Chapter 4

"Shit." Virginia scowled at her computer screen when she realized she'd spent the last five minutes inputting the wrong data into the wrong column of her Excel spreadsheet. She jerked off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

The events from the night before kept replaying in her head like a broken record. Not only had she admitted to Steve that she was available but then she'd promised to go out on a date with him as soon as he returned from New Zealand in three weeks. He wanted to take her out sooner but she'd reminded him that if they were going to finish the account in time for his trip to New Zealand that they just didn't have the time to spare. He'd seen the wisdom of her advice and agreed—although very reluctantly, but not before she promised to give him a rain check.

"What is wrong with you? How did you allow a twenty-nine-year-old to browbeat you into a date of all things?"

She shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. He was a handsome, virile, wealthy man. There had to be an endless line of beauties trying to break down his door. "So what the hell does he want with me?" She muttered aloud. At forty-one she held no illusions about her shortcomings. She did her best to eat healthy, exercise, and take care of herself, but she was not under any naïve impression that her full breasts were still perky and that there weren't visible pockets of cellulite in places where she wished they weren't. She frowned at that thought. Steve undoubtedly had his pick of women, so why her?

The doorbell chimed, interrupting her thoughts, and she glanced at her clock in the corner of her computer. Speak of the devil. Steve was right on time.

On bare feet, she padded down the hall to the front door and pulled it open. He stood there looking breathtakingly handsome with his dark hair combed back off his face wearing a white polo shirt and khaki pants that fit him perfectly.

Her heart beat faster in her chest as she stood to the side to let him in, the scent of his aftershave tickling her nose when he brushed past.

"Hi. You ready to get to work?" She asked, wondering if that breathy, husky voice she'd just heard was really hers.

"Yep," he said with a heart-stopping grin and she had to mentally shake herself to keep from drowning in the twin blue pools of his eyes.

"What?" She asked, when he stood there staring at her with a puzzled look on his face. That's when she noticed there was a bouquet of flowers in his outstretched hand.

"Steve—,"

"I can't believe you want to argue with me about this. They're a gift—for you." He held out his hand again. "Take them," he said softly.

Not wanting to seem childish by protesting over something as innocent as flowers, she grasped the bouquet of pink roses as she smiled. "Thank you."

His face seemed to light up when he grinned down at her and in that moment something clicked inside her. He seemed genuine in his interest in her. She could tell by the way he looked at her that seeing her happy, seemed to make him happy. She gave a mental shrug as she accepted that he had a simple crush on her. She could handle that. Hell, there were worse things than having the harmless attention of a handsome young man.

Her smile grew wider when he tugged her into his arms, but unlike last night she didn't protest. "What are you doing?" She asked, although she already knew.

His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Nothing right now, but I'm getting ready to kiss you since I've softened you up with the flowers."

"Ah, I see, your little Trojan Horse," she chuckled softly, before she closed her eyes and tipped her head back to meet his warm lips. He kissed her sweetly, as he took his time exploring her mouth with his tongue. He slowly built a fire inside her and then as he deepened the kiss, he fanned the flames until she was feverish. With her free hand, she clung to him, as their lips and bodies fused together.

It was a long time before they pulled away from each other.

"Mmm, you make it hard for a man to want to concentrate on work."

She laughed softly as she moved away from him to walk back down her hallway. "Well, you better concentrate, or else you will lose the New Zealand account and that is no way to start off as CEO."

He twisted his lips into a surly frown, and she bit her cheek to keep from laughing. At that moment, he looked like a petulant little boy, but she knew he wouldn't appreciate her saying that.

"You certainly know how to cool a man's ardor too," he grumbled.

She flashed him a wicked grin. "They don't call me the Ice Bitch for nothing," she quipped from over her shoulder, before she turned her head around and headed into her office, where they both settled in for another grueling day of work.

*****

Virginia stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

"I'm calling it a night," she mumbled weakly past another yawn as she swiveled her chair around to face Steve.

As soon as she saw him she couldn't help but smile. His mouth was slightly agape, as his head rested against the back of her small couch. He was fast asleep.

She crossed the room to remove the laptop that still sat on his legs. She saved all his files and closed it up, before flipping the lights off in her office. It was close to two in the morning. No sense in waking him just so he could drive home sleepy. She turned off all the lights on the first level, except for the one in the hallway that led to the bathroom, just in case he awoke in the middle of the night. She then set the house alarm and climbed the stairs to her own bedroom.

As soon as she closed her bedroom door behind her, she quickly removed her jeans and black t-shirt to don a night gown, before collapsing across her bed in exhaustion.

In minutes she too was fast asleep.

*****

The sharp sound of something breaking apart instantly startled him awake. He blinked for several seconds until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. It took him another few moments to remember where he was. When his foggy mind began to clear he instantly became alert. Virginia.

He shot off the couch and crept around the corner. He squinted his eyes against the brightness of the light from the hallway, but was grateful for it because it gave him a clear path to the stairs that led up to the second floor where she slept.

The creaking of a door startled him, and he bounded up the stairs, two at a time, his fear for Virginia dogging his steps. When he reached the second floor he struggled to once again adjust to the darkness. But as soon as he did, he saw from the corner of his eyes a shadowy figure moving slowly. With silent steps he crept in that direction.

His sneakers dug into the plush carpet, muffling each step he took, as he silently stalked the figure moving away from him. He frowned. He didn't know which of the four rooms upstairs was Virginia's but he wondered if the intruder was someone he knew and if he was headed straight to her bedroom. He quickened his pace until he stood within a foot of the intruder.

Lunging forward, he tackled him to the ground at the same time the intruder spun around. Matt's eyes widened when he realized his error, but it was already too late.

*

"Ahhhh," Virginia cried as she tumbled beneath the weight of a heavy object and her back crashed to the floor. Terror instantly gripped her and she lashed out with her fists. She landed several blows before she realized the muffled voice calling her name was familiar.

"Steve?"

There was a low grumble and then the heavy weight rolled off her. She dragged a deep breath of air into her lungs, since most of it had been knocked out of her when she fell, and then stood to her feet to flip the light on in the hallway.

"Ohmigod," she cried when she saw that Steve now stood on his feet, clutching a small purple bruise just beneath his right eye. "Are you alright?"

He winced slightly as he nodded. "I'll be fine. Are you alright? I heard a noise."

"Yeah, me too, but I think maybe the wind just knocked over a flower pot or something." She drew closer to him and reached up to remove his hand from his face. She hissed when she saw the bruise was now darker and had started to swell. "I'm really sorry. I thought you were an intruder. Here, let me get you some ice for that," she said, ushering him down the stairs toward the kitchen.

He sat down on a barstool on the other side of her breakfast counter while she wrapped some ice cubes in a towel.

"How's your back?" he asked when she came around to press the ice pack against his face. "Ah." He instantly jerked away when it touched his skin.

"I'm so sorry." She said, her lips bowing into a deep frown. "And my back is fine. Thank you." She pressed the ice pack against his skin again, this time her actions were gentler and he didn't flinch. He lifted his hand and curled it around hers, holding the ice against his eye.

At the touch of his fingers against her skin, her gaze snapped to his face, as a sharp current of electricity passed between them, sending sizzling heat spreading across her body. She slowly registered that she stood there in a white satin night gown that molded to every curve of her body. As if reading her mind, his gaze dipped lower to linger on her now stiff nipples, before straying lower, igniting a simmering fire within her as he openly devoured her with his gaze.

She tried to pull away, but couldn't when he wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her between his legs.

"Steve?" she gasped breathlessly.

A devilish look twinkled in his eyes, but it did not hide the lust that burned like a fire in his blue gaze.

Her heart pumped wildly in her chest and she sucked in a breath to try to still her now trembling body. He pried the ice pack from her boneless fingers and placed it on the counter top. Before she knew what he was doing he stood to his feet, gripped the back of her head and lowered his mouth to her parted lips.

Her eyes widened and she stared at him for several shocked moments before she too let her eyes drift shut. With nothing left to do but focus on his kiss she wrapped her arms behind his neck and melted against him.

He groaned into her mouth, at the same time he slipped his tongue between her lips. Electricity sizzled down her spine and she tangled her hands into his hair, gripping him closer.

Warning bells dinged in her head telling her this was all kinds of wrong, but she ignored them as her body hummed to life. Heat pooled at the center of her core as she felt the sticky wetness begin to seep from inside her.

A low moan escaped her lips and she deepened the kiss to intertwine her tongue with his. Heated radiated off his chiseled body to inflame her skin and she swore she would go up in flames right there. God, she wanted him. She hadn't even realized how much until now. Yet when she felt the press of his engorged length against her belly, she experienced a moment's hesitation. The realization of where this was headed was like a bucket of cold water being thrown over her head. Despite the protests of her aching body, she slid her hands from his neck and wrenched her mouth from his.

He stood there wide eyed and panting, his face flushed. He looked wild, untamed, a virile man in his prime, and she knew that's what made him so dangerous.

"W—we better get to bed. I mean n—not together. You, know. Separately," she stammered out nervously. Virginia wanted to smack herself. She sounded like a dumb teenage girl experiencing her first crush. And she felt even more foolish when Steve stared down at her with a knowing grin.