But something changed during the course of her provocative goal-an internal realization that overrode the pleasure of his generous mouth surrendering to her whims. She’d missed him. Two days apart, and she longed to see that wicked glint in his eyes, ached to experience the special way he made her feel, and especially craved the effortless way he made her body, her soul, come alive.

It was a frightening, overwhelming sensation.

With a low growl that rumbled in his chest, he grasped her hips in his hands, pulling her up and out of the chair and between his thighs. His large palms smoothed over her bottom, anchoring her intimately close. Her belly encountered the stiff ridge of his erection, and her heart slammed against her ribs. She moaned into his mouth as a very urgent, naughty thought crossed her mind, of pressing him down on his desk, hiking up her skirt and finishing what he’d started with his erotic monologue a few minutes ago.

It was Austin who ended the embrace, slowly pulling back and letting his lips slide from her mouth, to her jaw. “Oh, yeah, Ms. Spencer,” he growled into the curve of her neck, where he nuzzled and pressed damp, open-mouth kisses on her skin. “That’s a fantastic start to making good on your promise.”

A delicious shiver rippled down her spine and she stepped back, until he had no choice but to let her go. Meeting his fiery emerald gaze, and witnessing his cocksure grin, her heart gave a tiny flip-flop of realization. It was useless to deny that what had transpired between them was anything less than powerful, and nothing even remotely close to resembling friendship.

And that meant trouble for her. Big trouble.

8

HE’D PLAYED DIRTY. Austin had acknowledged that fact minutes after Teddy left his house Monday evening, but three days later, he still didn’t regret his unabashed behavior in prodding her to admit there was something between them. Her admission hadn’t been verbal, but that mind-blowing kiss she’d initiated spoke volumes.

At first, he’d been annoyed that she’d had the nerve to ask him for yet another favor, but during the course of their conversation, he’d seen glimpses of contradicting emotions, of her wanting him as much as he wanted her, and a latent fear that kept her from completely opening herself to him. It had been that honest vulnerability that had softened him. Though he’d accepted her invitation for Christmas Eve, he’d been the one to establish the rules. No pretenses. So far, she’d adhered to his personal request, accepting and openly responding to the intimate kiss he’d greeted her with when he’d arrived at her condo to pick her up.

The woman was an inherently sensual creature, and despite her reservations, she certainly indulged wholeheartedly in kissing him, and took pleasure in the way he touched her. The low-cut, clingy red knit dress she’d worn in celebration of Christmas had tempted his hands to skim those ultra-feminine curves of hers-from the sleek line of her spine, over her bottom, and up and around to her hips, her waist, to just below the gentle slope of her breasts where his thumbs brushed along those full, soft mounds.

She’d moaned in acquiescence and arched toward him for a deeper, more provocative contact, but he’d resisted the invitation. Satisfying the hunger he’d tasted in her kiss would take more than the few minutes they had before leaving for her parents’. The woman was in need of personal attention, emotionally and physically, and he planned to give her as much as she could handle, and then some, until she came to the realization that what was between them was worth pursuing.

Satisfied with his plan, Austin glanced over at Teddy sitting in the passenger seat of the Mustang as they drove to her parents’ house in Pacific Heights. She was rummaging through her purse for something, and he switched on the overhead reading light for her. She smiled her thanks and withdrew a tube of lipstick.

“So, how are things with Louden?” he asked, curious if his presence at the company Christmas party had made any difference in her boss’s attitude.

Flipping down the lighted mirror in front of her, she uncapped the tube and covered her kiss-swollen lips with a slash of pink-cinnamon color. “Just fine,” she said too brightly.

He frowned as he made a left-hand turn onto the street Teddy had indicated. “Is he leaving you alone?”

She fluffed her hair that he’d unintentionally mussed during their kiss. She had the silkiest hair, and he loved running his fingers though the warm strands. She didn’t seem to mind his fascination with her hair, either.

“I’m beginning to realize that Louden has the morals of an alley cat,” she said, her tone tempered with disgust. “Which means he’ll continue to prey until a bigger cat comes along and knocks him down a peg or two.”

A flare of possessiveness gripped him, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “How about I pay Louden a personal visit and let him know just how close he is to being neutered?”

She laughed, but the sound was strained. “Austin, I can handle Louden. By the end of the next week, one way or another, this will all be over with. I’ll either get the promotion, or I won’t.”

She didn’t sound very positive, and that bothered him. “And if you don’t?”

“Then I update my résumé and start over,” she said in quiet resignation, putting the lighted mirror back in its place. “And I can’t begin to tell you how much I dread doing that. It means proving myself all over again.”

He heard the frustration in her voice, and knew she was referring to more than just establishing herself with another employer, but with her family, too. Strangely enough, he understood her resentment, and respected her determination to overcome it.

Reaching across the console, he gently laid his hand on her knee, offering silent support. “Getting that promotion is really important to you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is, for so many reasons,” she admitted, then drew a deep breath as if to dismiss the entire subject. “Turn right here, then make another right on Vallejo. My parents’ house is on the left-hand side.”

He followed Teddy’s directions, impressed with the ritzy area of San Francisco and multimillion-dollar homes overlooking the Bay, even though he’d expected as much. Trying not to allow old insecurities to assail him, he made the final turn onto Vallejo Street, determined to make the best impression on Teddy’s family that he could, and hoped they accepted him for who he was. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“Which house?” he asked, glancing at Teddy. He frowned when he saw her struggling with the ruby and diamond band she wore on her ring finger.

“Stop the car for a minute,” she said, her tone exasperated.

He slowed the Mustang to a halt as close to the side of the narrow road as he could, put the vehicle in park, and turned to face her. “What are you doing?”

She tugged and twisted on the band, her face contorted with frustration. “I’m trying to take off my ring.”

“Why?”

She exhaled loudly and continued her determined attempt to remove the ring, which refused to slip over her first knuckle. “Because my parents gave me this band when I graduated from high school, and they’ve never seen it on my left hand.”

He couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face. “Ah, so the illusion of being ‘taken’ is for every one else’s benefit, but not your family’s.”

“Yeah, something like that,” she muttered vaguely.

He continued to watch her struggle, amused with her thinking. “Don’t you think you’re making the issue more complicated than it needs to be?”

“No.” Her succinct answer segued into a wince of pain, then a very unladylike curse when the gold cut into her flesh. “I must be retaining water,” she said hopelessly.

Taking pity on her, he reached for her left hand. “Here, let me help.”

“What?” she asked incredulously as he examined her finger. “You’ve got a pair of clippers in your glove box to cut the ring off my finger?”

He chuckled at her sarcasm. “Nope. Don’t need any.”

She snorted in disbelief. “Well, that ring isn’t going to come off any other way…”

Her sassy comment rolled into a surprised gasp as he lifted her palm and used his tongue to dampen the skin where the ring encircled the digit, then closed his mouth over her finger to moisten the entire length. He suckled gently, swirling his tongue up and down her finger, thoroughly wetting her sensitized skin. Her eyes widened, her hand went limp in his, and an arousing groan slipped past her parted lips.

Once he was confident that her skin was slick enough, he dragged her finger from his mouth and gave the ring a twist and a gentle tug. The band slipped to her knuckle, and tightened around the bone. She let out a discouraged sigh, but he wasn’t about to admit defeat, and slipped her finger into his mouth again, using his teeth and tongue to work the ring over her knuckle.

This time, he succeeded. Removing the band from his mouth, he turned her hand over and dropped the ring onto her palm.

“Thank you,” she said breathlessly.

“Anytime.” He grinned wickedly. “Do you need help putting it on your other finger?”

She quickly shook her head, but not before he saw the spark of desire that colored her brown eyes. “I think I can manage on my own.” She did the deed herself, without any problems.

Putting the car into drive, he eased back into the street. “If you insist on wearing a ring on your left-hand finger, you need to think about getting yourself one that fits.” He extended the comment mildly, but a fleeting, possessive thought crossed his mind as he turned into the Spencers’ driveway. He wanted to be the one to put a ring there.

“SO, AUSTIN, how did you and my daughter meet?” The elder Evan Spencer the third asked as he handed Austin the double shot of Bailey’s he’d poured for him.