‘Actually, I’m here with a proposal.’
Her brows rose. ‘Don’t tell me America ran out of socialites for you to sleep with.’
‘Jealous much?’ He enjoyed the flare of pink across her nose and cheeks.
‘Only that you’re here bothering me and not them.’ She tried to look bored but her muscles were tense, her body on high alert.
‘It’s come to my attention that your ballet studio is going through some difficult financial times.’ He cleared this throat, his hands automatically tugging on the cuffs of his shirt. ‘And I have a solution that I feel would be mutually beneficial.’
‘Mutually beneficial?’
‘Yes.’ He gave a sharp nod. ‘I’d like to hire you.’
She blanched. ‘You want ballet lessons?’
‘Hell no!’ A hearty laugh started all the way down in his stomach and burst forth with a soul-relieving boom. It felt good, and God knew he needed something to laugh about at the moment.
‘No need to be ashamed—male ballet dancers can still be masculine,’ she said, tilting her head to one side, studying him. ‘Or are you afraid you’ll need to pad out your tights?’
‘You know damn well I don’t need any padding down there.’
Her eyes flickered over him, as though they wanted to slide down the length of him but she was forcing her attention elsewhere.
‘I don’t want ballet lessons.’ He shook his head, wondering why on earth a grown man would want to learn ballet. ‘But I do want the advice of someone who’s been a performer her whole life.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It’s a long story but I’ve got something really important coming up and I need your expertise.’ He turned a charming grin on her, hoping to hell it had the right effect. Back in the day his smile had won her over on more than one occasion. ‘In return, I’ll make all your financial woes go away.’
She pushed up from the couch and strode towards him, closing the gap between them. Charged and dangerous. Though he had a head and a half on her she held herself with the grace of a queen. She approached him, lips ready for battle, hands balled into fists by her sides.
* * *
Had he really breezed in here, after five years of silence, wanting her help and offering to be some kind of knight in shining armour? Impossible. No one was that cocky. Perhaps all those winters in New York had frozen his brain cells beyond repair. Still, Elise couldn’t take her eyes off him...she never could. Col Hillam was like a drug; a very fun, stupid, dangerous drug.
He’d filled out since the last time she saw him when he’d still be wearing his lanky frame like an awkward uniform. Now broad shoulders stretched out beneath the white cotton of his shirt creating a neat V to the waist of his jeans. A dark smattering of hair peeked at her when he played with the cuffs of his shirt, rolling them up his muscled forearms. She stopped herself from lingering there for too long.
He was far from the quiet young man she remembered. Despite his flippant tone, the hard set of his sculpted lips and wary blue gaze spelled trouble. He was here with a goal in mind, and she’d be hard pressed to get around him.
‘Why should I help you?’
‘Because you’ve got a kind heart and a strong sense of charity?’ There was that grin again. Cocky—clearly becoming CEO had helped him grow accustomed to getting his own way.
‘Why me?’ she asked.
‘Because you’re the only one who knows me well enough.’ He raked a hand through his dark hair, fingers thrusting through the strands in a single, swift gesture.
Each movement radiated sexual energy and masculinity. It was no wonder the single shot of him in an intimate clinch with a certain technology heiress had been flashed all over the media...not that she’d been keeping tabs.
‘I’m worried for you, if that’s true.’ She couldn’t help it—some little part of her wanted to hurt him. To pay him back for those years she spent dealing with her problems confused and alone.
Her life had fallen apart when he left as if his departure had caused an irreversible ripple of tragic events. Sure, he might not have had direct influence but it had all started with him. It had been easy to blame him when he was on the other side of the world, but now he was mere inches from her and she was struggling to stay in control.
‘Ouch.’ A scowl flickered across his face, but he wouldn’t be so easy to tear down. ‘The lady has a sharp tongue.’
‘The lady also has a good bullshit detector.’ She tilted her head up at him and narrowed her eyes. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me.’
She sucked in a breath. Verbal sparring was like foreplay for the mind as far as Col was concerned. He didn’t need to touch her; he only needed to pour his words over her like warm honey. She squared her shoulders. She’d promised herself she would never forget how he left her, and that meant keeping her distance. She couldn’t give up that painful memory because it was what she used to shield herself against future hurt.
‘Have a drink with me tomorrow, we can sort out the business side of things and I’ll fill you in on the details.’
Going for a drink with Col was a bad idea. She was mouthy at the best of times, let alone when there were cocktails involved. That was exactly how they ended up in bed together the first time.
‘No.’
‘That’s one thing I admire about you, Elise.’ He reached out and touched her hair, smoothing the strands into place with his fingertips. ‘You’re so decisive.’
‘I don’t need your admiration.’ Her cheeks flamed. How was it that he could make a supposed compliment sound so derisive? ‘But you’re spot on, Col, and it’s with that personality trait that I can comfortably tell you to shove your proposal.’
‘You don’t even know what the proposal is.’ The corner of his mouth twitched.
‘Read my lips, Col.’ She was close enough to melt against him, and she had to fight the urge with every ounce of will power she possessed. ‘Shove it.’
‘Anywhere in particular?’ he drawled. The man was not going to back down, but she’d be damned if she’d let him pay her for anything. She might need the money, but she needed her dignity more.
‘Wherever it will fit.’
‘I’m not going to take no for an answer.’ His large hands ran up her arms to rest on her shoulders.
A frisson of excitement shot through her as his fingertips touched her bare skin, but she shook his hands off, swatting at him with force. ‘Good, because I’m not going to answer you again.’
‘You know I can be very dogged when I want to be.’
One didn’t become a CEO before they were thirty without a kind of obsessive persistence. He’d wanted her for years when they were younger and she’d dangled herself like a gleaming carrot in front of him. She’d only ever given in once...and it had been enough to unsettle the entire course of her life. Yes, it sounded a touch dramatic but the day he left, every semblance of normality she had ever known had fractured and splintered until there was nothing left. Part of her wanted someone to blame, and he was the only viable candidate.
‘Col, it takes a little more than repetition to get to me.’ She reached for her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
‘You don’t want to encourage me, Elise.’
Hearing her full name erupt like a growl from the back of his throat sent her senses into a frenzy. She was drawn to the guttural masculinity that simmered close to