Trish Wylie - The Inconvenient Laws of Attraction

‘I’m afraid that doesn’t fall under the remit of my professional opinion,’ she replied as she wandered around the room.

‘Humour me.’

‘I don’t think that’s in my job description either.’ Smiling sweetly, she turned to face him; she decided several items of expensive furniture provided a safe distance between them.

‘Kills you to even think about breaking a rule, doesn’t it?’

‘Your rules, not mine.’

Seemed to Blake she’d been pretty damn close to breaking a rule when he’d been inches away from kissing her. But since thinking about reminding her had the same effect on his body it always did, he lifted his feet and pushed upright. ‘May as well check out the bedrooms.’

‘I’ll wait here.’

‘Where I lead, you follow.’

She lagged behind more noticeably on the second floor than she had when he’d looked at the large kitchen with its black marble counters or through the rounded bay windows overlooking the reflecting pool and plantings in the plaza’s courtyard. She remained silent while Blake threw open random doors to increasingly decadent bedrooms and mosaic-tiled bathrooms; each and every room possessed a chandelier whether it needed one or not.

Feet sinking into the deep-piled carpeting in the master bedroom, he walked across to the giant bed, sat on the edge and bounced a couple of times before looking to where Olivia watched warily from the door.

‘Take a seat.’ He patted the covers. ‘If we’re lucky we might see a camel before the harem gets back.’

‘It’s not that bad.’

He held her gaze and waited.

‘Okay,’ she admitted reluctantly. ‘Maybe it’s a little over the top.’

It was the kind of understatement the place could use in Blake’s opinion. Restless again, he walked to the windows. ‘Remind me how many properties I own in Manhattan.’

‘Fifteen.’

‘Current value of this place?’

‘Fifty-three million … give or take …’

When he looked over his shoulder—brows raised in disbelief—she cut a smile loose, distracting him from the ridiculous price tag with how it lit her up from inside. She should smile like that more often, he thought, forcing his gaze to look out of the window again. For a moment, when her reflection came into focus on the glass, he watched her looking at him. Her smile faded as she bit her lower lip and checked him out from head to toe. She did that a lot. It was her ‘tell’ in the game they were playing, his way of knowing she was bluffing when she’d claimed she wasn’t attracted to him.

‘Sell it,’ he said firmly, forcing his gaze from her reflection to the clear blue sky above the city. ‘There’s a private jet on that list, isn’t there?’

‘Three of them,’ she replied with resignation. ‘Let me guess, you want to sell them, too.’

‘Explain to me why I need three private jets.’

‘Senior executives use them to—’

‘Join the Mile High Club?’ His gaze sought her reflection again. ‘Understandable. The restrooms on commercial airlines can be a tad tight when it comes to wriggle room.’

She sighed. ‘You’re very cynical when it comes to people with money. Isn’t that going to be a problem when you look in the mirror?’

It had taken long enough. Blake bit back a smile, ‘Is that an opinion?’

Pressing her lips together, she breathed deep, striving for what remained of the patience he’d been purposefully testing. ‘I don’t see why we’re visiting these properties if you’re going to sell everything.’

‘And now she’s questioning my decisions …’

‘Fine,’ she replied. ‘That’s eight properties and three private jets, bringing your running total to approximately one hundred million dollars.’

Resisting the addition of a congratulations , she opened her file, made a note, snapped it shut and left the door. Blake turned away from the window and followed her into the hall, his mood improving by the second.

‘Hold off on the sale of a jet. Apart from the Mile High possibilities, we might need it when we go to look at the overseas properties.’

She swung around to face him. ‘You never said anything about taking trips overseas.’

‘Is your passport out of date?’

‘That’s not the point.’ She frowned as he closed the gap between them. ‘I can’t drop everything and go jetting around the world with you so you can spend five minutes looking at each of the places you’re planning on selling.’

‘Who says I’m planning on selling them?’

‘Aren’t you?’

‘Depends.’

‘On what?’ She arched a brow as she looked into his eyes. ‘Whether or not they look like something thrown together from a tsar’s yard sale?’

The corners of his mouth twitched. ‘Meaning you think it’s more than a little over the top. Could you live here?’

‘No,’ she admitted reluctantly.

‘What would you do with it?’

She sighed again. ‘Sell it to someone who could.’

‘Uh-huh.’ He nodded.

When he stepped into her personal space, she lifted the file and hugged it against her breasts like a shield. Glancing away, she held her breath for a moment before sizing him up from the corner of narrowed eyes. ‘You want to look at every property, no matter where it is?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Do you have any idea how many properties you own overseas?’

‘Is there a prize if I get it right?’

‘It could take weeks to visit all those countries.’

‘On a tight schedule, are we?’

Cocking her head, she came back with, ‘You tell me.’

Closing his thumb and forefinger over the file, Blake tugged and watched her reaction when the instinctive tightening of her hold caused the backs of his fingers to brush against the skin between the lapels of her jacket. She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes darkening a shade. But when he smiled in response, she let go of the file and lifted her chin in defiance.

The woman had a unique way of looking at him: As if she was hinting heavily she could drop him to his knees with very little effort and he was lucky he was still upright. It was one heck of a turn-on for a man whose personal preference ran to strong-willed women. They were right up there with women whose confidence in their abilities added to their sex appeal and who knew what they wanted in the bedroom and weren’t afraid to demand it. She’d find he could be very accommodating with the latter. He might not stick around long enough for anything to get complicated but when he took a lover there was no question in her mind he was one hundred per cent with her.

He took a great deal of pride in that.

Turning his upper body to make room, he opened the file and pretended to read the contents. ‘You want to tell me what the real problem is?’

‘Meaning?’

The way Blake saw it, it was one of two things. ‘Either you hate the idea of taking an all expenses paid trip around the world—’ which didn’t seem likely ‘—or you hate the idea of taking that trip with me .’ Closing the file, he turned and lowered his voice. ‘Worried about breaking your mixing business with pleasure rule if you spend more time with me?’

‘No.’

‘No?’ he challenged softly.

While tapping the spine of the file with the palm of his hand, his gaze wandered over her face. The arch of her brows, the length of darkly spiked lashes, the sparkle of warning in her eyes—she really was something.

‘There’s a reason that rule exists,’ she said tightly.

‘Office romance gone bad?’

‘That would be none of your business.’

‘Married, huh?’

There was a small noise that almost sounded like a growl. ‘You are the most—’