The Chase

“This opportunity can’t be lost.”

And right now I was hard pushed to recommend any staff at Huntly Pierre who’d raise their hand when invited to an orgy. I hadn’t worked there long enough to know who’d be up for a mass banging.

“Do I have your commitment to complete our objective?” He didn’t budge, merely leaned his weight, further pinning me to the wall.

“Yes.” My lips trembled with a thrill of excitement when his erection dug into my stomach. This searing heat of arousal between my thighs.

A wave of exhilaration.

His lips brushed close to mine. “It’s just in and out, Zara.”

The pressure of his cock now placed perfectly at my groin sent sparks of pleasure between my thighs.

We both froze as though equally stunned by the intensity of this position. Swirls of pleasure. A yearning for him to be inside me.

A soft sigh escaped my lips.

I shoved at his firm chest, trying to push him off before I weakened any further and begged for it. This man was pure muscle, pure alpha, and he’d captured me with the intensity of his stare.

My nipples nudged through my dress and there was no doubt he’d feel them through his shirt.

“Zara, I need you focused. Professional. I need you at your best.” He stepped back. The loss of his body left me bereft and I tried not to show it.

“I don’t have to do anything rude?” The question was my way of denying he’d affected me.

“No.”

“I need my X-ray machine.”

“It’ll stand out.” He waved his hand. “Just do what you did with the Pollock.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll get you in the room. Just tell me if it’s an original.”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“I saw you do it.”

“No, I know the Pollock intimately. I sat at the National and stared at it for hours.” I broke his gaze. “I was trying to understand what Pollock was telling us.”

“What about your reputation? Your knack for fakes?”

“Art intuition? I suppose it runs in my family.”

Tobias blinked at me. “Do your best. That’s all I’m asking.”

I gave a reluctant nod. “Can I keep my dress on?”

“You’ll stand out.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yes.”

“I just have to look at the painting and then we can leave?”

“I promise.”

“You’ll be with me the entire time?”

His eyes crinkled with kindness. “Won’t let you out of my sight.”

My breath stilted when I realized he was waiting for me to take off my dress.

He turned around.

How far was I willing to go for a painting? The question was glaring.

It’s like being at the beach, my nervous thoughts reassured me. This is no different to wearing your bikini.

I shimmied out of the gown and found a hanger to place it on. I left it at the end of the rung so it’d be easy to grab later.

Dressed merely in my underwear, or rather strips of silk barely covering me, my palms cupping my cheeks, I waited for him.

“Zara? Can I turn around?”

“Yes.” I assumed a confident pose, even though I didn’t feel it, and straightened my back and raised my chin.

Tobias blinked as he took me in. A flexing of his jaw muscles.

“Do I look okay?” I wanted to hear him say I looked beautiful to him.

The way his taut posture betrayed his secret desire for me spiked this dizzying rush of exhilaration.

My delight rose that he found this moment just as thrilling, never had I felt so desirable, so capable of this stark sensuality that had a man like Tobias Wilder looking so confounded.

“Don’t cover yourself.” He snapped back to unreadable and swept his hand through the air. “The women here are comfortable with their bodies.” His gaze swept over me and he gave a nod of approval. “Own your sexuality and you’ll do fine.”

Which I assumed was “Tobias” for act confident.

My left hand twitched to reach out and grab his hand to soothe this vulnerability.

This grand house kept too many secrets. I didn’t want to be in and out, I wanted to stroll along the hallways and drink in the art, saturate my soul with the work of the Old Masters.

This was not how I’d seen the evening going. Not even close.

“If anyone asks you a question, defer to me.”