Boardroom Sins. J. Margot Critch

things to concentrate on than you. Let’s just agree to end this now. Let me run my company, and you can run yours.”

      If Brett hadn’t been so stunned, he would have thrown back his head in laughter. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had spoken to him like that. No, he could. It was definitely more than five years ago, in his last interactions with Rebecca. She might think they were done. But he wasn’t done with her. Not by a long shot.

      Even though he had plans for her businesswise, that would come tomorrow. He still had to contend with the rush of desire that tore through him, ratcheting up his heartbeat and hardening his cock. “That’s probably enough about business,” he said, his voice lowered, as he turned to face her. “Are you here alone tonight?” He looked back to the door that led inside. They were still the only people on the terrace. Nobody through that open door paid them any mind as the gentle notes of music were carried outside on the air.

      “It’s a little late for that question, isn’t it?”

      Brett grinned. It really didn’t matter to him if she’d attended the party with another man or even if she was seeing anyone. He could tell that he had her. He inched closer and felt a surge of triumph when she didn’t move away. It would be so easy to pull her into his embrace, to hold her, kiss her, just like old times. He wanted to feel her skin against his lips, under his fingers. He wanted no more than to be buried deeply inside her, fucking her until she clawed his back and screamed out his name... Shit, he needed to pull it together. He had more to consider here than just sex. Even if he did seduce her tonight, he had to keep a clear head or risk losing everything. And Brett didn’t lose. Ever.

      “Well, I just want to know that your attention is focused solely on me and not anyone else,” he murmured, leaning even closer.

      “And you’re wondering if I have a boyfriend?”

      He shook his head. “If you did have a boyfriend, I know you wouldn’t be out here with me.” He grinned again. “And even if you did, you wouldn’t remember him after tonight anyway.”

      * * *

      Rebecca blinked quickly, before she guffawed loudly, putting a palm on his chest to push him away. “You are so full of it.” Incredulity made way for wanting as she involuntarily curled her fingers over the well-formed muscles of his chest. He might be wearing several layers of clothing between their skin touching, but she knew that he certainly didn’t skimp on the workouts. He smiled at her, knowing. His straight white teeth and the devilish glint in his eye made her fingers twitch, eager to keep exploring, but she pulled back.

      Years in corporate America had taught Rebecca how to keep her cool in high-pressure situations with important men and women, but Brett shook her. Sure, she put on a good show, trying to seem unaffected, but she’d seriously underestimated the impact of Brett Collins in the flesh. Everything about him, his essence, his energy, surrounded her completely. He was standing too close, and she could feel him, smell him, almost taste him. The spicy scent of his cologne was intoxicating. She looked back at the city skyline, taking a deep, cleansing breath to steady herself. It didn’t work, and she cautioned a look at him. He was still leaning his elbow on the railing, facing her, watching her. His mood was impossible to read.

      “I’m not here with anyone,” she assured him.

      “Good.”

      “How about you?” she asked, nodding in the direction of the party. “Any of those pretty young things in there belong on your arm?”

      He shrugged coolly. “With the exception of some women I see casually, I’m officially unattached. If there was time to build a relationship, I haven’t found anyone I would want to do it with.” She nodded. There was no doubt that he fooled around with women, a man like Brett, but it didn’t matter. She had no ownership over him or whatever he did with his dick.

      Slowly, Rebecca looked Brett up and down, his body hard and lean under his tailored suit. Her mind raced, and she cursed her hormones as she lost the ability to focus on anything but the unbridled memories she held of him. Her skin flushed, she could feel the slow rise of heat as it spread from her chest to her cheeks, and she blinked rapidly, clearing the erotic snapshots that flashed behind her eyes. She looked away from him briefly, and when she glanced back, he was watching her with a heated expression that told her he knew what she’d been thinking and was possibly running through his own slideshow of memories.

      They grew quiet as they watched each other. Just looking at the man made Rebecca want to do awful, naughty, irresponsible things, despite her better judgment, and for just a moment, she let herself simply enjoy being in his company. Her guard just momentarily lowered. Her heart fluttered in her chest, unsteady. And despite every part of her mind, her heart, that told her to stay away, she stepped closer, bringing the tips of her breasts near enough to graze his chest. The movement sent a sizzle of electricity throughout her body, and she jumped back a little in reaction. He must have noticed it, too, because when she looked up at him, his eyes were narrowed, and one side of his mouth ticked upward in a seductive, lopsided grin. Without saying anything, he reached out and grasped both of her hips with his large hands, drawing her near.

      “Brett,” she whispered, her breath hitched in her throat. She ignored rational thought as her desire and nerve endings screamed at her to acquiesce, and she finally listened to what her body was saying, leaning into him. Before she knew it, she’d raised her face upward, just inches from his.

      “Yeah?” He moved closer, his large hands spreading over the small of her back, and at a torturously slow speed, they moved lower and lower, causing a gasp to escape her parted lips.

      “Don’t,” she pleaded, half-hearted, as he squeezed her ass, his fingers digging into her flesh. She tried to push him away, but every part of her body craved the attention of those fingers.

      “Don’t what?” he whispered. One hand released her behind and then took her hand. He brought her wrist to his lips, kissing her sensitized skin. She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. The words wouldn’t form in her brain. “Don’t what?” he asked, prodding before extending his tongue, dragging it over the electrified nerve endings of her inner arm.

      Rebecca closed her eyes in surrender, unable to fight him. “Don’t stop.”

       CHAPTER TWO

      REBECCA’S WHISPERED PLEA was all Brett needed.

      In one corner of his mind, he knew that they were still in public, but he was only faintly tuned in to the sounds of the party over his pounding heart and her shuddered breaths. Even though they were alone on the terrace, he knew that at any moment anyone could come join them outside and catch whatever moment he and Rebecca were caught in.

      But it didn’t matter to him, and he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. It was a soft touch at first, his lips just grazed against hers, but it wasn’t enough. He went back for more. Her lips parted under his, and he brought his hands to her face, cupping her, holding her to him. It had been years since he’d last kissed her, but everything about it was familiar.

      Her taste and the way she felt underneath his hands and lips felt right, and despite that, his brain pleaded with his body to remember that she was still the same woman who’d fought him tooth and nail these past months, used underhanded tricks to win five years before in grad school. But that didn’t concern him now. Because she felt too goddamn good.

      Rebecca whimpered into his mouth and tilted her head to the side, angling herself so that he could deepen the kiss. And he did. His tongue delved into her mouth and found hers, stroking, driving against one another. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, drawing him closer. His cock thickened, and he felt it grinding painfully against the zipper of his pants. He had to use every ounce of his control to not yank them down and take her against the wall.

      But he didn’t pull away.

      Instead he lowered his hand, releasing the grip he’d held on her gorgeous ass, and skimmed his palm