The Dare Collection January 2019. JC Harroway

had no fucking respect.

      To make matters worse, the skinny jeans she wore outlined the luscious shape of her long legs and she had on a little black T-shirt with some punk band logo emblazoned across it, and the way she was sitting made the fabric pull tight across her full breasts...

      Fifth on my list of things I hated about her was the fact that I wanted to fuck her. And it didn’t matter what she said or what she did, how unimpressed, snarky, sarcastic and downright rude she was, I still wanted to fuck her. Badly.

      Which didn’t only make me angry, it actively enraged me. I wasn’t a man who let either emotion or my libido get in the way of good sense and logic, but Poppy Valentine seemed to have a direct line to both and tweaked them at every opportunity.

      Like now, for example.

      I stared at her from my place down the other end of the table, ignoring how much I wanted to take hold of one insolent booted foot and haul her down over the polished wood and into my lap, to teach her the consequences of such disrespect.

      But, naturally, I didn’t.

      She was my stepsister and one of the last orders my father had given me before his arrest was that I was to take care of her and her mother. That neither of them wanted to be taken care of was another thing that constantly irritated me.

      I was a man of my word and I fulfilled my promises. Even to the man who’d lied to me and everyone else constantly throughout my childhood. So I would take care of her, and that meant not touching her.

      Not that I would anyway. I preferred women who didn’t go out of their way to infuriate me.

      ‘You don’t appear to be taking my offer very seriously,’ I said coolly, pleased that my control on my temper was apparently sound.

      She ignored me, continuing to stare up at the ceiling, tapping one foot in time to some unheard music.

      The woman appeared to have a death wish.

      And then I saw, in the cloud of her dark hair, a flash of white.

      Jesus. She was wearing earbuds.

      She’d come to this meeting—a meeting she’d agreed to, or so my stepmother had assured me—and had deliberately chosen not to listen to anything I said.

      My temper pulled at the leash I kept on it, but I ignored it.

      Anger was never productive. In fact, passion in general only led to lies and misunderstandings and other...difficulties. My father was a case in point, having provided a lesson I could never afford to ignore.

      Calmly I pushed back my chair and rose, coming around the table to where Poppy was sitting. She didn’t look at me, clearly not noticing what I was doing.

      Good.

      I stepped behind her chair then leaned over her at the same time as I lifted my hands to grip the wires of her earbuds. Then I yanked them out of her ears.

      She blinked, beautiful copper eyes looking straight up into mine.

      And for a second I thought I caught a glimpse of something that wasn’t disdain or contempt or anger in them. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.

      But then she blinked and whatever it was had gone.

      ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I kept my tone ice-cold.

      ‘Listening to music—what does it look like?’ She didn’t seem bothered that I’d caught her not paying attention. Which was almost as infuriating as the way the smoky quality of her voice got under my skin.

      ‘You’re supposed to be listening to what I have to say. That was the whole point of this meeting.’

      She rolled her eyes. ‘When you have something interesting to say then I’ll listen. So far, all I hear is dull.’

      The way I was leaning over her had brought us very close and I could smell her scent, something sweet, like jasmine. An odd choice for a woman so sharp and spiky.

      I also found it intoxicating. Another thing I hated about her.

      ‘How do you know it’s dull if you can’t hear it?’ I wanted to sink my fingers into the soft curls that cascaded over the sides of the chair and tighten them. Hold her there. Make it so she couldn’t move.

       Make it so she can’t do anything but beg.

      ‘I don’t need to hear it.’ Her gaze held nothing but challenge. ‘It’s you. Everything you say is dull.’

      It was obvious that she wanted me to fight back, to give her a response of some kind. But, no matter how much I wanted to, I never obliged her.

      ‘There’s an architectural firm in London,’ I said, playing the ace up my sleeve. ‘I hear you’re quite interested in working for them.’

      That wiped the insolent look off her lovely face.

      As it should. I’d done my research. Before you engaged with any enemy, you found out all you could about them, their strengths and their weaknesses. Most especially their weaknesses. And I’d discovered Poppy’s.

      Her mother had let slip that she’d been angling for an internship at a prestigious London architectural firm, and that she wanted it quite desperately. Which was fortuitous since I knew the owner of said firm rather well.

      Leverage. And I had it.

      Poppy scowled. ‘Could you stop looming over me? It’s pretty damn annoying.’

      So. Lily hadn’t been lying. Apparently Poppy was very interested in working for them.

      Satisfied, I straightened then coiled up the earbuds and put them in my trouser pocket.

      Her jaw hardened and I could tell she was debating whether or not to demand them back.

      I saved her the trouble. ‘You can have them once I’ve finished.’

      ‘They’re mine.’

      ‘I don’t care. This is a business meeting and I don’t have time for your sullen teenage dramatics.’

      ‘You’re an asshole.’

      ‘And you’re a bitch. Glad we’re clear on where we both stand.’ I moved back down to my seat and sat, folding my hands on the table in front of me.

      Her gaze met mine, anger sparking in the molten copper depths. She hadn’t bothered to take her feet off the table, deliberately keeping them there, and I had no doubt it was to mess with me.

      Well, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. ‘Now that I have your attention, are you ready to listen? Or shall I have Security show you the way out?’

      She leaned back in the chair, putting her hands behind her head once more. This time, she kept her gaze on mine. ‘Okay,’ she said, as if it wasn’t a big deal. ‘Mum said you had some kind of wonderful offer to make me. Let’s hear it then.’

      As if I was the one who’d come to her and not the other way around.

      Really, it was a constant mystery to me why my cock was so interested in her when the rest of me couldn’t stand her. And it wasn’t just because she was beautiful.

      There was something about the way she continually challenged me that I found...exciting. And I wasn’t sure why that was, since I’d never had that reaction to any other woman before.

      I would never understand it.

      ‘I need a PA,’ I said, getting straight to the point. ‘The last one I had left yesterday and I can’t operate without one. However, I’m having difficulties finding someone who’ll work for a King.’

      ‘Can’t think why that might be,’ Poppy murmured. ‘Oh, wait. Could it be all that crime? Or no, maybe it’s just because you’re a prick.’

      ‘It’ll be for