Page 44 of Man Vs. Woman
Ashley
“Bingo,”Taylor smirks. “You win the prize.”
“Is that so? And what’s the prize?” I ask him, arching one eyebrow as our eyes lock. I don’t know what it is about him, but it’s almost as if I can’t peel my eyes off of his body. His presence is magnetic, and I have to do a conscious effort not to close the distance between the two us and just sit on his lap.
Yeah, that’d be rich—falling on the lap of Draper Pierce’s CEO like some desperate bimbo. Yup, definitely not going to happen. Well, it’s not going to happenright now.
I’m not denying that I’m interested in Taylor James—I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m a little curious about the man—but I’m not going to make it easy for him. He’s probably used to women fawning over him whenever he’s in a room, so I gotta make him sweat. Men only value the things they work hard for, right?
“Winner’s choice—you can pick any prize,” Taylor finally replies, standing up and taking one step toward me. I glance at his towering figure, taking in the way his dress shirt molds itself to his ripped muscles, and I feel...something.
Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?
“Do you need a room?” Colt laughs, sitting on the couch and resting his hands over it. “Because I have a lot of spare rooms.”
“Maybe you’re the one in need of a room, Colt.” Turning to him, I fold my arms over my chest and stare him down. “After all, you’re the only one here who’s half naked. Put some clothes on, for God’s sake.”
“You heard her,” Serena says smirking. Colt tries to protest but he’s not winning this one. Picking up a shirt from the floor (I mean, really? What were these two doing?), Serena throws it straight at Colt, who picks it up mid-air. Sighing, he finally gets himself inside it, hiding his delicious abs from view. Ahem, sorry about that. I was never that good at Bible school, and I guess I momentarily forgot about the commandment that goes ‘you shouldn’t covet your neighbor’s sex god’ or something like that.
Not that I’m interested anyway. My only interest in the room likes in the man sitting at the table with a smirk, hand on top of his laptop as he stares right at me—Taylor James.
“Alright, so give it to me. What do you need my help for?”
For the next ten minutes, I listen attentively as Taylor walks me through everything he managed to uncover on Hiram. And then Serena fills me in on what happened last night, with her almost being beaten and whatnot. I figure she skipped the part where she and Colt had steaming hot sex right afterward. Not that she needs to tell me—I can see it in her face.
“Let’s bury the asshole, then. That’s settled,” I hiss, gritting my teeth as Serena wraps up her side of the story. I hate men that think they can do whatever the hell they want, especially when they’re willing to hurt women in the process. “I’ll bury him in so many lawsuits that he’ll have to spent his last dollars on a legal canoe.”
“Chill out, Harvey Specter, it’s not that simple,” Taylor says
I stare at Colt, tapping my heel against the floor, as I wait for an explanation.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know who Harvey Specter is?” he asks.
“I don’t. But I can bury him in lawsuits just as well,” I reply, even though I know exactly who Taylor’s talking about. I’m a lawyer, after all, and I do own a TV—Suitsis one of my dirty pleasures. I mean, handsome men in suits being witty while making money? That’s my show.
“Swing by my apartment,” he adds, that irresistible grin back on his face. “I’ll show you what I’m talking about.”
“I’m too busy to sit around and watch TV. I rather do more interesting stuff.”
“Like what? Ballet?”
“Exactly. The kind where you kick men in the balls every ten seconds or so.”
“Ouch,” he laughs. “That sounds mean. I didn’t think you were the aggressive type...but that’s good. I don’t like people who just lie down and take it.”
“Oh, that’sdefinitelynot me.”
“Guys, seriously,” Colt walks up to between the two of us, cutting my line of sight to Taylor. “My offer stands—you can take the spare room. I recommend the one on the left—I keep some toys in there.”
“You never told me about any toys,” I hear Serena complain from behind me, although when I turn around there’s a wide anticipatory smile on her lips. Jesus Christ, is everyone inside this room a sex-addict? Ah, well, that’s what you get when you sign up as a guest-character for one of Tara Starr’s novels. You should try it sometimes—the deadlines are crazy, but the work’s fun. And then there’s all the sex you can have. Yup, lots of perks in this job.
“Alright,” I breathe out, trying to get some order back in the room. “So we can’t take him head-on. Why?”
“The asshole has smoke screens set up everywhere. I can’t get a hold of his business holdings. And if we can’t do that, that means…”
“That he’s untouchable,” I finish Taylor’s sentence, the gears inside my head already turning as I try to think of a solution. Messing with someone that wants to remain hidden isn’t exactly something that I’d do willingly—and without being paid—but I can’t walk away from this and do nothing.
Serena needs me.
