“What are you doing here?” Her hand went to her throat in a nervous gesture.

“I told you yesterday that we weren’t finished.” Sauntering around the side of her desk, he kept his gaze locked on hers.

Her eyes widened as she swiveled her chair to face him. “What do you want?” Her voice squeaked. He could see her struggling to maintain her composure and was surprised by how badly he wanted to soothe her.

“I brought you something.” He laid the plain white bakery box on the top of her desk. Placing his hands firmly on the arms of her chair, he leaned down and kissed her. He kept it light and quick, and before she could even think to protest, he pulled back and smiled at her.

She cleared her throat and licked her lips nervously. “What did you bring?”

Lifting the white box, he opened it. “Close your eyes.”

Her eyebrows came together as she frowned at him. “Why?”

“Because it’s a surprise.” He could see the indecision on her face before she finally heaved a huge sigh and closed her eyes.

“I’m too busy to play games,” she muttered.

Lucas ignored her grumbles and waved the box in front of her face, allowing the scent to waft up in front of her. She sniffed cautiously and her eyes popped open. “No peeking,” he admonished as he pulled the box away so she couldn’t see what was inside.

Curiosity filled her face, but she closed her eyes again. He kept his eyes on her as he laid the box on the desk and drew out one of the treats he’d baked earlier this morning. “Open your mouth.” His voice was husky as memories of his erotic fantasies filled his head. His erection was straining hard against the front of his jeans as he watched her tentatively open her mouth.

Swallowing back a groan, he placed the chocolate treat to her lips, all the while wishing it was his swollen cock that she was so eager for. When her tongue came out to lick the chocolate, he almost came. He was sweating beneath his leather jacket and Tshirt. His balls tightened painfully as she finally bit off a small piece and began to chew.

Moaning with pleasure, she rolled the offering around in her mouth before swallowing. Her eyes fluttered open as she stared first at him and then at the brownie he was still holding. “That’s absolutely incredible.” Her husky tone made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“I’m glad you like it.” He offered her another bite, which she quickly accepted. Lucas was surprised that she actually let him feed her. It was such an erotic experience to watch her devour the chocolate treat he’d baked especially for her.

As she took the last piece, her tongue flicked his finger and they both froze. He could see the recognition come to her face as she realized what she was doing. Pushing him away with one hand, her chair rolled a few inches away from him. “What am I doing?”

Although he knew it was a rhetorical question, he answered her anyway. “Enjoying a brownie.”

Her gaze immediately sharpened as she reached over and snagged the box off the top of her desk. “These weren’t in the cookbook.” She sent him an accusatory stare. “Why weren’t these in the cookbook?”

Lucas chuckled slightly. “I take it you liked it.”

She stared down at the box in her hands, an almost reverent expression on her face. “These are phenomenal.” There was a shy, almost hesitant look on her face when she gazed back at him. “You made these for me?”

He could tell the idea pleased her and he was glad he’d given in to the urge to make them. “Made them fresh this morning.” He could see the question forming on her lips again. “And they’re not in the cookbook because I didn’t want them in there.”

He saw no reason to tell her that the real reason his special brownie recipe wasn’t in the cookbook was because he’d sold it to a giant food manufacturer. Katie’s husband, Cain, had helped him with the negotiations. In fact, Cain had actually been the one to suggest the idea after he’d tasted some of them. The deal was very lucrative, not only giving Lucas money up front, but making sure he obtained a percentage of the profits as well. It was the main reason he’d been able to afford the new building he’d just bought.

“But they’re fantastic. They should have been in the book.” Her eyes darkened as she became more impassioned about the subject.

“Be thankful there was a cookbook. I didn’t even want to do the damned thing.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, reminding himself again why he’d bothered to come all the way over here this morning.

“Then why did you do it?” she snapped back.

“Because Katie asked me to.” The memory of how Katie had come to him after the deal was all but done, cajoling him to do it made him angry all over again. The only reason he’d even agreed to it was because she’d said it would be a good way to publicize her artwork. And she’d also reminded him that he owed her for selling her first painting without her permission. The little minx had him on that and she knew it. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the memory. That action had been responsible for Katie and Cain meeting.

“I hadn’t realized that you and Katie were close.” The way she said the word close made his hackles rise. “I thought she was married.”

“Katie is like a sister to me.” As hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep the anger from his voice. “And you obviously don’t have a very high opinion of me.” He paused. “Or Katie.” This had obviously been a waste of time. Sighing, he turned away.

Candy scrambled out of her chair and grabbed his arm, stopping him cold. “I’m sorry, Lucas. That was uncalled for.” He could hear the sincerity in her voice. “I had a really bad night last night and I’m taking it out on you. Please, let’s start over.”

He took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

“Sit down and tell me why you came here this morning.”

He knew she expected him to go around the front of her desk and sit in one of the chairs. Instead, he propped himself against the edge of the desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “I came to make sure you were all right after last evening. You left so abruptly after we were interrupted.”

“Yes, well,” she began. She met his gaze squarely as she slowly sat back down in her chair. “I don’t do things like that, Lucas.”

“Like what?” He kept his tone even and unthreatening when all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and hug her.

“Like what?” She stared at him as if he were nuts. She raked her hand through her hair, dislodging a few more locks from the barrette in the back. “Like practically getting naked with a man I don’t even know.”

“Candy.” He leaned forward and hauled her chair over in front of him. With his hands locked around the arms of the chair, he effectively had her caged in. “For the record, I didn’t think it was something that you usually did.” Taking one hand off the chair, he carefully tucked a curl behind her ear. It sprang back immediately, making him grin slightly. Her hair was as unpredictable and untamed as she was. “And as long as we’re on the subject, it’s not something that I do either.”

She cleared her throat. “Okay. As long as you know that and understand that there won’t be a repeat performance.”

That made him scowl. “Why not?”

“You’re a client, Lucas.” She laid her hand on his forearm and he wished he wasn’t wearing his coat so he could feel her fingers brushing against his skin.

“You don’t work for me and I don’t work for you. There is no conflict. Besides which, that’s what I’m here to talk about.”

He could tell he’d aroused her interest, but she leaned back in her chair and eyed him coolly. “Oh?”

He’d give her credit— she didn’t jump at the bait, but waited to see what he’d offer. He admired her for that. A lot of other people would have started demanding an explanation, but she obviously had patience. “You want me to do some promotion for the book.”

“Yes. It’s the reason I’ve been trying to track you down for the past few weeks.” She tried to reach around him to snag her calendar off her desk, but gave up when she realized that he wasn’t moving. He caught a haunting whiff of vanilla-scented lotion as she shifted closer to him.

Leaning forward, he cupped her chin in his hand. “I’ll agree to do a select few promotional interviews. But,” he continued before she got too excited, “only if you agree to have dinner with me.”

“That’s blackmail.”

“The brownies were blackmail to get you to talk to me. Okay, technically they were more of a bribe than blackmail, but you ate one of them,” he pointed out.

“That’s different,” she sputtered. “I didn’t even know you had brownies. And this entire conversation is absurd.”

“That may be, but the offer stands as is. You want me to do some promotions, then you’ll have dinner with me.” He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. It was lush and full and moist. “Besides.” He angled closer to her, bringing his mouth nearer hers. “I’m not asking you to have sex with me. Just dinner.” Giving in to temptation, he licked her bottom lip, tasting the chocolate from the brownie she’d eaten mingled with her own sweet flavor.

“Just dinner?” she whispered as she shifted forward until their lips were barely touching.

“Hmmm,” he agreed as his lips skimmed across hers. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try to convince you to have sex with me, Candy. I want to finish what we started. We’d be so good together. You know it as well as I do.” He slid his tongue past her lips and tasted the warmth of her mouth before retreating. “I want to fuck you until you scream with pleasure. I want to lick every inch of your body until you beg me to fuck you again.” He slipped his tongue into her mouth again, mimicking the sexual act.