Page 16 of Sweetest Temptation
I leaned in, letting my voice drop low. “You mad about me turning you down? No hard feelings, beautiful. It’s just business.”
Her eyes flickered, and I caught that split-second hesitation before she squared her shoulders. “Business? Nigga, stop playing with me! You know who I am,Sire.”
I smiled when she said the fake name I gave her on the night we met. I don’t know why I did it, but I did. I just wanted the pussy. I wasn’t trying to make friends.
“Don’t play coy with me,Kim,” I said, letting her know that she lied as well. “I didn’t turn down your proposal because I thought it wasn’t good. I didn’t know that I was meeting you until my sister dropped your file on my deskthatday. I did it because I couldn’t get you off my mind since you left me sleeping in that hotel room with your sweet scent still on my lips.” I licked my lips like I could taste her on them.
Her brow lifted. “Come again?”
“All I could think about the whole time was bending your fine ass over my desk and filling you up with my dick. There is no way I could work with you if all I want to do is get back between your legs. That’s bad for business.”
She blinked at me, clearly trying to mask the effect my words had, but the slight hitch in her breathing betrayed her. “So… You turned me down because you wanted to fuck me? Nigga, yeah, you’re crazy. I’m glad you turned me down. I wouldn’t fuck you again if you paid me. I didn’t get this far in my career fucking to get to the top,” she said as she walked away, mumbling under her breath how I was an arrogant asshole.
I laughed softly, shaking my head. “Challenge accepted.”
I stuck around for a few hours before calling it a night, spending most of my time in my private section, watching Zanova as she and her friend drank and smoked hookah. As much as I wanted to go and fuck with her, I didn’t. That didn’t stop her sexy ass from invading my mind, though.
She thought I was arrogant and crazy, and maybe I was, but at least I was honest. Every other woman I dealt with after my divorce wanted me for my name and my money. But Zanova didn’t see the mogul—the boss. She wanted nothing from me. She looked at me like I was just a regular nigga, and somehow, that fucked with my ego.
What bitch didn’t want me after getting a taste of this dick?
I told Zanova the truth tonight; I was never the type to bite my tongue. I didn’t turn her down because her idea was trash. Hell no. Her proposal was solid, sharp, and innovative. She had a dope-ass vision. But mixing business with the kind of thoughts I had about her? That was a disaster waiting to happen, and maybe even a lawsuit.
The problem was that I couldn’t tell if walking away would keep me safe from her or pull me in deeper.
I leaned back in my office chair, eyes closed, head resting against the leather. The hum of the city outside my window faded into the background, replaced by one thought that just wouldn’t leave my head: Zanova Pierce.
Man, that woman. I tried to focus on the paperwork spread across my desk, the deals waiting on signatures. However, my mind kept replaying the night I saw her at the club. The way she looked up at me with those doe eyes that seemed to sparkle but held a bit of something else I couldn’t put my finger on. That day, when I approached her at the bar, I noticed the quiet confidence she carried about herself. It wasn’t loud like some of the females I’d dealt with, but enough to make every man in that room notice. And Lord knows, a nigga noticed.
I had the life. I was a boss, making moves while watching my money stack up. Being the CEO of one of the top tequila brands came with perks, including unlimited access to women and luxury everywhere I turned. Fuego Azul had been in my family for decades, started by my great-grandmother in her kitchen in South Catalina. It has been passed down through generations until my father gave it to me. I’d taken over the business two years ago, after leaving the streets behind, and built it into a multi-million-dollar empire. Real estate all over the world, private jets, bottles of gold-label tequila in every city, I was set for life.
And yet, despite all of that, none of it made me pause… until meeting Zanova.
Shaking off those thoughts, I got to work when there was a knock on my door. “Come in,” I called out.
Hailey, my secretary, stepped in. “You have a visitor, Mr. Carter. I tried to tell her that she needed to make a?—”
Before Hailey could finish her sentence, Zanova stormed in, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. Her eyes were blazing, dark and fierce, lips pressed into a tight line that didn’t quite hide her frustration. Her brow was furrowed, and every muscle in her face was taut, giving her an intensity that made it impossible to look away. Even angry, she was magnetic, like a storm ready to break, and I was standing right in the center of it.
“We need to talk.” She sassed, her hands on her wide hips.
“If you need me, I’ll be at my desk,” Hailey said as she shut the door.
I leaned back in my chair, smirking at how mad she looked. It was sexy. She wore a tight, cream-colored blouse that hinted at her cleavage and a dark skirt that hugged her hips, falling mid-thigh. Her hips swayed with every step, hair loosely pulled back with a few strands framing her face.
“What is there to speak about, Ms. Pierce? If it’s about your proposal, my answer is final. But maybe we can work something out… if the offer is worth my while.” I licked my lips.
“Nigga, you must think I’m one of your hoes, if you think I’ll sleep with you just so I can use your tequila. It’s other brands out there that I can shoot my pitch to. So fuck you, and your tequila, asshole! I just wanted to come and give you a piece of my mind for having me think you were going to accept my offer.”
“Oh, so you're mad, mad…” I chuckled, which only pissed her off even more. “If you have other options, why are you here, Ms. Pierce? Wait… I know why you have all of that anger. You need some dick.”
Her eyes widened, shocked at my revelation. “Nigga, you don’t know me! Or what the hell I need!” she yelled.
“You wasn’t saying that when I had you squirting on this dick.” I taunted her.
With one quick motion, she extended her hand and swiped all of my paperwork off my desk. Papers went flying everywhere, scattering across the floor in a chaotic mess. She went to storm out of my office, heels clicking sharply against the floor, and I swear my blood pressure spiked for two reasons. One, that shit pissed me off, and two, it turned me on at the same time.
Before she could even grab the doorknob, I was on her. One swift reach, and I was lifting her thick ass in the air. She yelped, surprise lacing her voice, as I planted her on top of my desk. Her hands shot out to balance herself, fingers brushing against my chest.
