Her Guilty Secret

‘Yes!’

I laugh at her enthusiasm, and resist the impulse to look for Connor.

I have to be strong.

We speak to two more partners from two different firms and then, inevitably, finally, Connor moves in front of us, his eyes lingering on mine for a second longer than normal before encompassing Louise.

‘Ladies,’ he murmurs, and he might as well have said the word against my shoulder, for how I feel. It hums across my flesh, scattering goose bumps over me.

‘Mr Hughes.’ Louise is still buzzing from our last conversation. ‘Are you having a good night?’

I don’t say anything. The last time I saw him I had my hand down my pants. He was right, you know. Playing with fire is going to burn me. I have to be strong.

I tighten my lips and focus on a point over his shoulder. My body is stretched with tension and awareness.

‘It’s interesting,’ he says non-committally.

Louise is not deterred. ‘It sure is. This is amazing. I had no idea we’d get to meet so many incredible people.’

He looks to me once more. I don’t look back but I feel his gaze burning my face. ‘Anyone pique your interest?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Louise gushes and then seems to centre herself. ‘But Hughes Brophy is still my first choice.’

I see him nod in the periphery of my vision. ‘And you, Miss Amorelli?’

Great. I can’t very well continue to ignore him now. Not when he’s called me out by name. ‘I...’ I meet his eyes, keeping my expression neutral even as my stomach is churning with pent-up needs and forbidden wants ‘...need another drink.’

Louise laughs. ‘That’s still full.’

‘I want something else.’ I smile at her, not Connor. ‘Excuse me.’

I step past Connor, taking extra care not to touch him.

But he touches me. Just a light graze of his fingertips against my arse as I move behind him. So swift it could have been an accident, but I know it wasn’t.

This is a nightmare. And it’s a dream, too.

* * *

I listen to Olivia’s friend Louise but I angle my body so I can watch her. That dress should be illegal. And yet it’s perfectly fine; it’s not even super revealing compared to half of what the women in attendance are wearing.

But her back is one of the sexiest fucking things I’ve ever seen. Her skin is flawless gold, soft-looking, save for the little ridges of her spine that I ache to run my teeth over until she whimpers.

One look at Olivia Amorelli and I’m an animal.

I have been cradling the same Scotch all night. I throw it back now, and nod at something Louise has said. She’s obviously desperate to apply to Hughes Brophy. She’s friends with Olivia, which means she must be... I don’t know. What does it mean?

I can’t pursue Olivia and yet my eyes burn holes in her back as she rests her elbows against the bar.

‘Email me and I’ll set up a phone interview with HR,’ I say to Louise, my tone dismissive. I reach into my jacket to retrieve a card. ‘Excuse me.’

The bar is maybe ten people away from me. I focus on the wall at the back of the room and cut through the crowd, not looking left or right lest someone take it as an opportunity to speak to me.

As I get closer I see that she’s bent forward a little at the waist, her eyes focused on the bar staff as they zip around behind the counter.

I shouldn’t approach her.

She’s smarter than I am, keeping her distance as she is. But, for the love of all that is holy, if the way she walked off on me just now didn’t do something to my resolve.

I stand behind her as though I’m waiting for a drink, my body covering hers. My fingers find the sweet curve of her arse and dig into the flesh through the fabric of her dress. I feel her harsh intake of breath as it travels through her body and into me.

My smile is tight, like the rest of me. Tight and ready to explode.

She shifts a little, looking over her shoulder, her eyes colliding with mine for a moment before she turns back to the bar.

I have no idea what she’s going to do now. Smart money would be on her standing up straighter and moving away from me.

She doesn’t. She backs up a little further, so that my hand has more purchase on her perfectly shaped rear. There are people everywhere. This is dangerous. Stupid dangerous.