Chapter One
Tara Duncan walked into her office and leaned over her desk to pick up a client folder and her agenda. She looked longingly at the comfy chair, wishing she could ease into it for just a short while. Her office wasn’t much—a small room with a view of the neighbouring building’s rooftop—but she’d always preferred a private work space to an open-concept area. She often spent half the day in the studio managing projects that the graphic artists and the quality assurance team were working on, or sitting in someone else’s office for a meeting.
A brief knock made her turn around and her pulse jumped, as it always did whenever she saw Jay Moretti. The account executive was a stunning package of powerful, toned muscles and handsome, Mediterranean looks. He was blessed with rugged masculinity, from the mischievous, smoky grey depths of his eyes, to the strong line of his nose and the stubborn angle of his square jaw. For Tara, his most blatantly sensual feature was his mouth. The wide, full contours evoked shameless erotic images if she dared to look at them for too long, resulting in a rush of heat to every erogenous zone of her body.
His mouth curved into a knowing smile, because a man like Jay was intimately familiar with female body language and, however hard she tried to control her reaction to him, he could pick up on the smallest things. Like the colour that she knew was seeping into her cheeks now. He knew the effect he had on her—had told her so last month in this very office.
“Tara, I just wanted to let you know that Etnex has approved the final proofs, so those are good to go.”
She attempted a subtle appraisal of him, taking in the broad shoulders that filled out a crisp, white shirt and the powerful thighs that pushed against relaxed-fit jeans. She tried to block out her body’s stirrings. “That’s great, thanks.”
His gaze swept over her, lingering for a few seconds on her breasts. Her nipples tightened and she fought the urge to press the objects in her hands to her chest.
Attraction sizzled between them like a live wire. No denying that. They just hadn’t acted on it. And she wanted to act on her impulse so badly she ached. Not a day went by that she didn’t fantasise about various inappropriate scenarios, like pulling him into the supply room so he could take her standing up against a rack of boxes, or bent forwards over her desk…
She’d been feeling like this for six long months. Almost since the day they had met, and even when she’d been dating her ex, a conservative engineer. Unfortunately, conservative hadn’t translated well in the bedroom, often leaving her unfulfilled.
Jay, though, ravished her with his gaze alone—a virile predator, that’s what he was. Heat liquefied in her pussy and she grimaced, knowing she’d stained another pair of panties. In all her professional life, she’d never been so aroused by a colleague, never been so sexually aware of anyone. A fact that infuriated her, because just last week Tara had almost collided with a furious Rebecca Levitt, who was storming out of Jay’s office while fastening the top buttons of her shirt. Tara wasn’t born yesterday, and she had her pride. She wasn’t going to become an addition to his current office affairs. The worst of it was the disappointment and the jealousy she still felt, because up until that incident she’d thought his interest in her was exclusive.
She gave herself a mental shake and pushed out an uneven breath. “I have a meeting.”
His wide frame was blocking the doorway. “Tara, when are we going to have that dinner?”
He had some nerve. She was tempted to ask if he’d bring Rebecca along, but that would mean exposing some raw feelings. “I don’t date colleagues.” There. That should discourage him. She saw the flash of frustration in his eyes and pressed on. “Now, can you move out of the way so I can get through?”
Their gazes waged a silent battle for a
Tara Duncan walked into her office and leaned over her desk to pick up a client folder and her agenda. She looked longingly at the comfy chair, wishing she could ease into it for just a short while. Her office wasn’t much—a small room with a view of the neighbouring building’s rooftop—but she’d always preferred a private work space to an open-concept area. She often spent half the day in the studio managing projects that the graphic artists and the quality assurance team were working on, or sitting in someone else’s office for a meeting.
A brief knock made her turn around and her pulse jumped, as it always did whenever she saw Jay Moretti. The account executive was a stunning package of powerful, toned muscles and handsome, Mediterranean looks. He was blessed with rugged masculinity, from the mischievous, smoky grey depths of his eyes, to the strong line of his nose and the stubborn angle of his square jaw. For Tara, his most blatantly sensual feature was his mouth. The wide, full contours evoked shameless erotic images if she dared to look at them for too long, resulting in a rush of heat to every erogenous zone of her body.
His mouth curved into a knowing smile, because a man like Jay was intimately familiar with female body language and, however hard she tried to control her reaction to him, he could pick up on the smallest things. Like the colour that she knew was seeping into her cheeks now. He knew the effect he had on her—had told her so last month in this very office.
“Tara, I just wanted to let you know that Etnex has approved the final proofs, so those are good to go.”
She attempted a subtle appraisal of him, taking in the broad shoulders that filled out a crisp, white shirt and the powerful thighs that pushed against relaxed-fit jeans. She tried to block out her body’s stirrings. “That’s great, thanks.”
His gaze swept over her, lingering for a few seconds on her breasts. Her nipples tightened and she fought the urge to press the objects in her hands to her chest.
Attraction sizzled between them like a live wire. No denying that. They just hadn’t acted on it. And she wanted to act on her impulse so badly she ached. Not a day went by that she didn’t fantasise about various inappropriate scenarios, like pulling him into the supply room so he could take her standing up against a rack of boxes, or bent forwards over her desk…
She’d been feeling like this for six long months. Almost since the day they had met, and even when she’d been dating her ex, a conservative engineer. Unfortunately, conservative hadn’t translated well in the bedroom, often leaving her unfulfilled.
Jay, though, ravished her with his gaze alone—a virile predator, that’s what he was. Heat liquefied in her pussy and she grimaced, knowing she’d stained another pair of panties. In all her professional life, she’d never been so aroused by a colleague, never been so sexually aware of anyone. A fact that infuriated her, because just last week Tara had almost collided with a furious Rebecca Levitt, who was storming out of Jay’s office while fastening the top buttons of her shirt. Tara wasn’t born yesterday, and she had her pride. She wasn’t going to become an addition to his current office affairs. The worst of it was the disappointment and the jealousy she still felt, because up until that incident she’d thought his interest in her was exclusive.
She gave herself a mental shake and pushed out an uneven breath. “I have a meeting.”
His wide frame was blocking the doorway. “Tara, when are we going to have that dinner?”
He had some nerve. She was tempted to ask if he’d bring Rebecca along, but that would mean exposing some raw feelings. “I don’t date colleagues.” There. That should discourage him. She saw the flash of frustration in his eyes and pressed on. “Now, can you move out of the way so I can get through?”
Their gazes waged a silent battle for a
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