But he was still masterful as all get out. She was up for that. In her opinion, a big, dominant man should get to explore the possibilities of being a big, dominant man. Who, when the sex was over, then went back to being an actual human being, who showed her every consideration and pampered her endlessly and was slavishly attentive to all her emotional and physical needs. And was nice to her dog.
Her late dog. Who is hiding bones in heavenly clouds, she reminded herself. You’re on your own in London and this could be the no-holds-barred sexual encounter of a lifetime. You don’t have to overthink it. If he wants to, go for it.
Yeah. There could be other women in line. Such as Penelope. Lara wondered his assistant looked like. Not dragonish—Lara had a funny feeling about that.
A little while later, Lara found out that Penelope was Chinese, with an elegant English accent. Adam and his assistant exchanged murmurs that sounded both intimate and friendly to Lara’s ears. Like the woman Lara had seen in the lobby, Penelope was dressed in edgy designer clothes that were nothing short of fabulous. Her waist-length hair was an ebony waterfall that swung rhythmically as she entered with two paper cups of coffee. Her doe eyes looked at Lara with a measure of friendliness.
“Thanks again,” Adam said, taking them from her and handing one to Lara. “What do I owe you?”
“You’re welcome,” Penelope said. A cool smile curved her full lips. “The rest of the day off will make up for coffee-fetching.”
Lara cringed, feeling very fluffy indeed.
“Oh, I didn’t introduce you two. Sorry,” Adam said absently, glancing from one woman to the other. “Lara Bowlin, this is Penelope Song. Penelope, this is Lara.”
“H-hello,” Lara said, feeling awkward. She hoped she wouldn’t spill the damn coffee. She’d fetched countless cups for Jason and she knew how that’d made her feel. Very low on the totem pole.
“Hello,” Penelope said. She crumpled the paper bag the coffee came in and tossed it into a wastebasket on the other side of the room.
Slam dunk. Lara felt more inadequate than ever. She held onto the cup, which radiated heat and the reassuring vibration of a megadose of caffeine.
“Sloane Street, here I come,” Penelope said cheerfully as she sauntered out.
“Enjoy yourself,” Adam called. “See you tomorrow. Or tonight.”
Lara breathed a sigh of relief and peered at the screens Adam pulled up. Graphs. Charts. Zig-zagging lines. Moneymoney-money…how did that song go? She didn’t remember.
Adam’s nearness was confusing her. Her wild and crazy fantasy in the elevator lingered at the edge of her mind.
His muscular legs were spread far apart and that was some package in between them. Preoccupied, he moved his focus between one monitor and another, obviously doing mental calculations.
Sheesh. She couldn’t very well spy on him if he didn’t write anything down.
The cursor moved seemingly of its own free will. Highlight, copy, cut and paste. Documents filled the screens and quickly disappeared into folders.
The flow of information was processed almost instantaneously. He was in charge of his kingdom, moving fortunes around the way some people played cards online. Hmm. He could take charge of her any time. Any time at all. Lara pressed her knees together. Her thong panties were getting damp again. Damp and hot.
An hour later, her panties were still hot and she was hotter. She’d had to fight the urge to hang all over him. He was focused on the information he was sharing, but seemed very pleased at how swiftly she picked up an understanding of the derivatives market. He also liked her ideas for attracting new corporate investors and sovereign capital.
Plus her hair had defrizzed. With so many computers, the small room was warm and dry. But her brain could have used a fan. Just squirming in a swivel chair right next to a powerful, turbocharged male body made for sex was all the foreplay Lara needed.
But she had to restrain herself, had to remember that she was essentially a spy—so what had she just seen? Millions being made. A brilliant man in action.
Yowza, he turned her on. What of it? She had serious competition. Penelope Song. What a wonderful name. His assistant was an enigma, however. A beautiful, couture-clad enigma with a dragon avatar. It was more than possible there was something going on between Adam and Penelope.
“So. That’s it for today,” he was saying.
“I’m impressed. You are, like, a genius.”
“Hardly.”
“No, really, you are,” she finally said. “But I have to go. It’s late.”
“Is it?”
She tapped the corner of the monitor where the screen indicated the time. “They put the hours and minutes right here. Very useful if you want a life.” She smiled back at his smile. “It’s later than you think.”
“Lara, you may be right. Where do you live, anyway?”
She mentioned the neighborhood. So far she didn’t know London too well but she had a feeling it wouldn’t impress him.
He didn’t seem to register it one way or another. Adam leaned back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head. “How about dinner? Every new associate is entitled to a good dinner.”
How many new associates had there been? She told herself not to even think about it.
“Have I told you that you’re hired, by the way? I don’t think I did.”
“Uh—no. Funny. I forgot this was a job interview.”
“So did I.”
They exchanged a long look that was charged with something hot and wild on both sides. His hazel eyes held shadows that intrigued her. Lara wanted, passionately wanted, to see his face above hers, at the exact moment at which their bodies united.
To hell with everything else. The past. The future. Now…she wanted him right now.
Adam cleared his throat and sat up straight. “And then, well, considering it’s a very long walk or an endless ride on the Tube, neither of which will be pleasant, I’ll put you up in a hotel. Wonderful little place. You’ll like it. Don’t say no.”
“I can’t—”
He put a finger to her lips to hush her. The light pressure was magical. It was amazing how good it felt. His eyes held hers for a long moment. “Say yes, Lara. You know you want to.”
He took his finger away and she opened her lips to whisper, “Yes.”
“Wonderful. That’s settled then.”
“Do you—go there sometimes?”
“Yes, I do.”
With Penelope? A tag team of strippers? Who? Fascinating questions that she couldn’t ask.
“I guess you don’t you live around here.” Lara couldn’t help asking.
“No. I have a loft in the Docklands. Penelope’s close by, in Canary Wharf.”
“Oh.” That was far away from the heart of the city, she knew that much, and she wasn’t familiar with the area at all. So Penelope lived near him. That sucked big scaly dragon dick as far as Lara was concerned. He wasn’t forthcoming about his relationship with Penelope and she couldn’t exactly ask. London geography was a safer topic.
“So…isn’t that to the east?”
“Yes. You can see the building from the Thames.” He described it.
“Oh, I know it.” The tour boat guide had pointed it out on her first day in