again. She didn’t want to see him again.
But here he was, as tall, dark and breathtakingly handsome as he’d been that night. He’d developed. Instinctively her fingers tightened over his biceps. She gasped and pulled her hands away as if she’d been burned. He still held her close. Too close. She wriggled trying to break free.
“Sweetheart, that’s not such a good idea right now,” he said through clenched teeth.
She halted as the knowledge of what he meant poked her stomach. He had grown. She swallowed then summoned the courage she seemed to have left at the door and tried again to speak. “Then why don’t you be kind enough to let me go?”
“I’m not real sure I want to do that.”
His smoldering gaze held her still, reducing her insides to mush that shifted and swirled in a fiery ball at her center. Her knees were shaking. She hated herself for this pure feminine weakness. He no longer had this type of control over her, no man did. Planting her palms firmly on his chest and trying like hell to ignore the blessed rigidness beneath her palms she pushed against him. “I don’t care what you want.”
He frowned, then loosened his grip until his hands were no longer on her. But not before letting them glide down her hips, just brushing past her bottom. Her body quaked one last time as she took a shaky step backward.
“Fine. We’ll get right to business then.” He spoke as he turned away and moved around his desk.
She watched him walk—correction, Lincoln Donovan had never walked, he swaggered. That self-assured glide that said he was the man and you’d better not dispute it. His dress pants were expertly tailored and hung over his hips and taut buttocks just right. Her mouth watered. He wore all black. His pants, his shirt, his tie, everything was black and domineering. And Jade had never loved the color more. His arms were even thicker when she looked at them from a distance, his chest broader, his shoulders squared. He was built like a quarterback, his skin the color of aged rum, dark and satisfying. Damn, he was still fine.
And he was still the man who’d taken her virginity then left her high and dry the next morning.
“Business? What are you doing here?” she asked when she’d found her voice again and stopped ogling him like some schoolgirl with a crush.
“I should ask you the same thing.” He took his seat then with a nod motioned for her to do the same.
She didn’t want to sit. She wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible. But that would prove she was afraid. And she’d be damned if she gave him that satisfaction. She sat in the chair across from his desk. “Casinos are open to the public.”
He sat back in the chair eyeing her carefully. “That they are. But they don’t give away money. At least my casino doesn’t. And according to my Pit Boss you want to speak to me about a five-thousand-dollar marker owed. How do you plan to pay? Cash or credit?”
Oh, God, this was his casino. Lincoln Donovan owned the Gramercy. She truly did have bad luck! Still, she refused to break down. There was a solution, she just had to find it. “I don’t have that much cash on hand. I can sign a promissory note and…”
He was already shaking his head negatively. “I don’t take promissory notes.”
She cocked her head to the side. “But you don’t have a problem taking innocent girls?” She hadn’t meant to say that. Yes, as a matter of fact she had. She hadn’t ever planned on seeing him again, so all the anger she’d had that morning when she’d awakened to an empty bed in a male dormitory came rushing back with a vengeance. Over the years she’d thought of a million ways she wanted to curse him out for what he’d done to her.
He frowned. “I’d rather we talked about business.”
“That’s fine. But our first order of business is the past. You know, the night you seduced me and the morning you left?”
“Jade—” he began.
“How could you be so careless? So evil?”
He stood, slamming his hand down on the desk. “That’s enough!” he roared. “I am not going to rehash the past with you. It happened. Get over it.”
“Get over it?” She stood, too, glaring at him with a look so vicious that it probably matched his. “Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t just do what you want and think you don’t have to ever answer for it.”
He came around the desk towering over her until she had to crane her neck to keep eye contact. “I can do what I want. And I don’t have to answer to you. On the other hand, if you don’t come up with my five thousand dollars I can call the LVPD and they can engage you in a question-and-answer session.”
At that moment she hated him more than she’d ever hated another human in her life. She wanted to slap him, to scream at his callousness, his arrogance. But she’d been raised better than that. So with a deep breath and a step back she decided to forego the fact that Lincoln Donovan would forever be on her most-hated list and handle her business. “I told you I don’t have the cash. So what do you want?”
That was a loaded question if Linc had ever heard one.
She was beautiful. Too beautiful for words. But then he’d known that years ago. What he didn’t know, or perhaps hadn’t had the chance to experience, was how sinfully sexy she became when she was fired up. He’d wanted nothing more than to grab her, to toss her over his desk and have his way with her. Luckily, like Jade, he remembered their past. In the instant he’d touched her the memories of their one night together came barreling back. He’d noticed her weeks before they’d actually met and had watched her the entire time she was at the party. He’d known then that he wanted her in his bed. It wasn’t until after he’d achieved that feat that the trouble began.
Jade Vincent was incredible to look at. Who would have guessed that he’d want more? He had no idea that spending one evening with her would incite feelings of permanency that would scare him witless.
But that was then.
And this was now. Did she have any idea how much her words had turned him on? No, she was clearly too angry to see that.
This was a totally different Jade than he remembered. She didn’t have that naive look about her anymore. Her body had filled out more, her stance had become more self-assured and assertive. No, this was definitely not the college girl he’d slept with.
And yet, he desired her just the same.
“I want you,” he said slowly and watched as her eyes grew bigger. “For an entire week. Seven days and six nights.” The thought came to him as simply as his next breath.
“What?” she whispered.
“I’ll clear your debt if you spend the week with me.”
She was already shaking her head negatively backing further away from him. It wasn’t her debt, but he didn’t need to know that. He didn’t need to know anything about her. “You are out of your everlasting mind.”
She moved and he moved with her until her back was to the wall, her front dangerously close to his. “I’m making you an offer. Spend the week with me or I’ll call the police.” To his own ears the ultimatum sounded stupid and offensive
