Alicia sniffed. “Seriously? You think Ross can hold a candle to him? Nobody is on the same scale as the boss man, nobody. Besides, when he showed up without a date last week, the speculation was running rampant that he has someone else but that she isn’t local. If he keeps attending these events on his own, then we’ll know it’s true.”

‘Not necessarily’ was on the tip of Tessa’s tongue. She and Ian had discussed the matter of his past dates, and he’d explained in some detail about each of the women he’d escorted to functions over the last couple of years. Rebecca, the banker, was carrying on a clandestine affair with a married politician; Kimberly, the news anchor, was married, but her husband was severely disabled and rarely left their home; and the ballerina - Gabriela - an ethereally lovely, waifishly slim portrait of delicate femininity, was actually a lesbian. She kept that fact a carefully guarded secret for fear that it would have a negative impact on her career.

But despite the fact that his relationships with all three women were strictly platonic, Ian had declared he wouldn’t escort any of them again. Until such time as Tessa was able to arrive on his arm, he would attend as few events as possible and those selected ones alone. She longed to throw that fact in Alicia’s snotty face, but continued to keep a lid on her emotions.

Fortunately it was time for the roommates to leave for lunch, and it was blissfully quiet once again. Tessa was so focused on her work that she didn’t hear her phone pinging. It was three texts later that she finally paid attention and hastily grabbed her phone, tapping out a swift reply to Ian’s messages.

Sorry lost in your spreadsheets. This last one is tuff.

His reply came within seconds.

Need some help?

She couldn’t suppress a wicked grin as she answered. With the spreadsheet or my wet panties?

Long seconds later his reply pinged. I think u have discovered the fine art of sexting. Tonite u might discover the equally fine art of spanking.

Tessa clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling, conscious that Shelby and Marisol were nearby. She couldn’t resist typing back. OK I’ll behave.

Ian’s reply was swift. Damn. Not the answer I wanted.

Mischievously she replied. But u can still spank me. Sir.

When she had teasingly called him that at work one day last week, he’d explained to her later than evening about BDSM and dominant/submissive relationships.

“The submissive - most often the female in the relationship - is supposed to address the dominant as Sir or Master. So when you call me that, it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. If you have to address me in the office, let’s try to keep it to Mr. Gregson, hmm?”

She’d toyed with the lapel of his jacket before asking him quietly, “That - that isn’t the sort of relationship you’ve ever had, is it? Or want to have?”

“God, no,” he’d replied fervently. “I’ve never been interested in any of that stuff. Nor would I ever consider marring even an inch of your perfect skin with a whip or a rope. And I would never, ever, order you around or demand your obedience. That thought doesn’t appeal to me in the least. We’re going to be equal partners in this relationship, Tessa. Both in and out of bed.”

As usual, whatever he said was so overwhelmingly romantic that she’d felt like swooning in his arms. Tessa was still having to pinch herself on a continual basis, in disbelief that someone as wonderful as Ian was really interested in her. She’d been half-afraid that all he’d wanted was a quick roll in the sack, and that as soon as they had slept together he would get bored and break things off. But it seemed her fears were completely unfounded, for everything he’d said had indicated he expected their relationship to be a long term one.

Ian had an afternoon meeting and then a conference call, so the frequent, flirty texts came to a halt. But as it drew closer to five o’clock, the time she was due to meet him, Tessa couldn’t help the flutters of excitement that shimmied through her body. She remained quiet as her co-workers chattered about their weekend plans, and when Shelby asked her directly what she had going on, she kept her reply intentionally vague.

“Oh, you know, the usual stuff. Sleeping in a bit, maybe catching a yoga class, just relaxing.”

She was relieved that she didn’t actually have to lie, because she did plan to sleep in and spend some time relaxing. The fact that she planned to do both with Ian was not something her co-workers needed to know.

Tessa wasn’t at all surprised to see the black town car parked in the exact location that Ian had texted her, for he was nothing if not precise. She knew he hated these clandestine meetings, having to sneak around so no one from the office would see them together. And he’d been fairly patient so far, but Tessa knew his natural tendency to control would take over sooner than later, and he’d be pressuring her to quit her job and move in with him. She was probably ten kinds of an idiot for not automatically giving in to him and doing exactly as he wanted. She couldn’t imagine too many other women in her position resisting Ian for very long. But she just needed some time to feel more comfortable with him, more secure that she wasn’t going to embarrass or disappoint him in some way, as well as feeling more confident in her own abilities to take care of herself and not just let Ian assume entire responsibility for her.

Simon was standing by the side of the car as she approached, a polite smile affixed to his otherwise impassive features. He gave her a nod as he opened the back door for her. “Good evening, Miss Lockwood.”

Tessa smiled a bit uncertainly, not able to keep herself from worrying if the rather starchy Simon considered her some sort of a golddigger. Or a slut. Or both. She shook off her hopefully unfounded fears and merely replied, “You, too, Simon. Thank you.”

And then any fears or doubts she might have been harboring were swiftly dashed away as Ian’s hand closed firmly over her arm, pulling her into his embrace as she slid onto the seat.

“Christ, I missed you,” he rasped, and then his mouth took hers in a raw, open-mouthed kiss, his tongue sweeping through her mouth demandingly.

Tessa clutched the lapels of his black wool overcoat and kissed him back hungrily, as starved for his touch as he so obviously was for hers. Neither of them noticed Simon discreetly starting up the car and pulling out into the very congested downtown commute traffic.

They were both breathing hard when Ian finally lifted his head, and Tessa was startled to realize she’d somehow managed to climb onto his lap. But when she started to ease off of him back onto the seat, his big hands clamped down on her hips, holding her in place.