***

Anticipating her after-hours arrival, Declan left his office door open to set Charlotte at ease. Engrossed in the copy of the manuscript he had planned to give her to review and hadn’t noticed her right away.

As he looked up, Charlotte sucked in a breath, obviously anticipating something sinister. He couldn’t help himself. He looked her over. Christ. She was sexy. She was wearing glasses. Of course, she was. It wasn’t true what they said about girls with glasses, at least not for Declan. He found them incredibly alluring. For Declan, glasses did for the eyes what lingerie did for the body. Those wonderful tortoise shell numbers that sat on the bridge of Charlotte’s perfect little nose framed those dark lashed stunners and made them standout. With her hair swept up in a loose bun, Charlotte Flynn fulfilled every one of Declan’s hot-for-teacher fantasies as well as all the repressed sexy librarian ones.

Declan shifted in his desk as he sat typing, trying to maintain his composure. Fuck, her pencil skirt would be the death of him. That and those high heels. Charlotte’s legs looked like they could go on for miles, and Declan found his mind wandering about scraping his stubbled jaw against the smooth pale skin of her legs as he wrapped them over his shoulders.

Declan looked up at her as she stood still in the doorway and gestured her to enter. She walked in, stopped, and stood still in the center of the office.

“Charlotte Flynn.” Declan broke the silence that swallowed his office whole.

“Actually, I prefer Charlie,” she retorted confidently.

“I happen to think Charlotte is a quite lovely name. It suits you.” Declan pushed his chair back, wheels rolling across the shiny hardwood the only sound in the cavernous office.

“Mr. Pearse, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you call me here? I thought we were finished reviewing the Ainsworth manuscript. Besides, shouldn’t I be reviewing these with the head of research?”

Declan rubbed his index finger beneath his bottom lip. “If I am not mistaken, Ms. Flynn, didn’t you usually review things with Kellan? Wasn’t he more hands-on with some of the research for the manuscripts?” He rose from the chair. “I’m merely following his lead.”

His fingers tapped rhythmically on his desk. He ached to run them along the length of her legs, pushing that pencil skirt up to reveal what he imagined to be magnificent, creamy thighs.

He had to stop thinking like that or he would never get through this meeting. He strode to the long windows behind his desk looking out into the night. It was now completely dark, and Declan could see her reflection in the glass. Their gaze met briefly. He turned from the window and loosened his tie.

“Shall we go over the manuscripts then? Is that what you want?”

“No, that is not what this meeting is about, Ms. Flynn. Please sit.” Declan gestured to the leather couch.

Declan watched as she walked to the couch. She seemed to have an extra sway in her step today, like she was sure of herself and what she wanted to say. He waited patiently for her to speak.

“Is this about the night at the restaurant? Are you going to fire me?” Her tone seemed almost lethal to Declan’s ears. “I know you have been in London and might not realize, but Iowa is, in fact, the only place in these United States where you can fire someone you are attracted to. I will have you know I will have my—”

Declan brusquely interrupted and laughed. “No, Charlotte. This has nothing remotely to do with that night. And I am not planning on firing you, but promoting you.”

Charlie reluctantly sat down. Declan watched as she crossed and then uncrossed those long legs. “If I am going to work for you, Mr. Pearse, I want to make certain you know I am not your sweetheart. I prefer to be called Charlie, not Charlotte. And I am not a kiss ass. My work speaks for itself. My intelligence and my determination are what made your brother Kellan notice my abilities in the first place.”

Declan did his best to suppress his smirk. He knew she loved her work, and it showed. It was a rare quality in employees these days. “Anything else, Ms. Flynn?”

“Yes. I know women probably throw themselves at you, willingly parting with their panties for a chance to be yours for a few hours or a night, but that is not going to happen with me. I don’t plan on being one of your conquests, so you can save your energy and keep your lines, your sexy smiles, and bullshit for some other girl.”

“Are you quite finished, Charlotte?”

Declan turned for a moment and gripped the back of his chair. Charlotte was hot, but she was damn near irresistible when she was angry. He had to get control of the conversation back, and quickly, or he would be running his hands through those beautiful tresses of hers while he fucked her on the couch.

“Ms. Flynn, I would like to shift your position in the company a bit. I want you to work exclusively as my researcher. This means no more research dungeon, but an office across from mine, access to the services of my secretary, and a sizable pay increase.”

“But how does that work?”

Declan loved the way her forehead crinkled a bit at her obvious confusion over the change in position. “Well, like Kellan, I will flag certain manuscripts for your eyes only. They will never make it past this floor. These are special publishing projects my father wants me to handle. We are taking the romance department in a new direction, and I am spearheading the efforts. I need someone I can trust with the new subgenre, and my brother has convinced me that you’re the person on staff best suited to handle this.”

Charlotte rose from her seated position, and Declan looked her right in the eyes. He offered his hand as a good faith gesture, and she took it. “Well, how about it? Will you work with me?”

“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Pearse. I accept the position and the challenge.”

Declan couldn’t help but smile. “Good. I’m glad.” He walked back to his desk to retrieve the manuscript he wanted her to review.

“Take this and read it tonight. Mark everywhere you see holes in the research.” Charlie took it from him. “You might be unfamiliar with the topic of this manuscript, so I think you might need to do a bit of field research,” he said handing her an invitation. “There is an event Friday night, an art exhibit that will help you to familiarize yourself with the topic.”

Taking the invitation from him she said, “I will think about attending. My sister is hosting a cocktail party, and I promised I would help.”

“Ms. Flynn, you don’t understand. When I ask you to perform research, it is not a request, but a task you must fulfill to meet the job requirements. If you feel as though you are unable to perform these duties, I will look elsewhere for a personal research assistant.”

“No, no. I want this chance. I will attend the event.”

“Excellent. I will pick you up at your home at eight Friday night.”

“You are picking me up?”

“Yes, Charlotte. I need to familiarize myself with the work too, and it will give us a good chance to begin our working relationship.”

Chapter Four

I am His. I belong to Him. He can do anything to me he wants in any situation.

I blossom in that knowledge. I am blindfolded and bound and open to Him. I hear Him moving about the room. The sound of the drawer opening sets my skin alight with anticipation; the drawer where He keeps the things He uses to draw pleasure from my body.

I feel the bed shift as He joins me on it. He finds my lips and tastes them. He draws the nervous energy out of my body with His long, hungry kisses. His lips tear away from mine, and I feel His hot breath on my neck as He places kisses along its surface. His mouth continues its assault on my flesh, nipping at my collarbone briefly before His lips suck in one of my nipples. His gentleness gives rise to more forcefulness the longer He plays at my breasts. My nipples harden under His teeth and tongue. Suddenly the warmth of His mouth is replaced by a blistering cold sensation; ice. He is running ice over my nipples. He alternates the harsh chill of the ice with the hot warmth of His mouth. I am unable to control the river of desire pulsing through my body.