that touch of lips, that pressure, that taste, she knew she was mistaken. Different? New? Those words were much too mild. The brush of lips, for it was no more at first, changed the fabric of everything. Her thoughts veered off into a chaos that seemed somehow right. Her body grew hot, from within and without, in the space of a heartbeat. The woman who’d thought she knew exactly what to expect, sighed with the unexpected. And reached out.
“Again,” she murmured when his lips hovered a breath from hers. With her hands on either side of his face, she drew him to her, through the smoke and into the fire.
He’d thought she’d be cool and smooth and fragrant. He’d been so sure of it. Perhaps that was why the flare of heat had knocked him back on his heels. Smooth she was. Her skin was like silk when he ran his hands up her back to cup her neck. Fragrant. She had a scent that he would, from that moment on,always associate with woman. But not cool. There was nothing cool about the mouth that clung to his, or the breath that mixed with his as two pairs of lips parted. There was something mindless here. He couldn’t grip it, couldn’t analyze it, could only experience it.
With a deep, almost feline sound of pleasure, she ran her hands through his hair. God, she’d thought there wasn’t a taste she hadn’t already known, a texture she hadn’t already felt. But his, his was beyond her scope and now, just now, within her reach. Summer wallowed in it and let her lips and tongue draw in the sweetness.
More. She’d never known greed. She’d grown up in a world of affluence where enough was always available. For the first time in her life, Summer knew true hunger, true need. Those things brought pain, she discovered. A deep well of it that spread from the core. More. The thought ran through her mind again with the knowledge that the more she took, the more she would ache for.
Blake felt her stiffen. Not knowing the cause, he tightened his hold. He wanted her now, at once, more than he’d ever wanted or had conceived of wanting any woman. She shifted in his arms, resisting for the first time since he’d drawn her here. Throwing her head back, she looked up into the passion and impatience of Blake’s eyes.
“Enough.”
“No.” His hand was still tangled possessively in her hair. “No, it’s not.”
“No,” she agreed on an unsteady breath. “That’s why you have to let me go.”
He released her, but didn’t back away. “You’ll have to explain that.”
She had more control now—barely, Summer realized shakily, but it was better than none. It was time to establish the rules—her rules—quickly and precisely. “Blake, you’re a businessman, I’m an artist. Each of us has priorities. This—” she took a step back and stood straight “—can’t be one of them.”
“Want to bet?”
Her eyes narrowed more in surprise than annoyance. Odd that she’d missed the ruthlessness in him. It would be best if she considered that later, when there was some distance between them. “We’ll be working together for a specific purpose,” she went on smoothly. “But we’re two different people with two very different outlooks. You’re interested in a profit, naturally, and in the reputation of your company. I’m interested in creating the proper showcase for my art, and my own reputation. We both want to be successful. Let’s not cloud the issue.”
“That issue’s perfectly clear,” Blake countered. “So’s this one. I want you.”
“Ah.” The sound came out slowly. Deliberately she reached for her neglected purse. “Straight and to the point.”
“It would be a bit ridiculous to take a more circular route at the moment.” Amusement was overtaking frustration. He was grateful for that because it would give him the edge he’d begun to lose the minute he’d tasted her. “You’d have to be unconscious not to realize it.”
“And I’m not.” Still, she backed away, relying on poise to
“Again,” she murmured when his lips hovered a breath from hers. With her hands on either side of his face, she drew him to her, through the smoke and into the fire.
He’d thought she’d be cool and smooth and fragrant. He’d been so sure of it. Perhaps that was why the flare of heat had knocked him back on his heels. Smooth she was. Her skin was like silk when he ran his hands up her back to cup her neck. Fragrant. She had a scent that he would, from that moment on,always associate with woman. But not cool. There was nothing cool about the mouth that clung to his, or the breath that mixed with his as two pairs of lips parted. There was something mindless here. He couldn’t grip it, couldn’t analyze it, could only experience it.
With a deep, almost feline sound of pleasure, she ran her hands through his hair. God, she’d thought there wasn’t a taste she hadn’t already known, a texture she hadn’t already felt. But his, his was beyond her scope and now, just now, within her reach. Summer wallowed in it and let her lips and tongue draw in the sweetness.
More. She’d never known greed. She’d grown up in a world of affluence where enough was always available. For the first time in her life, Summer knew true hunger, true need. Those things brought pain, she discovered. A deep well of it that spread from the core. More. The thought ran through her mind again with the knowledge that the more she took, the more she would ache for.
Blake felt her stiffen. Not knowing the cause, he tightened his hold. He wanted her now, at once, more than he’d ever wanted or had conceived of wanting any woman. She shifted in his arms, resisting for the first time since he’d drawn her here. Throwing her head back, she looked up into the passion and impatience of Blake’s eyes.
“Enough.”
“No.” His hand was still tangled possessively in her hair. “No, it’s not.”
“No,” she agreed on an unsteady breath. “That’s why you have to let me go.”
He released her, but didn’t back away. “You’ll have to explain that.”
She had more control now—barely, Summer realized shakily, but it was better than none. It was time to establish the rules—her rules—quickly and precisely. “Blake, you’re a businessman, I’m an artist. Each of us has priorities. This—” she took a step back and stood straight “—can’t be one of them.”
“Want to bet?”
Her eyes narrowed more in surprise than annoyance. Odd that she’d missed the ruthlessness in him. It would be best if she considered that later, when there was some distance between them. “We’ll be working together for a specific purpose,” she went on smoothly. “But we’re two different people with two very different outlooks. You’re interested in a profit, naturally, and in the reputation of your company. I’m interested in creating the proper showcase for my art, and my own reputation. We both want to be successful. Let’s not cloud the issue.”
“That issue’s perfectly clear,” Blake countered. “So’s this one. I want you.”
“Ah.” The sound came out slowly. Deliberately she reached for her neglected purse. “Straight and to the point.”
“It would be a bit ridiculous to take a more circular route at the moment.” Amusement was overtaking frustration. He was grateful for that because it would give him the edge he’d begun to lose the minute he’d tasted her. “You’d have to be unconscious not to realize it.”
“And I’m not.” Still, she backed away, relying on poise to
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