On His Knees. Cathryn Fox

she says, and looks at the elevators I just led her to. “I thought—”

      “As much as I like you in this dress, you’re going to your room to take it off.” Her eyes widen, and my cock jumps as I envision her taking it off for me, slowly, seductively. “You’ll need jeans and a sweater for where we’re going.”

      “Where might that be?” Her inviting gaze rakes over me, and a groan of pure torture catches in my throat.

      “You’ll see.” I could take her to her room and seduce her. She looks about as ready for it as I am. I’m not slowing this seduction down because I want to spend a bit more time with her. No, that’s not it at all. I’d rather do it in my chalet, on my turf. That way after I take her to her knees, and out her for the con she really is, she can think about how much she hurt my granddad on the walk back to her penthouse, which I plan to have packed up before she even gets there.

      “What about you?” Her eyes linger on me. “Are you going to change?”

      “Yes.”

      She glances toward the front sliding doors where three doormen stand waiting. “Where are the staff quarters located?”

      “Not too far from here,” I say. Not that I’m staying in them. No, I’m in one of Granddad’s private chalets just down the road from this hotel, and that’s where I plan to take her, right after I grab us some takeout. The sooner I get this seduction under way, the sooner I can get away from her...from temptation.

       Shit.

      “I can make my own way back to my room.”

      “I—” Granddad pounded manners into me, and letting her walk back to her room unaccompanied on a date isn’t something I’d normally do. Then again this isn’t a real date, but still.

      She puts her hand on my chest, and my heart pounds fast. Can she feel it? Feel what her touch does to me?

      “I’m a big girl, Tate. Go ahead and run back to your quarters and get changed,” she says. I’m about to protest again, but she looks like she needs a minute to herself after the incident in the restaurant. It obviously shook her up. I can imagine a beautiful girl like her has been the subject of much taunting during her waitressing years. I might be trying to take her down, but I’m not a total asshole—not all the time anyway.

      My gaze moves over her pretty face. “You sure?”

      “Yes, we can meet in the lobby, say thirty minutes?”

      “I can be fast,” I say and step into her. Like I said, the sooner I get this done the better. Being fast has nothing to do with wanting to get back to her as quickly as possible. I touch the sleeve of her dress, run my fingers over it. A low whimper catches in her throat. Yeah, I’m getting to her as much as she’s getting to me. That much is obvious. “But if you want thirty minutes, I can be slow,” I say, and she blinks up at me, like she’s trying to figure out whether I’m talking about sex or not.

      “Fifteen...” she says on a breathless whisper. “Fifteen is good.”

      “Okay,” I say, and usher her onto the elevator when it arrives. I watch her, and before the doors shut, I say, “Keep your hair up.”

      I grin as I walk away. Oh yeah, I love seeing the long column of her neck, and I want to be the one to pull that clip free to let her mess of curls fall over her shoulders. I grab my coat from the bellman who took it earlier, and step outside, the cold air like a punch to my throbbing dick, knocking some sense back into me, thankfully.

      The wind blows as I hurry to my chalet, the snow crunching beneath my shoes on the winding pathway. I hurry inside, turn the heat up a bit more, wanting it warm for when we arrive, and check the logs in the grate. The perfect setup for a seduction. I change into a pair of jeans and a sweater, and then I tug on my Sorels and ski jacket.

      I check the time and hurry back outside, wanting to keep my word that I’d only be fifteen minutes. I enter the lobby and find Summer dressed in a different coat, one that reaches her knees, and a big pair of boots with fur peeking out of the tops. Goddammit, how she can make that look sexy is beyond me. Her eyes are searching for me, like she can’t wait to be with me again. A wave of need builds inside me at that realization. Why the hell do I like the idea of her needing me so much? I stare at her slightly parted lips for a moment, and resist the urge to stalk over there, grab her and plunder her mouth already. I exhale slowly to get myself together.

      She turns her back to me and I hurry toward her. I bend to put my mouth near her ear. “Fifteen minutes,” I say, as her scent teases and torments my senses. “I’m a man of my word.”

      She spins and the smile that lights up her face fucks me over big-time. Her eyes drop to take in my casual wear, and her smile widens as she taps her chin. “I can’t decide which I like more, the dressed-up version of Tate or this dressed-down version.”

      “Once you see me naked, there will be no competition,” I tease, and wonder if I’m going to get a punch to the nuts for my crudeness.

      “Cocky much?” she teases in return.

      “Cocky? That’s one way to put it.” She stares up at me like she doesn’t know how to respond, so I lean into her again and say, “But that’ll cost you more than a drink.”