Mother’s expression stilled. Then she smiled, practiced, cool, and just a tiny bit seductively. “I’m afraid she has overscheduled her morning then.” Her tone was ever-so-slightly clipped. Clearly, she was not used to such directness from a man.
When he looked at her, his dark eyes were bronzed. “I’m a busy man, and we’re otherwise engaged.”
How exquisite. Finally someone who knew how to handle Mother. Avery drew a blank most times, and she hated how much one word from her mother could slice her to the quick. But wasn’t that the special talent of Mother? Knowing her well enough to reduce her to shreds with little more than a few well-chosen words?
Alexandria softened her gaze as she turned her full attention toward Ryker. “I’m afraid we haven’t met. Alexandria Chase.” The polite greeting came out of thinned lips.
Avery cleared her throat. “This is Ryker Li.”
Alexandria’s blue eyes were slightly wide, meant to imbue a man, pulling him in where her charms became intoxicating. “Your business acumen is legendary. I can’t help but think we’ve met before. The Hope Gala in Dallas perhaps?” Alexandria held out her hand. “Either way, I’m charmed to meet you.”
Was Alexandria flirting?
The weight of how rich and successful a man Ryker had to be in order for Alexandria to know him and look impressed nearly polarized Avery.
Ryker took Alexandria’s hand just long enough for social etiquette to be obliged. He smiled one of his sexy little smiles meant to cue butterflies in any nearby female stomach. “And now, if you’ll pardon my abrasion, I have important business to discuss with Ms. McAdams. She has just agreed to plan my next event.” His gaze went to Avery.
Refuse now and you’ll have to explain why in front of your other client,
it said.
Avery wouldn’t argue his point in front of Alexandria, and he knew it. Yet all of this was almost worth putting up with just to watch this man manipulate Mother.
What a shame he was about to walk out of Avery’s life forever.
Her stomach gave a quiver at the thought. A side to her actually wished he would stick around. And she couldn’t be sure if it was because of the way he handled her mother, or something else.
Something feminine.
Something primal.
Oh, but who was she kidding?
She and Ryker Li.
Now there’s a joke
.
Chapter Two
As soon as Avery managed to clear her office, she planned to explain
again
to Ryker why she wouldn’t take his business, slowly this time, so even an over-indulged rich man could understand.
Besides, Avery was a quick study. A person like her was best far away from men like him. She’d learned her lesson well, years ago in prep school. And if a special league for rich and successful men existed, Ryker Li would stand far above it.
Not going there again.
Even what appeared to be a simple business liaison with a man like him could leave a person stranded in an emotional ditch. She couldn’t even imagine the carnage he left behind with women he dated. Women who actually cared for him. Or did those swimsuit models simply move on to the next rich guy?
Based on the tabloids, he had the attention span of a squirrel when it came to women. No, men like Ryker were best left to women who knew how to handle those sorts of...
arrangements
.
“We can reschedule our plans. I’ll call you,” Avery said to her mother, praying for reprieve in at least one complicated area of her life this morning.
Alexandria bristled ever-so-slightly but covered it with a smile. “I can see you’re in the middle of something important, so I’ll leave you to it.”
Avery excused herself as she walked her mother out the door and whispered, “Sorry about breakfast. I’ll take you to the French restaurant you love so much for dinner tonight.”
Even though I can’t afford it and I should be working
. Guilt had a way of forcing her to spend money on things she couldn’t afford.
Alexandria didn’t miss a beat. “Well, if it’ll make you feel better, I can rearrange my plans tonight.”
“Yes. It will. Now go.” What Avery wanted to do most was roll her eyes. What could be good about spending money she didn’t have on a restaurant that charged too much and didn’t suit her taste anyway? The best part? She’d be with her mother.
She squeezed Alexandria’s shoulders and walked her to the elevator where they exchanged goodbyes.
Avery took a deep breath and straightened. Ignoring the delicate but oh so sensual shivers running up and down her spine at the thought of the man waiting in her office, she stalked into the room. “Look. I think we’ve said everything we can here,” she said pulling from self assurance she didn’t own. Ryker possessed it in buckets. And she was half afraid of the raging bull waiting for her there and half wanting to be nowhere else but near him.
She stood in silence until he finished his text message.
Long and slow, his gaze finally drifted to her face where it collided with hers. “We’re not finished here.”
Avery ignored the flush of heat circling low in her belly. “I know you’re busy. I am too.”
A black eyebrow arched as his deep, dark eyes made another slow flicker over her, then settled on her face.
Her heart gave a little skip. Avery had never encountered magnetic charm like his in a man before, but then she’d never met a man like Ryker Li before either. It now made sense to her why women literally formed lines around the block to be near him. She found her own gaze wandering to his lips where they stayed focused.
“You haven’t agreed to work for me yet, now have you?” His gaze swept over her this time, slowly, as if he looked at her for the first time. As to the charge being positive or negative she had no idea.
“Simple. I told you. I’m busy. Even though you don’t seem to mind exploiting me in front of my other clients,” she said as she moved behind her desk, desperately needing to put some mass between them to dull the electrical charges she felt. Because what was happening made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Avery had
never
been attracted to arrogant rich men before. Not since Preston Wescott. And she’d sworn never again. Ever. “And that was a low blow, by the way.”
“I simply played the cards you dealt. If you’d given me another option, I would’ve taken it.”
Ryker folded his arms across a broad chest, and Avery kept her gaze focused away from the strength there.
“You exploited me in front of another client. Just one more reason why we should not do business.” She reminded herself again how he couldn’t be bothered to attend an event with
his
name on it. Didn’t say much about his character, now did it? “Tell me where you were last night instead of the event and I’ll consider it.”
“Enjoy your coffee. I’ll be in touch.”
Avery blinked at his outstretched hand. She stood there frozen like an idiot ice sculpture.
A customary handshake stuck out between them.
To refuse would have been considered rude, so she didn’t. But the second she accepted it, the instant his skin touched hers, she knew she’d made a critical error. Her skin heated where it touched the hard tanned hand wrapped around hers. Nerve endings crackled and churned, shooting impulses over her and through her.
She broke contact with him the instant she could before she gave away its effect. Quickly, she turned her back to him before he had time to see the prickly bumps moving up her arms or the way her breasts strained against the thin cloth covering them. Cursed silk bra.
A warm electric current vibrated her skin until she feared Ryker could see her body’s reaction anyway. And if not see, then sense, like a shark moving toward the vibration of a struggling sea lion.
If her body planned to make a habit of betraying her every time she stood next to or touched a hot guy, she seriously needed to find the next available guy
in
her league and ask him out. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had sex. But her body screamed
too long
.
****
Ryker kept his feet rooted to their spot, perplexed, at least for another full minute. He rubbed his forefinger against his thumb.
What the hell had just happened?
Touching her, taking her hand in his, had left a strange and unfamiliar feeling on the skin of his hand.
Lust?
No. Stronger. He’d never felt anything quite like this before.
This woman wasn’t his normal type, and yet she was truly beautiful in a very natural, very real sense. She was having an unexplainable effect on him.
He reminded himself she, like all women, had a few tricks up her sleeve.
Lust
, he told himself again, like repeating the word would make it ring true this time.
He thought about the pout of her lips when she wasn’t sure what to say next. The look of those sexy-as-hell blue-green eyes that were part ocean, part sky, part the deepest green. The spark of determination they held.
Standing so close he could smell her intoxicating scent, a mix of fresh blooming flowers and warm cinnamon.
Damn it to hell.
He couldn’t remember the last time his body reacted to a woman like this.
But then, Avery wasn’t like any other woman he’d met.
Didn’t the new and different always capture his attention? Like the blonde he’d heli-skied with in Switzerland last month. Then there was the brunette in Prague. She’d been a firecracker between the sheets.
Finding intriguing women had never been his problem. A woman who could hold his interest had proved impossible. A few nights of mutual pleasure was all it took for Ryker to move on. His one rule, hard and fast, was never to sleep over. Never spend the entire night with a woman in her bed. Or she in his.
On that point he had an iron will. Because if a woman spent the night, expectations greeted him in the morning. Next thing he knew, the other person would be asking for a copy of his house key. There’d be talk of joint bank accounts and Friday night dates.
A shudder ran through him. Relationships.
Distractions.
Ryker enjoyed his freedom. He liked to keep his options open, preferring to keep things neat and tidy. Clear. He’d never been deceptive or left room for misinterpretation.
Even so, he couldn’t ignore the fact this woman possessed a warmth he’d never known. A light. Seeing her sleeping, vulnerable like he had, nearly brought out all his protective instincts.
Damn.
It was dangerous the way a woman like her could affect a man, leave him open to manipulation. He’d had a front row seat to that particular brand of cruelty, and even as the man he called father died, Ryker had kept his mother’s secret. Ryker was a bastard. There hadn’t been a woman since who’d proven different. They always had a scheme, a manipulation.
Ryker didn’t normally play games with people, and he’d been taunting Avery. He had an immediate physical reaction to her, and his hormones raced like a teenager. Surprising. But he had not built an empire by allowing his hormones to rule. Sex had its place. He enjoyed it immensely with those who wanted mutual satisfaction and little more than a body to warm their beds.
But this one?
He still couldn’t decide if he wanted to continue to torment her or take her back to his bed and show her pleasures she could’ve only ever dreamed about. Or both.
Dangerous thinking.
Lust had its place.
Ryker’s lashes swept down to screen his eyes. He found himself in unfamiliar territory, and he didn’t want to tip his hand. Because he wanted to know more about Avery than her last name and why she felt the need to hide it.
He, of all people, knew all too well the blessing and curse of a prominent last name. He’d rejected his own family fortune to strike out on his own. Was she doing the same?
Ryker could only venture a guess. He had serious doubts she’d come out straight with an answer. She hadn’t so far. And she’d gone to a lot of trouble to keep her background secure. That took serious funding. Of course, given enough time, his security team could find anything, but Ryker wanted answers
now
.
****
“Thank you, by the way, I’ve never seen Alexandria Chase get out a door so quickly.”
Ryker dismissed the sentiment with a wave of his hand.
Strong hand, to Avery’s thinking. His cold politeness had said it all, hadn’t it? He’d defended Avery. She was fairly certain he didn’t realize the two were related. And he had Alexandria leaving with a smile on her face. A feat taking extraordinary skill. Underneath Ryker’s smooth exterior lay a lion in waiting.
“I was simply annoyed. It’s the only reason I interjected. She was a disruption to our business meeting,” he said coolly. “
You
should put her in her place when she interrupts your business. You have no problem being harsh to your other clients. As for me, I have no interest in your private matters.”
“Right,” Avery said, the fight slowly draining from her. She let out a little sigh. So far, it had been a very long morning. She felt the pangs of hunger for the first time. She wanted nothing more than to eat, go home, and draw a hot bath. But she had a full workday ahead of her.
“Good luck with your event. I’m sure whomever else you go with will do a great job.”
Ryker inclined forward, relieving the pressure he put against the wall by leaning on it. His face was set, like his mind was made up and he didn’t plan to take no for an answer. “I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job.”
Her brow lifted. “I will?”
“Of course,” Ryker said as though stating simple fact. “You won’t have time to follow up with other business. You’ll be busy packing.”
I’m not going anywhere
. If she didn’t know any better she’d say there was a slight smirk to his infuriatingly perfect mouth. Still, her gaze lingered there.
His pupils dilated until all evidence of golden brown disappeared into black. “Pack for warm weather. My car will pick you up tonight.”
His car?
Okay, now Avery really was confused. “I’m afraid I don’t follow where this is going.”
“Like I said, I have an event you’ll be planning for me.”