Tori Carrington - Private Sessions

Caleb found himself crossing the room to be nearer to her. The musky scent of her perfume filled his senses. He dragged his gaze away from her mouth up to her eyes and then crossed his arms over his chest, as much to keep from touching her as to maintain the distance he wasn’t sure why he suddenly required. “Why did you choose me, Miss Metaxas?”

She was clearly as aware of him as he was of her … and thrown by his close proximity. He watched her elegant throat work around a swallow. “I don’t understand?”

“Why didn’t you go straight to Philippidis himself?”

Her smile was soft, tinged with a bit of wryness. “I thought my chances of putting together something with you were better, considering the circumstances.” She took in the width of his shoulders, his height. “I mean, you’re an independent consultant, right? While you’re associated with Philippidis, you’re not his employee.” She shrugged, the action looking anything but nonchalant. “We can’t sell Philippidis, but perhaps we—you and I—can work together to sell the idea to someone else.”

He liked her confidence … her awareness of herself as a woman. And he admired her poise; obviously she’d put a lot of thought into her approach, even though she knew the chances of him taking her up on her offer were remote.

He picked up the folders, glanced at the top one, then held them out to her.

“While flattered, Miss Metaxas, I’m afraid I’m not interested.”

Inaccurate to the nth degree. The problem lay in that he was very interested in her … only on a much more personal level.

She hesitantly took the proposals, but the look in her eyes told him that she saw him; possibly saw right through him.

Caleb cocked a brow.

“Are you sure there isn’t … something I can do to persuade you differently….” she asked quietly, leadingly.

He’d been playing the man v. woman game for long enough that he understood some had the killer instinct, were born with a natural understanding of basic human need and how to bend it to their advantage, and some didn’t.

Sexy Miss Bryna Metaxas had been born with it. She might not understand exactly how best to use it, but she knew enough to make her very enticing, indeed.

He smiled. “I’m sure.”

He drew closer to her, estimating that he had a good five inches on her and years of experience. While she demonstrated good instinctive skills, she was no match for him in any department.

Why, then, did he want to see just how much of challenge she’d present?

He was a breath away from her. She didn’t blink. Didn’t move. Didn’t indicate one way or another if he intimidated her. To the contrary, she appeared equally as enthralled by the chemistry that existed between them.

“I feel it only fair to tell you that this won’t be the last you hear from me,” she said so quietly it was nearly a whisper.

Caleb’s gaze slid over her face, taking in the hint of heated color and her decadent mouth before returning to her eyes.

“I certainly hope not, Miss Metaxas.”

He watched as she gave him one last smile and then turned to leave. He stood for long moments after the door closed behind her.

Fascinating.

He walked back behind his desk and picked up the phone to ask his secretary to place a call for him. Then noticed that the sly bird had left the proposals on his desk despite his handing them back to her.

He grinned, giving her points for moxie.

And scoring her highly across the board….

BRYNA SAT IN HER CAR in the parking lot of Metaxas Limited. Despite the routine forty-five-minute drive from the city back to Earnest, she felt oddly shaken, as if she’d just escaped being run down by a speeding car … and she wanted to step right back into its path.

She’d heard that Caleb Payne was not a man to fool around with. And when their paths had crossed before she’d certainly seen firsthand that he could be darkly suggestive. But this morning … wow. She couldn’t have been more affected by him had he lit a flamethrower and aimed it in her direction. Even now her skin tingled and her panties were damp from their brief face-to-face. Oh, his words may have been straightforward and dismissive. But his dark eyes had held wicked invitation. One that she found she wanted to take him up on, despite all the bells and whistles going off warning her against just that.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a good idea to be entertaining thoughts of seducing the man she wanted to help pull Metaxas Limited back from the brink. If she were being honest, it was a very bad idea. She’d never mixed business with pleasure before and now, with the stakes as high as they were, she shouldn’t even be thinking about it.

Which was probably part of the reason she was.

Her younger cousin Ari had once told her that she had a dangerous streak to her. Opting to date the bad boys over the good. Taking imprudent risks with her job that found her struggling for acceptance and advancement.

She closed her eyes tightly, both hands gripping the steering wheel, and took a deep breath.

Go away , go away , go away , she ordered the image of Caleb Payne etched into the back of her eyelids.

A knock on her window caused her to knock her head against the roof of her late-model Mustang GT. Which was no less than she deserved, she thought wryly as she stared out at Ari standing next to her car.

She slid the keys from the ignition and opened the door too fast, hitting his legs.

“Ow.” Ari chuckled as he stepped back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Bryna pushed the door lock on her key fob twice, engaging the alarm. “That’s why you knocked on the window and gave me a robin’s egg on my head.”

“A robin’s egg?” He lifted his hand to touch her hair and she playfully batted it out of the way.

“Don’t you dare.”

His grin was one-hundred-percent pure Ari.

When it came to the charm and looks departments, it was joked within the family that Ari Metaxas had hit the genetic lottery. If he smiled at you, you were required to smile back. It was as simple as that.

That it had been that same irresistible charm that had landed the company in trouble wasn’t surprising.

“Where you coming back from?” Ari asked as they walked toward the offices.

“I should be asking you the same thing.”

“I asked you first.”

“So you did.” Abruptly, Bryna had a hard time remembering her excuse for being away from the office.

She absently rubbed at the bump on her head and then remembered. A hair appointment. Yes, that was it.

“Salon,” she told him. “And you?”

“Lunch with my fiancée.”

Bryna tried not to let her feelings register in a visual way, but Ari must have caught her frown.

“Uh-oh,” he said quietly, his smile vanishing. “Are you still having trouble accepting that Elena and I are together?”

Bryna opened the door for him. “Did I say anything?”

“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

All right. So she might have to forgive her cousin for his tawdry behavior. It was an unwritten rule in the familial contract. But the woman at least half—if not fully—responsible for what had happened a month ago in Greece … well, it didn’t say anywhere that she couldn’t hold a grudge against her for life.

“She’s carrying my child. Your niece or nephew.”

Bryna softened. He hadn’t said second cousin, which was actually what would be the case. But niece or nephew. Her heart expanded with fondness.

This was exactly the reason it was easy to forgive Ari’s charming little heart.

“How’d the doctor’s appointment go?” she asked.