“Your job is to serve at the pleasure of the CEO. And it would give me great pleasure if you would kiss me.”
Sinful brown eyes, muscled arms and lips any woman would find pleasurable to be on the receiving end of a kiss from besiege Amelia Lawson with a temptation she never anticipated as she stumbles into the CEO’s private corner office. The man behind the suit is brazen, powerful and wildly intimidating.
Everett James is the key to her plans for revenge.
But power comes with a weighty price. Her boss is imperious. Overbearing. His directives should enrage her. Instead, they excite her as nothing ever has.
She ought to quit, leave Arabella City like she should have done almost a decade ago. But addiction is complicated, and the CEO becomes an addiction Amelia is powerless to resist. His variety of play is intoxicating. His dominance makes a mark on her soul.
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“J. L. Jade captivated me right from the beginning. The storyline and characters were a perfect combination that kept me eagerly turning pages until the very end.” – Judy Kentrus, Romance Author, 5 Stars!
“Every word was perfectly written and drew me in with every page. My new favorite erotic romance author!” – Diana Rose, YA Fantasy Romance Author, 5 Stars!
Read An Excerpt
“Ms. Lawson.” Everett’s voice, suddenly behind her, was sharp and commanding. He clamped her right shoulder, pressing hard against the small of her back as he ground out, “Mr. Perry.”
The tension in her boss’s fingers ignited a sliver of pain. Amelia fought the urge to wince.
“Let’s go,” Everett barked against her ear. Failing to wait for her to start walking, he tore her away and pushed her down the hall.
Amelia struggled to hold her balance. Everett was going so fast she could barely keep up. But her legs maintained the pace. It was as if he was doing the work for her, almost as if he was controlling her movements, her senses, even her breathing.
Water spilled into a fountain. Robins whistled in a Japanese maple tree as the autumn breeze cooled Amelia’s face. They were standing in an outdoor courtyard. A patch of sunlight made her aware she had no idea of where they were, or how they’d gotten there. She’d assumed Everett would take her back to his office. The enclosed patio retreat was quiet and tranquil. She wondered if anyone else in the company could find it, or even knew it existed—they’d taken so many sharp turns.
Everett led her to a chair and sat opposite her. Amelia attempted to maintain a respectable distance, but he positioned himself in her personal space, boxing her between the weight of his legs.
Amelia breathed in and out. Though her boss was often hovering and staring her down, he had never been this close to her before. The scent of cool water, pine and sandalwood quickened her pulse and lulled her into a trance as the man she was typing spreadsheets for surrounded her with fire and strength. She squeezed her damp legs together, barely able to keep from shaking as Everett’s calves brushed her bare legs, making her every bit aware of his large, powerful presence.
Desperate to break the spell, or whatever he was doing to keep her from jumping out of her chair, Amelia said, “How did the meeting go? From your perspective, I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” Everett answered in a short tone. “And I certainly know what I thought. I want to know what you think.”
“Oh.” Amelia reached underneath her arm. “We can go over my notes—”
“Put your tablet down.”
Amelia trembled. She met his fiery gaze. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not my secretary, Amelia. You’re my executive assistant. Tell me your thoughts.”
“Ok.” She settled her hands against her knees. “Obviously, the leaders of Graybrook Enterprises seemed pleased with the deal. As did you, but I actually got the impression you’re not as certain it’s a sound investment as you led everyone to believe.”
His dark brown eyes narrowed against her face. “What gave you that impression?”
“I’m not sure,” Amelia answered honestly, “I guess you can call it a feeling.”
“You seem to have a lot of those. From what I’ve seen so far”—Everett slid closer—“they generally seem to be pretty spot on.”
His gaze darkened, piercing auburn eyes focusing solely on her body as he looked from her hips to her belly, irises grazing the valley of her breasts before fixing against the center of her pupils. Lowering his voice, as if she was the only person in the universe besides him, he prodded her, “Tell me what else you saw.”
Unable to think about where he might be going with this, or how he would perceive her answer, Amelia responded, “Tension.”
Her boss repeated the word as if it was a question. “Between Graybrook and myself?”
“Between you and Mr. Perry, mostly. But actually”—Amelia shivered as she exhaled—“between you and everyone at Lillian James.”
Everett massaged his fingers, drawing her attention to the shiny gold ring wrapped around his pinky. “Me?”
Amelia rubbed her kneecaps. “I don’t know the players. Obviously. I mean, I can distinguish between our C suite executives and the men from Graybrook without an introduction, but… When you were talking to Mr. Perry I could feel the tension, yours more than his.”
“Feel it?” Everett shifted his chiseled face.
Amelia trembled. “In your hands.”
Everett stared at the palms in question. Closing in, the way he had in the conference room, he settled his right hand against her shoulder and placed his other against the small of her back. Eyes fixed on her body he kneaded her waistline as his other travelled along the length of her arm.
Everett took her hands. Caressing them with mastery, he appraised them as if they were the most extraordinary thing he’d ever seen.
“You have beautiful hands, Amelia. Warm. soft. Just like I imagine you are.” His eyes circled her frame. He brought them back to hers, saying, “Kiss me.”
Amelia shook her cloudy head. “Kiss you?”
Everett nodded.
“But you’re my boss.”
“I am.” He leaned closer.
“But…we work together.”
The CEO took possession of her chin. He brushed it with his strong, gentle fingers. “Your job is to serve at the pleasure of the CEO. And it would give me great pleasure”—he stroked her, lowered his soft voice to a whisper—“if you would kiss me.”
