Courting Trouble. Kimberly Dean

his hand in her hair, pulling it back. He didn’t want to go flat if he felt that witch-hazel scratch against his erection.

      Body prepped, he let his mind wander.

      This was good news. Dumonde was the new CEO at Guardian, the company where his friendly sex partner Brandi or Sandy was employed as a senior administrative assistant. Dumonde had been brought in recently from Montréal to help Guardian turn its game around. The company as such wasn’t in bad shape. As a leading sports equipment manufacturer, it had suffered recently under poor management, but it still had a strong fist-hold on its market.

      And it was a market that Jason desperately wanted to get into.

      Bodycheck had its defence contracts for protective equipment for soldiers. They were gaining ground on the domestic side, too, with contracts with Homeland Security to provide protective wear for police departments.

      But sports equipment … it was a market that had him practically salivating, especially with the growing concern about concussions for athletes in everything from pee-wee leagues to the professional ranks. Bodycheck had technology he knew could be modified to help protect players better. They’d just be fighting an uphill battle in the marketplace if they decided to go it alone.

      He needed Guardian as a partner.

      He needed an opening even more. One small crack, and he’d bump Plastical to the kerb.

      ‘Think you could get me a meeting with your boss?’ he asked point-blank.

      Innuendo and suggestion didn’t work with this one. She didn’t get subtlety.

      She rolled her eyes at all the conversation. ‘His schedule is fully booked.’

      Jason pushed the crisp white sheet downward. His cock popped out, free, unencumbered and rigid.

      The brunette’s eyes widened, and she licked her lips.

      ‘What about a dinner meeting?’ he said, lifting his hips off the mattress.

      He applied pressure to the back of her neck, bringing her down to his straining erection.

      She hummed in delight. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

      Closing her eyes, she took him deep into her mouth. She swirled her tongue, once … twice … and then gave a firm suck.

      Jason groaned. He’d got what he’d wanted.

      She licked him long and slow like a big red lollipop, and his brain went blank.

      Oh, yeah. What she could do, she could do very well.

      And, with his eyes closed, he could picture fuller natural breasts on a longer, sleeker body. His hand moved in the springy hair, and it became softer and lighter. The red mouth going down on him turned a softer pink.

      Oh, yeah. The exhausting evening had been well worth it. He’d got off twice, he had his best shot yet at a meeting with Dumonde, and he’d seen a blonde goddess in the flesh.

      His hips began to rock. He’d see what he could do, too.

       Chapter Three

      ‘But Margo, this is less than half of what you owe.’ Sienna kept her voice hushed as she looked at the wad of bills her roommate had just pressed into her palm. They were at the Apple Tree Grille, probably by intent. They couldn’t get into an argument here.

      ‘I know, but we had to drop out of a gig when our main amplifier blew, and getting a new one cost more than we expected.’ Margo looked apologetic, but not distraught as she tucked her curly hair behind her ear. If worst came to worst, she could sleep in the back of her band’s van or at her boyfriend’s place.

      The two were still an item, Sienna knew. So were she and her vibrator.

      Heart sinking, she smoothed out the bills and slipped them into her pocket. She could make up the difference with the money she’d been earning through training at Luxxor, but she’d hoped that for once she was going to come out ahead.

      There was no hope of that now.

      ‘Jasper chipped in a twenty since he’s been staying there so much,’ Margo said, obviously thinking it would help.

      It didn’t.

      Sienna saw the high sign coming from her boss. ‘Pay me the rest as soon as you can,’ she whispered.

      She was irritated enough that saying ‘please’ never occurred to her. If it had, she doubted she would have said it. Being nice hadn’t got her anywhere – except maybe at Luxxor. Thank God she’d gone against her instincts there.

      Smoothing her hair back into its braid, she returned to work. Smiling at a customer, she picked up his empty plate and discreetly left the bill. She took the dirty dishes into the back. Surreptitiously, she pulled out the rent money and counted it. She sighed. It was even less than she’d thought.

      ‘Damn it.’

      The slip in language embarrassed her, and she hurried back into the Apple Tree’s dining area, picked up the coffee pot and walked around to pour refills. Her roommate was a part-time musician, while she worked two jobs to make ends meet. She pulled full shifts here and then went to her paid internship in the evenings. She had enough to get them by, but she couldn’t keep carrying Margo.

      They weren’t even friends. Her college roommate had got a job soon after graduation and had sublet her half of the lease to the first person she’d found who’d sign the paperwork.

      Sienna topped off a travel mug for one of her regulars who’d soon be making a mad dash for his office.

      What was she going to do when this internship ran out?

      Making the extra cash had been a piece of cake. The topics that Nina considered important were second nature to her. Manners, cultural awareness and diplomacy had been drilled into her since birth. More interesting had been the self-defence courses and the self-awareness workshops Luxxor mandated for all employees. She’d passed every test the company had thrown at her.

      But she wasn’t going to accept the job.

      They’d offered it to her last week, a full two weeks before the internship was up. She’d told them she’d need to think about it, but there really was nothing left to consider. She couldn’t allow herself to be paid for going out on dates – sex-prohibited contract clause or not.

      It wasn’t that the job was beneath her. It was simply something she couldn’t do.

      She sighed as she put the coffee pot back onto the warmer. It let out a hiss that sounded an awful lot like the air going out of her lungs.

      What was she going to do? Kick Margo out? Then she’d have to pay full rent until she found somebody to replace her.

      Pasting a pleasant smile on her face, she headed to the cash register to help her harried businessman on his way.

      ‘See you tomorrow,’ he said as he hit the door.

      Tomorrow. How many of those was she going to spend here?

      Chin dipping, she went to clean off the empty table. With practised moves, she swept up the remaining silverware and water glass. She grabbed the morning paper, but stopped when a picture above the fold caught her eye.

      It was him, the super-hot guy from the Aquamarine charity event.

      She quickly read the caption underneath.

      Jason Sloan.

      His name was Jason Sloan. A sturdy, masculine name. A sexy name.

      A puff of air left her lips. Wow, even in a photograph he still packed a punch. The black and white shot showed him exiting a building. He looked sharp in a dark suit that fitted his powerful form. He had a rangy build, muscular and lethal.

      It