“No one’s stopping you. In fact, eat it out here. Elle and I need to have a chat in the office.”

That choking laugh from Mathieu? It turned into an all-out chuckle. “Is that what the old folks are calling it these days?”

“Zip it, kid.” Lord grabbed one of the takeout bags as we walked by, and I glued my eyes to the floor. I didn’t need to see Mathieu’s grin to know that my hair was a mess and my cheeks were probably bright red. Nope, I could picture exactly how I looked. Instead, I focused on the heels of the black motorcycle boots leading me toward the office.

Lord tugged me inside and shut the door before setting our dinner on the desk. He nodded at the couch, and I took that as my cue to sit down.

“You have any idea what the hell just happened out there?”

“I kissed you.”

One side of his mouth quirked up before it dropped back in to a flat line. “It was a hell of a lot more than that. I just marked you as mine.”

My hand lifted of its own accord to my mouth, wondering if he’d given me a hickey.

Lord’s smile broke free again. “Not like that. I marked you in a way that sent a very clear message to Rix that you belong to me, and if he knows what’s good for him, and his continued ability to breathe, he’ll stay the fuck away from you.”

Ummm … okay. I knew there’d been some male posturing going on out there but…

“What does that even mean?” I asked.

“Men like Rix don’t operate in any kind of P.C. way. They see women as something to be taken and owned. If someone doesn’t own you, then you’re available. I just told him you’re not available.” Lord rubbed a hand over his face. “And if he sees you do something that contradicts what I just said—like you with another guy—you’re gonna be fucking us both over.”

“Guess it’s a good thing I don’t date then,” I said.

Lord’s eyes narrowed on me. “What the hell do you mean you don’t date? You’ve been flirting your ass off for days. If that ain’t the move of a woman looking for a date, then I don’t understand a goddamn thing about women.”

I guess my flirting hadn’t gone unnoticed.

My lips tugged in a smile. “I’m sure you understand women just fine … but I wasn’t looking for a date.”

That narrowed gaze? It turned to ice.

“Just looking for a quick fuck with the boss?”

His judgmental tone had me instantly on the defensive. I shot up from my seat on the couch and paced the room as I unloaded my tirade. “Like you haven’t been in my shoes before? So what if I’m just looking to take care of myself? Because I’m female I have to want a relationship with my sex? I can’t just have fun and call it a night? Since we’re going with full-blown stereotypes, shouldn’t you be thrilled that I want that and nothing more? Isn’t that every guy’s dream?”

I paused, spun, and headed the other direction, but a big body stepped into my path. I threw my hands up to avoid having my face connect with his throat. Even so, I was still close enough to catch a hint of his soap and shaving cream.

Hell. Now I wanted to lick him—and then he spoke and all thoughts of licking fell away.

“You think I should be glad you want a quick fuck? Have you even thought about the kind of shit you’d be throwing down between my brother and me? You’re his girl’s best friend, and I ain’t about to go there for a one-night stand. You might not care, but I’ve got too much respect for them to do that.”

He was so emphatic, it was clear this decision was not made on the spur of the moment.

So much for checking him off my to-do list. I wasn’t playing coy when I said I didn’t date. And let any man own a piece of me? Hell no. I thought of my mother and my tyrant of a stepfather. She couldn’t make a move without his approval, and there was no way in hell I’d ever put myself on the path to ending up like that.

The muscle in my jaw ticked. I swore this woman knew exactly how to push all my buttons and was doing it on purpose.

She wanted me—and God knew I fucking wanted her. I’d meant what I’d said—I didn’t want to fuck things up for Con over a one-night stand. He’d fought hard to get where he was with Vanessa, and they’d both been through too much shit for me to want to cause problems there. And apparently Elle was shutting down any other option—which was bullshit as far as I was concerned. The idea of her moving on to another guy to get what she wanted for one night was unacceptable. She was the kind of woman a man was meant to savor, not rush through. Whatever reservations she had about dating could be overcome.

Wait—was I really considering this?

I thought of her spicy sweet flavor and the way she’d wrapped herself around me without a care for who was watching.

She was wild—uninhibited—and I wanted that wildness and lack of inhibition in my bed. One night wouldn’t be enough.

If I was actually up for trying something real with Elle and not just fucking and ducking, I didn’t think Con and Vanessa would be pissed. Yeah, if things went sideways, it might be weird for a while, but we were adults.

I needed to make up my mind and construct my tactical plan. But first, recon.

“You want me. Deny it.”

Elle’s eyes widened, as if she wasn’t expecting me to take the direct route. Good. But she recovered from her shock just as quickly.

“I think I made that pretty clear.”

“And if I told you I was open to exploring shit between us—not just one night, but something real—even though I knew it was a bad idea, you’d shoot me down cold?”

“Why do I feel like this is a fucked up reenactment of a scene from Pride and Prejudice? It’s like Darcy telling Elizabeth he likes her against his better judgment. And guess what? She didn’t go for it, and neither am I.”

“What the hell are you talking about, woman?”

Elle’s expression took on the same stubborn quality I’d seen when I’d told her I wouldn’t hire her. “I’m sure you can figure it out yourself. Watch the damn movie if you don’t want to read the book. If we’re done with this conversation, I think I’ll be going.”

Elle took off toward the door, her heels clicking on my linoleum floor in that sexy way that never failed to get my blood pumping south. Like Pavlov’s fucking dog. But she wasn’t going anywhere.