Except with this man, it seemed she was.
“It’s not polite to stare, you know,” he said softly, and she realized she had been openly, hungrily looking at him. Damn it. She’d stopped talking, stopped thinking, because her brain had snagged on the sight of him: long, lean legs stretched out, his hard jaw glinting with that sexy five o’clock shadow, those ink-black lashes feathering his cheeks. Long lashes and lush lips on the most masculine man she’d ever encountered.
How was that even possible?
She slowly lifted her gaze to his. “Just checking out what’s on offer,” she answered, and his mouth kicked up at one corner.
“I never actually said what was on offer.”
“Care to clarify, then?”
He didn’t answer, just waited, his eyes glinting in the darkness as the awareness stretched and tautened between them. Chelsea had to remind herself to breathe.
“I guess not,” she said softly, and made a show of sorrowfully shaking her head. Alex just smiled. Nothing fazed him. Nothing shocked him. Nothing made his precious control slip, and it infuriated her because hers was skidding all over the place.
Alex Diaz had been in the driver’s seat of this relationship from the moment he’d waited outside her apartment in his limo, no matter how many times she kept trying to take the wheel.
“So let’s talk business,” she said, recrossing her legs and making her voice brisk. “Do you really want me for Diaz News?”
Alex’s gaze didn’t falter for a second as he answered. “No.”
Chelsea blinked. She kept her face neutral, but only with a lot of effort. After several fraught seconds where she scrambled for something to say, she finally pursed her lips and stated coolly, “So you are just dicking me around.”
“No. Interesting choice of words, though.”
“Very amusing.” She narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms. She wanted to go on the attack, but she felt defensive. Raw. Exposed.
So he didn’t want her for his stupid network. It shouldn’t surprise her. It shouldn’t hurt.
“Why did you ask me out to dinner, Alex? Are you just trying to get laid?”
“If that were my sole purpose, there would be far simpler ways to accomplish it,” he answered calmly.
Annoyed and still smarting, she snapped, “I’m sure there would be. Just cruise down Forty-Second Street—”
“Don’t be childish, Chelsea.”
“Don’t patronize me—”
“I’m not. I’m just stating facts. I’m not interested in having you on my network, but I am interested in your prime-time interview.”
“Treffen.” She spat the word, and Alex remained calm, unruffled.
“Yes.”
She shook her head, feeling angry and vulnerable, needing to lash out but knowing it would just reveal her all the more. She took a breath, let it out slowly and forced herself to calm. “You don’t like him.”
“Not particularly.”
“Why not?”
“We’ll get to that.”
“All in good time?” she mocked. “I don’t like being used, Diaz. Or manipulated.”
“A few moments ago you called me Alex. And if anyone is planning to manipulate you, it’s Treffen.”
She thought of the meeting next week with Treffen and his lawyer. There might be some truth to what Alex was saying, but she still didn’t want to be his, or any man’s, pawn. “I won’t have my interview sabotaged.”
“That’s not my intent.”
Looking into those dark, fathomless eyes, she didn’t believe him. Didn’t believe for a moment that he wouldn’t sabotage her interview or even her whole career to get what he wanted.
And yet, even now, especially now, she felt her body ache and pulse for him. No matter how hard or ruthless Alex Diaz was, she still wanted him. Maybe because he was so hard and ruthless. Maybe because the thought of him wanting her, needing her, made her blood surge and her heart sing. She wanted this man to bend for her. To break.
No matter how many petty shots Alex called now, that would really show who was in control.
“We’re here,” Alex said and let his hand drop from the back of the seat onto her shoulder, his palm warm through her coat and cashmere dress, his fingers almost brushing her breast.
His golden-brown gaze locked with hers and she felt as if she were trapped in a vise. Barely able to breathe. She slipped from the limo and away from his hand, wondering how on earth she was going to get through this evening.
* * *
Alex watched Chelsea, her back straight, her hips swaying slightly as she preceded him into the restaurant. Every exchange they’d had was loaded with innuendo, heavy with intent. But he had her. He could tell he had her; she was curious as well as ambitious and hungry. She would do what he said, and sex would be a sweet way to seal the deal. To celebrate it. He’d seen the desire in her eyes, the hunger, even though she would never admit it.
He’d make her admit it. He’d bring her to her knees, sobbing out his name, begging for his touch. The thought made him smile.
It also made him hard.
Shifting to ease his discomfort, he followed Chelsea into the restaurant.
“So tell me about yourself,” he said once they were seated, menus open before them and linen napkins placed in their laps. “I don’t know anything about you except the bullet points of your résumé.”
Her eyes narrowed like a cat’s, and he could see her debating the merit of a snappy comeback. Finally she shrugged and took a sip of water. “There’s not much more to know beyond that. I’ve pretty much lived for my career.”
“As have I, but that doesn’t mean you could compress my personality into a single sheet of paper. What do you like to do in your spare time?”
She looked surprised, as if no one had ever asked her such a thing before. “Hobbies?” she said, leaning back in her seat. “I work out. A lot.”
“I could have guessed that.”
“Oh?”
“You’re a control freak.”
She cocked her head. “Takes one to know one.”
“Absolutely.”
He felt the clash of their wills as if a metallic clang had reverberated through the room. It was going to be so good to take her to bed, he thought. And then leave her there.
“I foresee a problem,” she said, glancing down at her menu so her long, chocolate-coloured lashes feathered her cheeks.
Alex leaned back in his seat. “Which is?”
“We can’t both be in control.”
“Definitely not.” He felt heat unfurl in his belly as he saw her eyes flare. Knew what they were both thinking of. Knew then, with an absolutely solid certainty, how this evening was going to end.
The air between them seemed to snap and crackle with electric tension. Alex could almost hear the sizzle.
Time to bring it down a notch. He wanted to make it through dinner, at least. “In any case, I don’t believe you. Everyone’s got a hobby.”
“All right then, what’s yours?”
“Scuba diving.”
“That’s not something you