think that’s the first time I’ve seen you relax since you arrived.’
Glancing up at Ram, Nola frowned.
Dinner was over, and his limo had dropped them back at the RWI building. Now they were standing in the lift.
Like many of his remarks, it could be read in so many ways. But she was too tired to do anything but take it at face value.
‘It was fun,’ she said simply. ‘I enjoyed the food and the company.’
He did a mock stagger. ‘I’m flattered.’
Glancing up, she saw that he was smiling, and she felt a panicky rush of nerves. In daylight, Ram Walker was flawless but unattainable. Now it was night-time, and beneath the low lighting, with his top button undone and a shadow of stubble grazing his face, he looked like the perfect after-dark female fantasy.
But the point about fantasies was that they were never supposed to become reality, she told herself quickly.
Shaking her head, she gave him a small, careful smile. ‘I suppose it hasn’t occurred to you that I might be talking about Craig and Will?’
His eyes gleamed. ‘Nope.’
She swallowed. ‘They’re nice people.’
‘And I’m not?’
Her throat felt as though it was closing up. And, was it her imagination, or was the lift getting smaller and hotter?
‘You can be,’ she said cautiously. She felt her pulse twitch beneath his gaze. ‘But I don’t know you very well. We don’t know each other very well.’
Suddenly she was struggling to breathe, and her heart was beating very fast.
He smiled. ‘Oh, I think we know each other very well, Nola!’
Her stomach dropped as though the lift cable had suddenly snapped, and somewhere at the edge of her vision stars were flickering—only that couldn’t be right for they weren’t outside.
‘And I think you’re a lot like me,’ he said softly. ‘You’re focused, and determined, and you like breaking the rules. Even when you’re scared of the consequences.’
There was a tiny shift in the air...softer than a sigh.
She watched, dry-mouthed, her stomach twisting into knots as he reached out and ran his finger along her cheekbone. She could feel her heartbeat echoing inside her head like footsteps fleeing. As she should be.
Except that she couldn’t move—could hardly breathe.
He moved closer, sliding his hand through her hair.
‘When I met you in that café you took my breath away. You still do.’
There was silence as she struggled to speak, struggled against the ridiculous pleasure his words provoked. Pleasure she knew she shouldn’t acknowledge, let alone feel. Not for her boss anyway.
But maybe she was making too big a deal about that. He might be a CEO, but he was just a man, and as a woman she was his equal. Besides, as of tomorrow he wouldn’t even be her boss.
The thought jumped inside her head like popping candy, and then somehow her hand was on his arm, the magnetic pull between them impossible to resist.
‘Ram...’ She whispered his name and he stared down at her mutely. His eyes were dark and fierce, and she could see that he was struggling for control.
She felt a shiver of panic tumble down her spine.
But why?
What did she care if he was struggling? So was she. Like her, he was fighting himself—fighting this desire.
Desire.
The word jangled inside her head like a warning bell, for was desire a big enough reason to play truth or dare with this man? After all, she knew the risks, knew the consequences.
Her head was spinning. Memories of that first kiss with Connor were slip-sliding into an image of his face, resentful and distant, on that last day.
But there was no reason it would be the same with Ram.
Nola knew she had been reckless with Connor—clueless, really. She’d jumped off the highest board and hoped for what? Love? A soulmate? A future? But this was never going to be anything but lust. There was no expectation. No need to make promises.
And, most importantly, there would be no consequences. After tomorrow they would never see one another again. It would be a perfect moment of pure passion. So why shouldn’t she give in to it?
But even as the question formed in her mind she knew two things. One, it was purely rhetorical. And two, it was too late.
The warmth of his body had melted away the last of her resistance; the battle was already lost.
And, as though he could read her mind, Ram leaned forward and kissed her.
* * *
Groaning softly, he reached out blindly for the wall of the lift, trying to steady himself. He’d expected to feel something—hell, how could he not after the tension that had been building between them for weeks?—but the touch of her lips on his was like being knocked sideways by a rogue wave.
His head was spinning. Somewhere, the world was still turning, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was here and now and Nola. Her body was melting into him, moving as he moved, her breath and his breath were one and the same. He felt her lips part and, deepening the kiss, he pulled her closer.
As the doors opened he pulled her against him and out of the lift. Hands sliding over each other, they staggered backwards, drunkenly banging into walls, barely noticing the impact. Somehow they reached his office, and as he pushed open the door they stumbled into the room as one.
Nola reached out for him, her fingers clutching the front of his shirt. He could feel her heart pounding, hear her breath coming in gasps. She pulled him closer and, groaning softly, he wrapped his fingers around hers and dragged her arms behind her back, holding her captive.
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