The Dare Collection: August 2018. Avril Tremayne

spy on me—had been lukewarm at best.

      What happened to my body when it was within touching distance of Caleb was nothing short of stupefying.

      I avoided looking at him as I led us through the open plan space that led to my corner office. Like most tech companies in Silicon Valley, the space was designed to invite easy lounging with the aim of sparking ideas through socializing.

      I entered my office, set my satchel down and fired up my three monitors. From the corner of my eye, I saw Caleb checking out the area before refocusing on me.

      When he started walking toward me, I reached into my satchel. “Here’s the list you asked for.”

      His hot gaze lingered on my face and mouth for a few ferocious moments before he took the piece of paper. “Thanks.”

      “If you need somewhere to work, there’s a spare desk and computer next door.”

      He reached into his jacket and I forced myself not to ogle the way his T-shirt stretched across his torso. “No, thanks. This is all I need.” He waved his phone at me.

      He walked across the room, dropped onto the sectional sofa next to the wall and propped one foot on the coffee table. A minute later his fingers were flying over the keyboard.

      I greatly resented the fifteen teeth-grinding minutes it took for me to focus, but eventually I was back in the groove. I spent the next few hours going over the tweaks I’d made that morning.

      The snags my coding had hit were frustrating, but I couldn’t rush this or SDM would miss the first major beta-testing deadline.

      Not gonna happen.

      My burning need to be done with Chance depended on everything going smoothly.

      There were times I wished I hadn’t hacked him. Times I wished I’d called his bluff when he’d turned up at my house with a patrol car and threatened me with jail unless I did what he—and my opportunity-grabbing stepfather—wanted.

      Thoughts of how easily Stephen Gracen had thrown his own stepdaughter under the bus slashed painfully through me.

      I was stealthily breathing my way through it when Miranda, my assistant, entered.

      Her gaze swung to Caleb. And stayed.

      His head snapped up, but the laser-eyed scrutiny he’d given my other employees was nowhere in sight. Instead, a slow smile broke over his face as he stared at my tall, attractive assistant.

      “Hi,” he drawled, slowly rising to his feet.

      Miranda’s toothpaste-white smile lit up her face. “Hi, I’m Miranda.” She strode to him, her hand outstretched. “And you are?”

      He took her hand. “Caleb.”

      “Caleb. Hi,” she repeated. Then just stood staring up at him.

      I slowly disengaged my clenched jaw. Cleared my throat. They both looked at me.

      I opened my mouth to explain Caleb’s presence, then remembered his gibe about me being a lousy liar. When his eyebrow started to creep up, I redirected my attention to Miranda. “I wasn’t expecting you in today.”

      She reluctantly dropped Caleb’s hand, but I noticed a pronounced sway in her hips as she crossed to my desk. “It was either go off-road biking with the guys from design or finish the assignment you gave me on Wednesday.”

      “It could’ve waited till Monday,” I replied. Her work had nothing to do with my secret project but she had an aptitude for programming that I utilized when necessary.

      She shrugged. “Programming beats the risk of a broken arm, no matter how exhilarating the boys claim biking can be.” She glided a hand over her sweater dress and glanced at Caleb. “I prefer a different type of excitement.”

      He slid his phone into his back pocket and crossed his arms, and I swore Miranda groaned under her breath.

      “I’ll let you get on with it, then.” I couldn’t help the irritation filtering through my voice.

      She nodded, then flicked Caleb one last glance. “See you around?”

      Caleb smiled. “I’m sure you will.”

      To his credit, or more likely because he knew he could have her if he wanted, he didn’t watch her sashay to the door. Instead, he turned his blue gaze on me.

      Oh, hell no. I wasn’t about to answer questions about Miranda.

      The tall brunette could double as a supermodel any day of the week, and was constantly hit on outside the office.

      And technically, she didn’t fall under Caleb’s no-dating-clients rule.

      I fixed my gaze on my screen and continued working.

      He got the message and returned to the sofa.

      An hour later his shadow fell across my desk.

      The breath I sucked in didn’t quite catch. Irritated by my body’s continued betrayal, I raised my head. “Can I help you?”

      His mouth twisted in a parody of a smile. “You seem different. Much less...tense.” He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. You look relaxed.”

      I cursed the flush that crawled up my neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      “Sure you do. You’re in your element.”

      “Is this conversation going anywhere? I have a ton of work—”

      My breath rushed out when he leaned across the desk and drifted a finger down my cheek. “You really don’t need to be so jumpy around me. You especially don’t need to get defensive every time I give you a compliment.”

      “I wasn’t—”

      “You want to pretend you’re offended because I said you’re more at home here with your computers than in that gilded cage you call a home. But you don’t have to be.”

      The accuracy of his words made me jerk away from his touch.

      My house was luxurious on many levels. But there was more to what I’d told Caleb last night. Truth was, it was also my cage. Chance had stashed me there when I’d first arrived in San Francisco because he’d wanted me isolated. Still wanted me isolated. For now it was a place to eat and sleep but it would never be my home.

      Caleb was watching me closely, reading my every expression.

      My gaze dropped to his throat as I cleared mine. “I’m not. You’re mistaken.”

      He sighed. “What’s your favorite restaurant?”

      I blinked. “What?”

      “Food. Lunch. Where?”

      “Why?”

      “Jesus. You love making me sweat, don’t you, Lily?”

      My fingers curled around the edge of my desk, unable to stop myself from replaying those moments in the elevator. The feel of his cock between my legs, his strained voice as he whispered his wishes to me.

      All that power and glory under my control...

      He leaned closer, sunlight glinting off his dark, mahogany-tipped hair. “What’s going through that mind of yours, I wonder?”

      I dragged my gaze from his body and named the Japanese restaurant I liked. He tapped it into his phone and I heard a whoosh of a text.

      “Why do we need to go out at all? This place has a takeout service. We could just order in.”

      He shook his head. “Like I said, it’s time to change things up a little. Your stalker knows your routines so let’s introduce a new element into the equation.”

      “Let me guess? You?”

      “Yep. We’re putting ourselves