly stupid.

The sweltering Florida heat wasn’t as bad as it had been in the early afternoon, but

her face and body warmed the instant they stepped outside. She’d parked directly out

front so she wasn’t exactly sure why he wanted to walk with her. Jangling her keys in

her hand she smiled at him. “Well, thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded, but to her dismay he waited while she got into her car. For the past

week she’d been having trouble with her Volkswagen Cabriolet. Her normally trusty

car had gotten her through college and then some, but the drive to Florida had been

pretty rough. She turned the ignition and held her breath when she turned the key.

“Come on, baby, don’t let me down now.”

This morning it had sputtered and sputtered until it finally started. This evening, it

didn’t even do that much for her. “Do not do this to me. Come on,” she ordered

through gritted teeth. She tried turning the key again but it simply made a clicking

sound.

She had no choice but to turn when Nick knocked on her window. Taking a deep

breath, she took the key out and opened the door. “My car’s been giving me some

trouble, but it’s no big deal. My grandmother will pick me up so—“

“I’ll give you a ride.” He held out a big, calloused hand.

She mutely stared at him. “What…”

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“If you give me your car key, I’ll come back tonight and see if I can figure out

what’s wrong with it.”

Carly tightly clutched the keys in her hand. “Oh no, that’s okay, I’ll—”

“Carly. You work at an auto shop. Take advantage of the free labor.” His words

were low and somehow sensual, but they almost sounded like an order. Maybe that

should rub her the wrong way, but she wouldn’t mind him ordering her around. At

least in the bedroom.

Something told her people rarely said no to him. Especially women. Averting her

gaze, she slid the key off the ring and placed it in his outstretched palm. When her

fingers brushed his, an electric current sent an unexpected shock straight to her pussy.

Her gaze flew to his and she almost stumbled at what she saw. Pure, raw lust flared

in his eyes. It was only there for a split second but she knew what she’d seen.

Clearing her throat, she found a spot over his shoulder to focus on. “If you’re sure

you don’t mind taking me home, I’m ready.”

“I definitely don’t mind,” he murmured.

Oh damn. Sudden realization nearly bowled her over. Her sexy as sin boss was

interested in her. It was probably just a simple attraction, but knowing a man that hot

thought she was attractive did something crazy to her libido.

Carly knew what she looked like. She was cute in a girl-next-door kind of way, but

men like Nick never, ever looked twice at her. Maybe the men in Miami were different.

“Wait here, I’ll pull my car around.” He turned and had disappeared back inside

the garage before she could blink.

Placing a hand on her abdomen, she took a few deep breaths.
Get it together
, she

ordered herself.

A few seconds later she heard Nick before she saw him. His two-door muscle car

rumbled quietly as he drove around from the back of the building. She didn’t know

exactly what kind of car it was, but it was definitely hot. And it totally fit him.

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He stopped a few feet from her and before she could move, he jumped out and

opened the door for her.

Oh, this was bad. Very, very bad. “I live off La Salle Street,” she said a few seconds

later when he slid into the driver’s seat.

“I know where that is.” He didn’t glance at her as he spoke.

She asked another question just to hear his voice. “How long have you lived in

Miami?”

“I grew up here.”

Okay, so maybe he didn’t feel like making conversation. That normally wouldn’t

bother her. It was actually a pet peeve of hers when people felt the need to fill all

silences. She clutched her purse in her lap as he turned down a side street.

The muscles in her arms and legs were incredibly tense. It was nice that he’d

offered her a ride home. So why did she want to jump out the window just to escape

this smothering silence. “Do you mind if I turn on the radio?”

“Go ahead.” There he went with that smooth voice again.

With the exception of the radio, the rest of the ride to her place was in silence. When

he started to pull into the driveway of the main house, she pointed to the extended

drive on the side of the house.

“I live in the apartment back there.” To her annoyance her voice had dropped a

couple notches, taking on an almost sensual quality. Good Lord, she needed to get away

from this man and fast.

“Do you need a ride in the morning?” he asked as he put his car in park.

“No, I’ll be okay. I really appreciate you taking me home though. See you

tomorrow.” She clutched her purse and hurried out.

To her dismay, he opened his door and followed her up the short stone walk.

Nick raked a hand through his dark hair and cleared his throat. “Listen, Carly, I’m

sorry if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable or anything.”

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“Uncomfortable?” The word came out strangled.

“Shit. I can’t think straight around you,” he muttered.

Her mouth dropped open at his unexpected admission. “Wait, what?”

Those pale gray eyes of his locked with hers and her heart skipped a beat. He was

only a few inches from her now. Everything else seemed to funnel out. She felt drugged

as she stood there, staring at him.

Before she realized what he intended, he cupped her cheek with his big hand. His

calloused palm sent a foreign flutter to her stomach. She could feel the vein in her neck

pump as anticipation hummed through her.

What was he doing? Her throat clenched, making it impossible to swallow.

Nervously she licked her lips. The small motion tore his gaze away from hers as he

zeroed in on her mouth.

Oh shit. He was going to kiss her. This had disaster written all over it. Too bad she

couldn’t seem to care as he leaned down.

Lips that had looked hard and unforgiving were surprisingly gentle as they covered

hers. As soon as they made contact, her body molded against his. There were a dozen

different reasons she knew this was the dumbest thing she’d ever done, but all she

could focus on was the way he tasted.

Sweet and minty. Another surprise.

His tongue moved over hers in erotic strokes. As if they had a will of their own, her

hands wound their way around his neck.

The hand that had been cupping her cheek now clutched the back of her head in a

tight grip. Moaning, she pressed her body against the full length of him, savoring the

feel of her breasts against his muscular chest. Unfortunately there was a whole mess of

clothes in their way. She wanted to feel his skin against hers.

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A slow-moving heat moved down her belly and between her legs like hot lava.