Page 9 of Boss

“Didn't think I would see you again,” she said.

“No? You give up that easy?” he asked.

“Not usually. It's just you're a hard man to get an appointment with.”

“Ah, that's right. You're interested in my business.”

“I'm interested, period.” she crossed her legs. The attendant on the plane offered drinks. She accepted a martini. He had a coke. She sipped and stared out of her window for a second. Then her gaze returned to him. Money can be a powerful aphrodisiac for some women. He acknowledged that he had handsome classical looks that could seduce a woman. He’d been Ivy-league educated so he could entice the most beautiful with his mind. But even without these talents he had no doubt his wealth could part of the thighs of the Queen of England if he dared to do so. And that irritated him. She was beautiful but flawed if she thought pussy was the only way to achieve success through a man like him.

“Is there something you want to ask me Mr. Marshall?”

“That little performance of yours in the airport was quite rehearsed. Wondering what the second act will be.”

That lovely smile of hers faded and her slender brows lowered. “Pardon me?”

“Bumping into me in the restaurant. It happens. In particular, it happens with consultants. But to pose as a damsel in distress to get on my private jet, now that takes a bit more commitment. Tell me Angela, will you go to the bathroom and take off your panties and then accidently leave them behind for me to find?”

“I think you see conspiracy where there is none,” she gave a nervous chuckle. “And for the record I’m not wearing any panties.”

The sharpness of her tongue was a delight. He sat back. He picked up his soda and the ice clinked against the glass. “Then uncross your legs for me.”

Pinning on a brilliant smile to mask her unease, Kassidy sipped her martini and uncrossed her legs. She slowly parted her knees. His gaze lowered. Her hopes of a quick and easy seduction of Tarek Marshall were diminishing. She was no temptress. The men she’d taken to bed were no king’s, conquers, men of power.Mostly average men, who played in alternative music bands or worked blue collar jobs. And she preferred it that way. Power corrupted the good, and destroyed the innocent. She reached down and placed her hand on her thigh. All she needed to do was pull back on her hand and it would ease her skirt up several inches. She did so. Tarek’s gaze lifted to what she revealed and locked on her. Instead of sipping his soda he set aside.

Twice she'd struck out with him. If she didn't think of anything quick, she would not get up to bat for a third with Tarek.

“Sir, would you like something else to drink?” the attendant asked him. Kassidy shut her thighs and sat up straight and prim.

“No. I’m fine, leave us,” he said.

“Mr. Marshall. It's time for me to be honest,” Kassidy said.

“I’m listening.”

With a smooth action she had practiced over and over in her head since the game began, she unlatched her seatbelt. Her nerves were jumping but she was proud to see her hand was steady.

“Is that seat taken?” she asked.

Though she felt giddy, and brave from her martini Tarek Marshall looked as sober as a judge—and twice as serious. Was he really this stern and stiff as his austere formality suggested? He did seem to like her peep show. Kassidy got up from her seat and sat next to him.

“I didn’t miss my flight. It was all part of my plan to get on this plane with you. And it worked. Because I’m good at what I do. And I will go the distance to prove it to you.”

The attendant returned and asked that we buckle our seatbelts. Kassidy drank the rest of her martini for bravery, and then handed her the glass. The plane hit a bubble of turbulence. She gripped the tiny arm seat and looked away. She wasn't afraid of flying, but the martini had implanted wild thoughts of going down in flames popping up in her mind. She closed her eyes to get her internal thoughts together. She was no drinker.

And then he leaned in and spoke into her ear. “Relax. I believe you.” As if to prove his point he slid his hand over her knee and up her thigh. His boldness should have worried her. The honest part of her wanted to stop the charade and demand the answers she deserved from him. But Kassidy was playing a game. A very dangerous game.

“Forgive my impatience Angela, but you are a beautiful woman.” His nose went in close to her neck, so close she could sense his nearness. And he silently inhaled her.

Tarek lifted his hand from her thigh and it went toward her face. She froze. He turned her face by the chin and she had no choice but to soak in his dangerous attractive features, as he did hers. His fingers brushed over her cheek, and smoothed the skin over her temple. Kassidy was disoriented by the bizarre pull of attraction for a man she had spent so many years hating. She grappled with the idea of doing what Daniel warned her against. She reasoned that she could do so, and set aside all feelings, good and bad. But could she?

The answer was given when his mouth crashed upon hers. Tarek lips were warm and firm, as he slid his hand up her nape and forced her head to tilt and angle to his satisfaction. He fed off her trembling response. And the simmering tension between them exploded into a fiery heat that burned down her walls of resistance. She literally sizzled with excitement the passion was so electrifying.

The taste of him was tart and spicy. It was the tantalizing flavor of power and corruption. She kissed him back out of greed.

Some vague part of her brain, a part still sane, warned her not to play with the devil. He was far more experienced at these games than she was. She needed to remain the one in control. If she didn’t she would insult and demean her own crusade for justice. Somehow the message got tangled up in her thoughts, and the lustful part of her wanted more. Instead of pushing against his broad shoulders, she grabbed his lapel and pulled him toward her. And his hand went from her face to her hip. As she turned against him, to savor the decadent roll of his tongue over her own, he gripped her ass. The seatbelt was a deterrent. She wanted free of it. Tarek's mouth left hers and went to her neck. He offered a few nips and sucks as he again caressed his hand up further, driving her mini dress to her hip and exposing half of her ass. Her breasts felt heavy in her bra and ultra-sensitive. The lust to be overtaken by him peaked in her nipples and they both strained against the cups of her bra. His face went lower, sucking on her tit through her dress. Kassidy eyes opened, and she realized how far she had gone. How much farther she wanted to go.

“Mr. Marshall,” she breathed when he moved his hand to go between her tightly shut thighs.

“Mr. Marshall?”

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