Deadly Desire (4 page)

“Hello? Is anyone there?” the voice on the other end of the line sounded irritated and impatient, and I realized I’d just been holding the phone to my ear while I’d been daydreaming about Pierce.

“Max Weathers’s office,” I said, gritting my teeth and shaking my head at myself. I needed to get a grip. “How may I help you?”

The door to the office opened, and I glanced up. Pierce Donovan strode into the room, wearing a pristine black suit, shiny black shoes, and a smile that made my heart drop to my toes. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my heart began to race. He looked better than he had the last time I’d seen him, if that was even possible. What was he even doing here? Surely he wasn’t here to see me. Was there something wrong with the photos? My eyes flicked to Max’s shut office door. If he found out I’d gone on a case for Pierce without telling him, I had no idea how he’d react. All I knew was it wouldn’t be good.

“Hello!” the voice on the phone demanded.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll need to call you back.”

I hung up the phone and stared at Pierce. He strode closer, that smile still lighting his face. He looked so different compared to the cold businessman I’d seen in all the photos online. Now he looked almost…happy to see me. Though that couldn’t be right.

“Emma.” His voice was low, and it sent chills down my spine.

“Hi, Pierce,” I said, managing to keep my cool despite the thunder of my heart in my ears. “How can I help you?”

“There’s something I wanted to ask you, and I thought it would be nice to see your face when I did.”

My heart lifted, and I held my breath. So, he hadn’t come here to discuss the photos I’d taken for him. He’d come here for me, as hard as it was to believe. Maybe all those articles had been wrong about him. Maybe he wasn’t a one night stand kind of guy after all. I smiled up at him, hope filling up every part of me.

Max’s office door opened, snapping the mood away. He glanced from Pierce, to me, and back to Pierce again. A bright smile beamed across his leathered face, and he strode across the room with his hand outstretched.

“Pierce Donovan!” He grabbed Pierce’s hand and shook it hard. The warmth in Pierce’s face slipped away, replaced with that cold mask I’d seen in the photos online. “So good to see you. If you want to come on into my office, we can discuss whatever it is you need from me.”

“No need.” Pierce gave Max a cold smile. “Your lovely assistant, Emma, delivered the results to me already.”

I winced and stared hard at my cluttered desk. There it was. I’d been found out. I should have known I wouldn’t get away with it.

“The results?” Max asked, glancing at me, but I couldn’t meet his gaze. “What results?”

I felt Pierce’s eyes land on me, but I didn’t know what explanation I could give him, not with Max standing right there. Besides, how could I have told him the truth anyway?
I wanted to see you again, and I was worried Max wouldn’t let me do the case myself, so I conveniently forgot to mention it to him?
No way.

“Emma, what is Mr. Donovan talking about?” Max’s voice turned harsh, and I braced myself for the consequences of my actions. He could fire me for this, and then I’d have to book a one way ticket back home to Tennessee. It had taken me months to find this job, and I wasn’t sure I could find another in the city, especially after getting fired from my very first post-college position.

“My apologies,” Pierce said. “I forgot I required Emma to keep the details between us in confidence.”

I glanced up, surprised, but Pierce wasn’t looking at me anymore.

“What do you mean?” Max scratched his face.

“I requested Emma look into something personal for me.” Pierce patted Max on the back. “In complete confidence. She did very well to follow those instructions.”

Max turned on me, his face red. “Emma, I gave you no authority to be taking on cases. You shouldn’t have offered—”

Pierce’s hand landed hard on Max’s back. “I requested Emma do this.” He squeezed his shoulder, and I swore I saw Max flinch. “She did nothing wrong.”

My breath got caught in my throat as I watched the exchange. I didn’t know quite what to think of it, but I had to be grateful that Pierce was doing his best to keep me from getting fired for something that I very clearly did. He gave Max another hard pat on the back before stepping away, his gaze drifting down to meet mine. His eyes held a dangerous glint to them, and it made goosebumps stampede across my arms.

“Fine.” Max cleared his throat and backed away toward his open office door, but not before pointing a finger at me. “But don’t think this means you’re allowed to do this kind of thing again. This was a one time thing. You’re my receptionist. Nothing more.”

When the door slammed shut behind him, I breathed a sigh of relief. That could have gone a lot worse.

Pierce sat on the edge of my desk and smiled. “Seems you forgot to tell your boss about me.”

“Well.” I cleared my throat as heat flamed my cheeks. “You seemed very specific about what it was you wanted, and I knew he wouldn’t go along with it.”

“He would have.” He reached out and dragged a finger down my neck, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. “Because of who I am.”

“I’m sure there are some things even you can’t have.”

He smirked. “Well, I wanted you.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Why are you here, Pierce?”

“You’ll have dinner with me tonight.” He slid a card into my fingers. “That’s my driver’s number. Text him your home address and be ready to be picked up by eight.”

He was at the one door before I could register his words, leaving a vacuum of cold air behind him. I wanted to reach out and pull him back, but I just stood there instead, staring at him dumbly.

“But what if I have plans?” I asked. Immediately, I wanted to kick myself. There I was, being asked out by one of the most good looking men I’d ever met in my life, who I’d been thinking about non-stop since Wednesday, and I was questioning his invitation for dinner. What kind of idiot was I?

“Do you have plans, Emma?” he asked with a smile.

“No.”

“Then, I’ll see you at eight.”

This time, Cynthia loaned me a more appropriate dress. I wasn’t showing up in a cheap pink dress with my cleavage hanging out again. Pierce was classy, and his tastes seemed far beyond anything I could dream of. Cynthia had a couple of nicer outfits from some balls she’d attended with her parents back home in DC. I chose a nondescript little black dress that was probably a size too small, but it looked a lot nicer than anything I owned myself.

Cynthia knocked on the door and poked her head inside my tiny bedroom. It was only big enough to hold a twin bed and a small chest of drawers, but it was the best place we’d been able to find for such a low rent. I spun in my dress, raising my eyebrows in a question-mark.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“Much better than that pink thing bandaid you wore the other night.” Her eyes flicked over me. “Where’s he taking you?”

“No idea.” I shifted the dress around my bra and wished I wasn’t a cup size larger than Cynthia. “He didn’t say.”

“I’m surprised he’s taking you out for dinner,” she said with a grin. “I told you he was after some Emma booty.”

“Cynthia!” I picked up my pillow and threw it at her. I’d opted out of telling her what had happened between Pierce and me in his office. Cynthia and I were quickly becoming friends, but I still didn’t know her that well, and I still felt embarrassed about what I’d done. It was so not like me. When other girls had partied and slept around in college, I’d kept my nose buried in my books most of the time, only going out for special occasions like New Year’s Eve or Homecoming. There had been a couple of guys I’d been interested in, but not much had ever happened. I’d always been too quiet compared to the bubbly sorority girls.

“Just saying,” she said, throwing the pillow back at me. “He doesn’t go on dates. It’s not like he needs to take a girl out to get into her pants.”

My face flamed, and I let out a fake laugh. My mind couldn’t help spinning over her words though. Cynthia was right, and I’d been just like all the other women Pierce met. All he’d had to do was look at me, and I’d let him do whatever he wanted. And now I was just going along with whatever he said once again.

My phone buzzed, jolting me out of my thoughts. I quickly glanced at the screen. Pierce’s driver, Anton, was here. My nerves ramped up a notch as I grabbed Cynthia’s black clutch and took a deep breath. No matter what had happened in his office, we were going on a real date now, and that’s all that mattered.

Outside, I found a limo idling on the curb. Anton smiled and held open the door, and when I slid inside, I found myself face to face with Pierce. He wore a black tux, and the entire car was full of his cologne, a tantalizing scent that wrapped around me. Smiling, he handed me a glass of champagne just as Anton shut the door behind me.

“Cheers, Emma,” Pierce said, lifting his own glass.

I clinked my glass against his and took a sip. The liquid burst along my tongue, bubbly and sweet. I’d never had champagne before, but if this is what it tasted like, I hoped it wouldn’t be a long time until my next glass. Though on my salary, it’d probably be awhile.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

I smiled and smoothed down Cynthia’s dress. “Thank you. So do you.”

He smirked. “I’ve never had a woman tell me I look beautiful before.”

Inwardly, I groaned. For some reason, I couldn’t stop myself from coming across like a complete idiot in front of this guy. Though, truthfully, he did look very handsome. His facial hair was just long enough that it gave his chiseled jaw extra definition, and his dark hair curled around his face. His eyes were fierce and hot, and his biceps bulged against his tailored suit. He looked so good, I could have skipped dinner and had him to eat instead.

It was almost as if he could read my mind because a knowing smile lit his lips. “After dinner, I thought we could enjoy some drinks back at my apartment.”

I let out a long, slow breath. My mind went completely blank. I had no idea how to answer that. Of course I wanted to go back to his place. But I also didn’t know if it was such a great idea. No matter what had happened in his office, I barely knew the guy. Shouldn’t I try to play it cool?

But I was saved from an answer when the limo rolled to a stop, and a second later, Anton was opening the door. I slid out into the vibrant Manhattan night and glanced up to see where we were. I gasped. We were standing just outside The Lux, an exclusive restaurant only the wealthiest could afford.

I glanced down at my dress. No way could I fit in there wearing this. As nice as Cynthia’s outfit was, it wasn’t exactly a designer label. Plus, how did someone even act in a place like this? Were there rules and standards I wouldn’t know how to follow?

“Relax.” Pierce pressed a comforting hand against my back. “We have a private table in the back, so we won’t be disturbed.”

My shoulders eased just an inch as we made our way into the lush restaurant. Overhead, chandeliers sparkled, and soft music played from a live piano just inside the front doors. Just like the club from the other night, every man in the place wore a suit, and all the women were donned in the sleekest of dresses, their necks sparkling with diamonds.

The table host led us past a sleek bar and to a table near the back, just like Pierce had said. We still had a view of the piano, but any sight of us was blocked from the rest of the guests. Sighing, I tried to relax, but I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d booked something so reclusive. While it saved me from looking like an idiot in front of all these wealthy women, had he only done it for himself? There was no way he could have known I’d be nervous about being somewhere like this. Maybe the reason no one knew he took women on dates was because he hid them in back tables where no one could see.
Or maybe
, a little voice inside me said,
he’s ashamed to be seen with a girl like you
.

Pierce flicked his hand at the waiter and ordered before I realized what was happening. A moment later, the waiter reappeared with a bottle of wine and poured us each a glass. Pierce watched me take a sip before giving a nod to the waiter, who disappeared without asking me what I wanted to eat. I wasn’t sure we’d even been given menus.

“Are we not eating?” I asked.

“We are.” He gave me a cool smile. “I ordered for you. It’s just a small course, and then we’ll retire to my apartment for drinks.”

I felt like I should have been a little annoyed he hadn’t asked me what I wanted, but I was too distracted by the second thing he’d said to make a big deal of it. “About that. I don’t understand what it is you want from me.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I thought I made it very clear what I want from you, Emma.”

“I was just under the impression you…” I swallowed hard. “Don’t go for the same girl twice.”

“Well, I’ll be clear.” He levelled his dark gaze at me across the table, and chills swept along every inch of my skin. “I very much want you twice.”