‘Wait. Stop trying to run away.
’
She stared at his tanned fingers against the cream of her silk sleeve and something in her
stomach swooped. She couldn’t stop thinking of those long, tanned fingers on other parts of
her body. Parts of her body that were already tingling as the warmth from his touch seeped into
her skin irrespective of the silk barrier of her top. She slowly brought her gaze back up to his.
‘Please, let me go.’ Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, but she was worried her eyes were
saying the opposite. Please, hold me.
He drew in a breath and released her wrist, and then expelled his breath on a heavy sigh. ‘I
probably don’t need to tell you I’m worried about your mother’s situation. It looks to me like
her current partner is siphoning off funds into hidden accounts but that’s only a hunch at this
stage. But, let me assure you, I will get to the bottom of it.’
‘Thank you.’
He gave a brief smile that melted her resolve to keep her distance like a blowtorch on butter.
She could actually feel her stiff and guarded posture relaxing and wondered how on earth she
was going to resist him if he didn’t stop being so much of a helpful hero to the rescue.
‘Try not to worry too much.’ His tone was gently reassuring and melted another layer of her
emotional armour.
‘Lately, all I seem to do is worry about my mother. For years, actually,’ Millie found herself
confessing. ‘She has appalling taste in men. She falls for good looks instead of good character.
And they fall for her because she’s beautiful and compliant, like most men seem to want their
women to be.’
‘Not all men,’ Hunter said, holding her gaze with gleaming intensity. ‘Personally, I like a bit
of spirit and push-back.’
Millie swallowed and glanced at his mouth, her stomach bottoming out. She moistened her
lips and hitched in a ragged breath. Was he flirting with her? Yes, he was, and, even more
worrying, she was enjoying it. Way too much. ‘Erm, what other business did you want to
discuss with me?’
He stepped close enough to touch her. Close enough to set her heart rate stampeding again.
Close enough for her to see the tiny dark-chocolate flecks in his mid-brown eyes and the
impossibly thick and long lashes that fringed them. Close enough for her to smell the light
citrusy tang of his aftershave, redolent of sun-warmed lemons with a woodsy understory. He
had shaved that morning, but tiny pinpricks of regrowth were already evident, suggesting he
hadn’t been standing back and holding the door for everyone else when the testosterone had
been handed out.
Millie hadn’t been this close to such a virile man in years. Possibly ever. His sensual energy
brushed against her in soundless waves, sending shivers, darts and flickers of awareness across
her skin.
Hunter picked up a section of her long silver-blonde hair and lightly trailed it across his
fingers like someone inspecting a skein of priceless silk. His expression was inscrutable, all
except for the dark intensity of his eyes. ‘Why are you frightened of me?’ His voice was low
and deep with an edge of huskiness that made her skin lift in a delicate shiver.
‘I—I’m not.’ It would have sounded a whole lot more convincing if her voice hadn’t come
out as a scratchy whisper. And if her heart wasn’t beating as if it was going to work its way out
of her chest and her legs threatening to fold underneath her.
‘Liar.’ He gave a lazy smile and tucked her hair behind her ear, then lowered his hand back
by his side. But he stayed close to her, so close all she had to do was move forward half a step
and her breasts would be in contact with his chest and her pelvis in contact with his. Her breasts
began to tingle behind the lace cage of her bra, hot little tingles that made her aware of her
female form in a way she had never been before. A pulse beat between her legs—a delicate
contraction of intimate muscles waking from a long hibernation.
Millie licked her carpet-dry lips. ‘You’re too close to me. I can barely breathe.’
‘So, step back. I’m not stopping you.’
She lifted her chin, her eyes warring with his in a battle of wills. He liked a bit of push-back,
did he? She could give as good as she got. ‘Why don’t you step back?’
His eyes smouldered. ‘I like seeing the effect I have on you.’
Millie steeled her spine, iced her gaze and stood her ground. ‘You have zero effect on me.’
The air beat with tension—sexual tension that disturbed the atmosphere like a galaxy of
hyperactive dust motes.
His gaze snared hers and there was nothing she could do to break the deadlock. ‘I look
forward to making you eat those words one day in the not-too-distant future.’ The deep rumble
of his tone sent a runaway firework fizzing and whizzing down every knob of her spine.
Millie gave a tight-lipped smile when what she really wanted to do was slap his face for his
arrogance. ‘Don’t hold your breath.’
He gave a soft chuckle of laughter and stepped away from her and strode idly over to the
door of his office, effectively bringing their private meeting to a close. ‘I’ll see you tonight. I’ll
pick you up at seven.’
Millie wanted to tell him where to stick his dinner date, but she needed him on side for the
best result for her mother’s divorce. She needed him as an ally, not an enemy.
And most of all she needed her head examined for looking forward to seeing him again.