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She nodded, grateful when a smiling waitress brought their tea. She watched the interplay between Aidan and the server whose nametag read Brandy. He winked at her and she blushed and scurried off, then turned his gaze back to Melissa as if the flirtatious encounter with the waitress had never occurred.
She needed to steer clear of Aidan Storm. The man was a womanizer of the worst kind. And she'd been there, done that, and had the scars on her heart to show for it.
"So what do you like to do for fun?" he asked, leaning back in the chair, completely relaxed.
For some reason it irritated her that he didn't run at a frenetic pace like she did. She was anxious to get started on their marketing plan, while he wanted to delve into her personal life.
"Let's keep things between us strictly professional, shall we?"
He arched a brow. "Are you sure that's what you want, cher?"
The endearment rolled off his lips and fired her blood, making her ache to slip her hands between her legs and massage the incessant throbbing of her pussy.
"Of course it's what I want."
"Your call. But there might be some magic happening between us. I wouldn't mind exploring a little."
"I would."
That brought about a grin. "Not much for joie de vivre, are you, ma belle?"
She wished he wouldn't speak French. The language rolled seductively off his tongue and made her shiver. Tapping her fingernail on the glass, she said, "I enjoy life just fine, thank you. But I'm here for business, not pleasure, so if you don't mind, tuck it back in your pants and let's get to work."
Aidan threw his head back and laughed. A deep, rich baritone that made her suck in her breath at the stab of pleasure his laughter gave her. Damn, what was it going to take for the female in her to stop being so...so. . .female around him?
"All right, Miss Cross, you win. For now. Let's head to the offices and we'll take a look at the marketing plans."
Melissa sighed in relief, discarding the brief disappointment she felt at the termination of his suggestive banter.
She needed an orgasm to release the tension that had been building inside her. Neglecting her baser urges would only get her into trouble. She'd have to pencil in a self-induced climax for later this evening. Once she'd gotten that out of the way, she'd be much better able to handle Aidan Storm.
*
Aidan led Melissa to his office, watching as she unloaded her laptop, presentation folders and notepad, lining them up neatly on his conference table.
He resisted the urge to laugh. He'd be lucky to find a pencil somewhere in his office. Having a near photographic memory helped, considering he rarely wrote things down. He had a secretary to enter important dates and information on his computer, not that he'd ever look at it.
When it was time to design a marketing plan he'd drag out the laptop and printer and go at it, pulling forth all the vital information he'd stored in his brain. Other than that, he kept it all within handy reach of his memory.
Apparently Melissa did things differently. She slid a neatly designed binder in front of him. "Now, if you look at the presentation folder in front of you, I've developed a initial marketing plan as a starting point. Open to your suggestions, of course."
"Of course." He quickly scanned the contents, impressed with her expertise. Then he closed it and looked at her, enjoying the way her green eyes flashed whenever they made eye contact.
Melissa Cross might insist she was all about business, but Aidan had a sixth sense about these things. And his sense told him underneath her cool Bostonian exterior beat the heart of a wildcat. The sudden urge to peel her frosty layers away piece by delectable piece had him hardening painfully.
"That's it? You're not going to look at it any further?"
The play of emotions in her expression was priceless. Shock, then indignation soared across her face. Her pert little nose wrinkled and she crossed her arms.
"I read it. It's good. I'll have more to add. There are a few changes I'd like to make, specifically on page four, paragraph three of the marketing plan. I think we need to play up the background of the two companies more, as well as identify the strategic marketing concepts in a bullet point presentation to make it clear what our primary goals are."
Her eyes widened. "How did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You know what. You barely glanced at the binder, which has over 100 pages. And yet you pointed out an exact page and paragraph and knew precisely what it contained."
"I read lightning fast and have a photographic memory. No magic involved."
At her arched brow he nearly cringed. Why did he have to say that? Magic was an intrinsic part of his life, but he rarely mentioned it outside the family. Although the thought of using some magic to heat up Melissa Cross had already crossed his mind more than a few times. In fact, right now might be a good time. Maybe a little play and that was all. Just to see how she'd react--gauge if his intuition about her was right.
He rubbed his index and middle finger together, the warmth beginning deep inside. The singe of heat lightning was never painful, only a tingling excitement that never failed to arouse him. The air swirled, charged with electricity, centering in his middle like a gathering storm.
He opened his hand and let the magic sail across the table.
Oh, yeah. An invisible breeze wafted Melissa's hair and her eyes widened. Her creamy cheeks blushed pink, and she opened the top button of her blouse, shuddering when the warm air crept inside.
He leaned back in his chair and felt her, the heat buried deep inside her, and knew right then there was something different about this woman. No one had ever reacted instantly to the slightest bit of magic from him. No one had ever fired the heat waves back toward him, letting him experience exactly what he'd sent out.
Hot damn, that was exciting.
"Something wrong?" he asked, trying to sound innocent.
"Don't you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
Blowing out a quick breath, she said, "It just got really hot in here."
"No kidding. I didn't feel a thing."
She fanned herself with her hand. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I guess I must be more unaccustomed to the New Orleans heat and humidity than I thought. Mind if I take off my jacket?"
"Go right ahead." Take anything off you like, darlin'. Jacket, skirt, panties and bra, anything. He shifted to accommodate his burgeoning erection, welcoming the heady ache that came with arousal.
She stood and headed to the bar against the wall and poured a glass of ice water. Without her long suit jacket he glimpsed a better view of her body.
Lithe and slender. Perfectly shaped ass outlined against the well-tailored suit. Her breasts weren't large, but they fit the rest of her. Sleek, like an athlete, with long legs that seemed to go on for miles. Oh yeah, he'd bet a million bucks she was a runner. Or maybe a dancer with those shapely calves.
Damn, he was hard now. Hard and pulsing with the need for release. He briefly wondered what Miss Boston would do if he reached down and caressed his shaft through his pants? Wouldn't it be fun to shock her just a little more?
She took her seat again and sighed.
"Feeling better?" he asked, knowing the minimal magic he'd tossed her way only lasted a few seconds.
"Yes. Sorry. I don't know what happened. It just got very warm in here."
"Don't be. Gets hot here. You might want to lose the suits unless we have an official meeting."
"You're wearing one," she countered.
He slipped off his jacket and hung it on his chair back, then loosened his tie. "A rarity unless I have an appointment. Typically it's jeans and a polo shirt. Feel free to dress casual around here."
She lifted her chin. "I'm not used to casual at work."
"This is the Big Easy, cher. We don't get too formal."
She shrugged and mumbled something about different worlds.
He'd like to show her different worlds. He'd like to grab hold of th
is ice queen and really melt her frosty little ass. And if he guessed right, Melissa would be more than eager to have a little warmth. If ever a woman looked like she needed to get laid, it was this one.
And he bet she wasn't even aware of how badly she really needed it. Just the little strike of warmth he'd sent her proved how unfamiliar she was with the kind of heat a passionate coupling could provide.
His brother's warning not to screw with their new partner flickered in the back of Aidan's mind.
Flickered, then snuffed out like rain on a campfire.
Chapter Two
