Coming on Strong

Belle turned to give him a wide smile and held out her hand. Seal the deal with a handshake, he supposed.

When he took her delicate palm in his, she dropped their hands so, enfolded, they rested on her hip. Then she closed the distance between them until her breasts were a hair’s-breadth away from his chest. Mitch’s erection returned, granite-hard.

Her gaze locked on his, Belle leaned forward. Up on her tiptoes, she used her breasts against his chest for balance. She wrapped one hand around the back of his neck and gave a gentle tug, pulling his mouth down to meet hers.

Both fascinated and turned on, Mitch let her take the lead. She was the most sexually confident women he’d ever met. Yet beneath it all, he sensed the same sweet vulnerability that had hooked him six years before. The sweetness, he knew, would be his downfall if he wasn’t careful.

Not willing to show her how strong her power was, he held himself still as her lips pressed, soft and lush, against his. His hands itched to pull her close, to press her tight against his body so he could feel her curves surrendering.

Then her tongue, so soft and seductive, traced the line of his mouth. A quick flick to the corners, a soft slide across his lower lip. Blood roared through Mitch’s head, drowning out all caution. When her teeth nipped, just a little, at his lip, he lost it.

His hands dove into her hair, holding her head still as his tongue took hers in a wild dance of pleasure. Slip, slide, intense and delicious, he gave way to the power of their kiss.

More, was all he could think. He had to have more.

He didn’t know if it was that desperately needy thought or the sound of his groan that pulled him back to sanity. Unable to do otherwise, knowing it would likely be his last chance to taste her for God knew how long, Mitch slowly ended the kiss.

With a moan of approval, Belle stepped away. Her eyes, blurry with desire, stared into his as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip and gave a sigh. Then her mouth curved in a smile that screamed satisfaction.

“You’ll give me the contract,” she assured him, her words a husky promise. “And we’ll have incredible sex. And in the end, you’ll be thanking your lucky stars you were smart enough to do both.”

Chapter 3

“I BLEW IT,” Belle insisted, pacing her office. The plush carpet warmed her bare feet as she stomped from one end of the room to the other. “I got so caught up in the sexual game, in wanting to show Mitch what he’d lost by wanting some business deal more than me, I lost sight of why I was there.”

“Chill,” Sierra said, ensconced behind Belle’s desk while working on a seating plan. “You haven’t blown it. Mitch is a by-the-book kind of guy. When he’s ready to reject both of your propositions he’ll have his assistant e-mail you.”

Despite her anxiety, Belle snorted and gave a rueful shake of her head. No patty-cake from Sierra, nope. The brunette shot from the hip, to hell with the fatalities.

“You think he’ll have his tidy little assistant send me a no-thanks-on-the-sex e-mail?”

“Nah,” Sierra said as she frowned at the sketch, then checked her guest list. “He’ll make it all businesslike. You know, something like, ‘I appreciate your time and creative proposal, but have decided it doesn’t suit my needs. As clever and inventive as your suggestions are, I don’t feel that’s the right direction to take at this time. Oh, by the way, I’m not hiring you for the event gig, either.’”

The rejection sounded so realistic, Belle almost rushed to her laptop to see if Sierra was reading it verbatim.

“Did you hear something?” she asked suspiciously.

Sierra just rolled her eyes.

“We’ve been friends since training bras and boarding school, and in all these years, I’ve never seen you turn stupid over any guy but this one,” Sierra pointed out. “Maybe we’d be better off if he does turn the deal down. I don’t think he’s good for you.”

“He tasted good,” Belle muttered. Tasted good, felt good, looked good. Her breath shuddered as she remembered how amazing his kiss had been. She’d only intended to prove a point, tease him a little. He’d been the one with the point, though. Hard and long, pressing into her thigh.

God, she was going crazy with wanting him.

“You’re doing it again,” Sierra reminded.

Belle glanced over at her friend, surprised to see she’d pushed aside her seating chart and was unwrapping a butterscotch candy. Sierra only resorted to sugar, and only in tiny amounts, when she was really stressed. Given the half-dozen unwrapped pieces in front of her, she was definitely worried.

“Doing what again?” Belle asked.

“Getting stupid,” Sierra repeated. “It’s like an automatic shutoff button gets flipped whenever you get near Mitch Carter. Your brain goes into hibernate mode.”

Belle rolled her eyes and dropped into the chair opposite Sierra. “Don’t be silly. I’m just hot for the guy. You’ve seen him, he’s gorgeous. Sexy, smart and fun. That doesn’t make me stupid, that makes me horny.”

“I’ve seen you horny before. You don’t blow business deals over horny,” Sierra said, chomping down on the candy with a loud crunch.

Belle winced at the sound. That had to hurt the teeth. Then her eyes went round as Sierra unwrapped another and popped it into her mouth.

Best friends since they were fourteen, the two women knew each other inside out. Belle had never considered anyone else to go into business with. Guilt trickled down her spine. And now she was stressing her friend into a sugar coma.

“I didn’t blow it,” Belle defended. At least, she didn’t think she did. “I might have gotten a bit carried away, but a little flirting won’t affect the deal. He loved my spiel. He was impressed with our ideas. Whether we get it or we don’t will depend on whether he’s open to the sexual angle or not. For the resort,” she quickly added.

Sierra chewed up another hard candy without replying. She gave Belle a long, considering look, then unwrapped another piece.

The look was a familiar one. She’d worn it when she’d talked Belle into taking a chance on their business. She wore it when she told a client their request was over-the-top crazy. She always wore it when she told Belle her outfit sucked or her ideas were lame. It was her truth-at-all-costs look.

Belle hated that look.

For the good of her own ears and Sierra’s dental bill, Belle reached over and scooped up the remaining candy.

“Belle, you barely knew this guy and you were willing to toss aside your principles and beliefs. For what? A piece of ass.”

“I’m not some dumb tramp,” Belle snapped back. “I might have been distracted during that meeting, but I’ll be damned if I gave away a single principle and I sure as hell didn’t ignore my beliefs.”

Whatever that was supposed to mean, she fumed. God, if she didn’t hate confrontation so much, she’d yell at her friend. Tell her to quit being so negative, so mistrusting. Instead she sucked in a deep, calming breath and reminded herself that this was just Sierra’s way.

“I meant six years ago, when you agreed to marry the guy just so you could get in his pants,” Sierra corrected with a roll of her eyes. “You weren’t interested in happy-ever-after back then. But you gave in despite your better judgment. And look how that turned out.”

Belle winced. She’d rather not think about it. “Please, do you think Mitch would be crazy enough to propose to me again? All he wanted was a leg up the ladder, and he doesn’t need that any longer.”

“You don’t say anything about whether you’d be crazy enough to accept a proposal,” Sierra pointed out.

“I didn’t think I had to state the obvious. I gave up believing in fairy tales or happy-ever-after. I’m hot for the guy, okay? That’s it. I know better than to risk anything other than a little time and some sexy lingerie.”

“I hope so. I really, really hope so,” Sierra said, her words dripping with doubt. “Because your history says otherwise.”

A chime snagged her attention and Sierra glanced at the laptop. She clicked the mouse a couple times and heaved a sigh. Belle’s stomach dropped to her toes at the look on her partner’s face.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” the sleek brunette said in her nononsense tone. “If we get this contract, I need you to make me a promise.”

Belle eyed the computer, her fingers itching to grab it and see what message had prompted Sierra’s ultimatum.

“What’s the promise?” Belle hedged. She wasn’t about to agree to anything crazy, like keeping her hands off Mitch. Yes, she might lose a few brain cells around him. But she was an intelligent woman, she had extras.

Replaying those excuses through her head, Belle heaved a sigh and privately admitted they were bullshit. This job was huge, and not only to Eventfully Yours. If she pulled it off, made friendly—but not that friendly—with Mitch, there was a good chance he’d help her dad.

Belle thought back to the call she’d had that morning from her father’s secretary. Her dad was stressed again, and even though he was supposed to be home recovering from his heart attack, he’d spent the last four days running to the office trying to find some way out of the mess he was in. Between a series of bad investments, the real-estate crash and a sucky economy, Forsham Hotels was sinking fast. A wave of helpless frustration washed over her. She had to do something, anything, to get Mitch to talk to her dad.