Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 52215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52215 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
My eyes widen. “Yes, of course.”
“Good. You must call me Carl.”
“Okay.”
“It’s just nice to put such a beautiful face to the efficient voice on the phone.”
I blush at that, not expecting the compliment. Again, he’s being a bit forward, but I don’t call him on it, out of politeness. Besides, that may be the way they do things in Sweden. Anyway, he hasn’t really crossed any lines. Luke would certainly step in if he had done that. I glance at him, but he just stands there, flashing me his billion-dollar smile, so everything must be okay.
Both men wait until I sit down before taking their own seats. It’s just the three of us at the table, so I sit between Luke and Carl. I’m still reeling from Carl’s exuberant greeting, but luckily, Luke is on his game. He jumps right into business discussions, allowing me to sit back for a moment and gather my bearings.
Chapter 9
Luke
I’m talking business with Carl, but it’s almost like my brain is on auto-pilot. The way he hugged and kissed Jade is still making my blood boil. It took all my willpower not to push the fucking table over and yank him off her.
Carl is a good client, but I have no problem punching him in his stupid, cocky face if he tries something like that again with her. As it is, I’m half tempted to cut this meeting short right now and sever all ties with him. There are other Swedish fish in the sea. I don’t need him.
But I know that’s just my temper getting the better of me, so I pretend as if nothing is wrong and smile.
Jade shoots me a worried glance, then she relaxes, and sits down.
I watch the curve of her smile as she takes the menu from the waitress. I stare at her. I still can’t believe her complete transformation from dowdy librarian to this raving beauty sitting beside me.
I don’t know when it happened exactly, but sometime yesterday, she became incredibly important to me. She went from being my assistant to being a woman I can’t stop thinking about.
Something about her drives me wild in a way I’ve never felt.
There have been plenty of other women in my life, but they tended to be casual affairs. They come, literally, and then go. It’s not a conscious decision on my part, and it’s not their fault either. I just tire quickly. Most of the time it’s like, I take them to bed, and by the morning, I already want nothing to do with them.
Maybe that makes me a womanizing bastard, but that’s just how it was. I never lied to those women. They knew exactly what they were getting into when they hooked up with me. I gave them no illusions that it would be anything more than great sex. Some of them tried really hard to tantalize me. I’ve seen every trick in the book. They probably fooled themselves into believing that they were more special than the other women I’d run with, that they were the one who would finally tame me and make me theirs for good.
But they never were.
Then there’s what-a-surprise, frumpy, dumpy’ Jade. We’ve already had our night together. Really, I should be done with her, or at the very least, have started the distancing process, but I only want her even more. Now that I’ve seen the swan hiding underneath the ugly duckling clothing, I can’t stop thinking of her. How good her body felt beneath mine, how sweet her pussy tasted, and how mesmerizing her face looks when I make her come. In the limo, and in my bed.
She is perfect for me.
It’s a lot more than just how sexy she is. I actually like spending time with her that doesn’t include sex. That’s a massive difference from all the other women I usually hang with. I have no idea what makes Jade so special. All I know is that she is. She actually makes me happy, for fuck’s sake.
The only fly in the ointment is that she’s my assistant.
Dating my assistant feels crude and low-class. Only scumbags do that. I can’t exactly fire her, then ask her out on a date. I’m a bastard, but I’m not a fucking bastard. But I can’t stop this freight train of desire either. I don’t want to stop it. I don’t want to throw her away like I’ve done with all the other women. I want to keep exploring her, both her body and her mind. I want to see where this goes.
The sound of Jade’s laughter cuts through my train of thought. I had retreated into my own head while Carl kept talking, but now, I notice that he’s sitting a lot closer to her than I like.
“You’ve never been to Sweden?” he says. “Well, that is something we must fix very soon. I will show you all the wonderful things about my country, yes? I will fly you out there on my private jet and you will stay with me.”