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“Um, excuse me,” I said. “Um…where can I find Duran?”
Her eyes darted over me. “I think he’s in his office, ma’am.”
“Where is it?”
“Down the hall,” she said, pointing. “Please, I would knock first.”
Heart thudding, I nodded and headed down the hallway. At the end was a black door with a buzzer and a place to swipe a key card. Confused, I knocked once and then a little harder just in case he hadn’t heard me. There was a slight hiss and I jumped back as the doors slid ajar to reveal Duran sitting at a white desk in a minimalist office.
He glanced up, lifting a hand to beckon me inside. I went, my palms sweaty on the jewelry box. The door hissed shut and suddenly I felt stupid that I’d come to him about this. I didn’t owe him anything, but I also wanted to be on his good side.
He closed his computer and got to his feet. I couldn’t control my eyes and they wandered up and down his body. Taking in his black shirt and pants, his open collar. He still wore that religious medal around his neck. It rested in the dark hair between his pectorals.
“Can I help you, Iris?” he asked.
I crossed to the desk and set the box down with a sharp click. My heartbeat picked up again. No part of me wanted to admit my mistake to him of all people. Not after the way he’d behaved this morning.
“I bought this necklace not realizing how much it was,” I said. “I thought it was maybe a few hundred dollars and it’s a lot more than that. So…the receipt is in the box. You can take it back.”
His lip curled back in a smirk, revealing a flash of his pointed canine. He stood and picked up the box, snapping the lid back, and gazed down at the moonstone.
“How much was it?”
I stared at him. Was that a note of amusement in his voice?
“Twenty-thousand,” I said, clearing my throat.
“Oh, I didn’t notice,” he said.
“Well,” I floundered. “Here it is. I don’t…want to be in your debt for that much. Even though technically I’m not because you kidnapped me.”
His brow lifted. “Do you know any other kidnapping victims who get treated like you have? I don’t think you’re suffering.”
“That doesn’t change that I’m here against my will.”
He leveled his gaze on me, narrowing his eyes. “Keep it. Wear it tonight. I like the thought of you with twenty thousand dollars of my money around your neck.”
I’d never had arousal surge through me so quickly before. It moved in my veins like an electric shock and centered between my thighs. My pussy tingled and I shifted my legs, acutely aware of how slippery my sex was against my panties. His eyes dropped, catching the movement. The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Why?” I whispered.
He took a step closer and I backed up. He was tall and he smelled even better than usual tonight. Up close, I could see the dark hairs on his chest in high definition and my hand itched to reach up and touch them.
Maybe unfasten his top button. I’d seen his stomach before and I knew how firm and warm the ridges beneath his skin were. My brain spiraled back to that night.
His hand came up and the tip of his middle finger touched the side of my throat.
Zing.Heat like lightning moved down. My breasts tingled and my nipples went tight beneath my dress.
His lips parted. The tip of his tongue flicked out to wet them. Oh my God, he was going to kiss me.
Why? All we’d done was fight and threaten each other since he’d kidnapped me.
His lids fell.
I forgot all about my previous plan to use his desire to manipulate him. My heart thumped, out of control. He was looking at my mouth, intently like there was nothing else in the room. Unable to stop myself, I felt my lips part and my tongue dart out. His throat bobbed.
His grip closed around my neck. Tight and warm, but somehow gentle at the same time. His gaze flicked up and met mine and a shiver moved down my spine. Those eyes were darker than usual—pure obsidian. Clouded with lust beneath heavy lids.
