To his shock, London stood and looked around the room with a satisfied sigh in just twenty-eight minutes. She typed like a fiend on crack and finished the memo in just under seven minutes. He watched as she reread it, fixed his tragic grammar, spell-checked it, then sent it off with four minutes to spare.

Hot damn. A smart one who cared about the work more than her fingernails. Who hadn’t tried to slough off because she thought he was too busy or too drunk to notice. This one might be just the ticket.

London made her way to the office door and opened it. Javier met her there. He knew he should take a step back and not crowd her, but the sight of her—even though he’d been watching her for far too long—flattened him like a bulldozer. Holy fuck. She really was pretty. Not a model. Not very concerned about her appearance at all, in fact. He’d love to see her in something younger. No sexier. Might as well not bullshit himself.

Stifling his fantasy of the big bad boss bending his secretary over the desk and fucking her brains out, he raised a brow at her. “Did you finish?”

She dropped her gaze. “Yes, sir.”

Javier sucked in a breath. Did she have any idea that she put off such a sweetly submissive vibe? Did she have any idea that everything about her made him want to rip out the zipper of his pants, climb on top of her, and not come up for air until next week? Xander had been pushing this Dom/sub shit down his throat for months. Hell, his brother had even tried to give him some pointers when Francesca’s behavior had first started to spin out of control. But none of it had really, truly sunk in. Javier was Neanderthal enough to admit that he enjoyed the sight of a submissive woman lowering her gaze. It was the surrender of her will, the implicit permission to touch her in just about any way he wanted. What man didn’t want that? But when London did it, the gesture short-circuited his brain, and all the blood up there zoomed down fast, filling up his cock until it was really clear which head was truly running the show.

“Very good,” he praised, then cleared his throat to rid his voice of the husky tone. “Tell me what you’ve done.”

Nodding, she met his gaze again. “There are eleven file folders in the filing cabinet, each folder with the heading you recommended, in alphabetical order. The appropriate documents are in each folder. I created a twelfth for accounts payable related to the project. If I worked for you, I probably would have made a copy of the invoices and filed the originals with the usual AP stuff, but put the copies with this project so you could keep track of costs associated exclusively with this endeavor.”

Exactly what he would have asked for if she’d truly been working for him. “Excellent. And the e-mail?”

“Sent precisely as you requested. I took the liberty of fixing some commas and rearranging a few phrases for clarity. I copied you on the message.”

Javier pulled out his cell phone and opened his e-mail. The message in question popped up, and he quickly scanned it. “Perfect.”

London gave him a smile, one that spoke eloquently without words that she was genuinely happy to please him. Fuck, if she kept doing that, she was going to wind up bent over his desk, and he’d be ass deep in a sexual harassment suit that would bury S.I. Industries for good.

He should pat her on her head and send her on her way. He definitely shouldn’t hire her.

Dragging in a deep breath, he edged past her and sat, shoving his bottle to a corner of the desk, out of her way. Then he gestured to the guest chair across the desk, silently asking her to take it. Primly, she sat, back straight, knees together. What he’d really like to see was her sitting there in a short skirt, sans panties, with her legs spread wide.

He suppressed a smile. He didn’t have to ask if his thoughts would shock innocent little London. Hell, they shocked him.

“Tell me your medical limitations.”

She swallowed, then sent him a shaky nod. “I may occasionally lose my balance and fall. In the past, I’ve experienced a few blackouts, but since my new medication, I’ve been significantly better. I’m only out for a few minutes, at most. I don’t anticipate that any other part of my condition will cause you issues, sir.”

Damn, he wanted to ask her about this injury and what the hell had happened. It had deeply affected her, he could tell. For such a smart, gorgeous girl, her confidence wasn’t what it should be. She completed tasks easily and with aplomb, but her interaction with him was a bit tentative, just shy of jumpy. When he asked her about the injury, she turned stiff. Definitely something there.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about my vodka?”

London hesitated. Clearly, she hadn’t been expecting the question. “No, sir.”

“Do you disapprove?” he challenged.

“It’s not my place.” She dropped her gaze to the clasped hands in her lap.

“It’s not,” he agreed. “Glad to hear we won’t be having a conversation about it.”

“You wouldn’t be drinking it if you were happy, but that’s none of my business. I would, however, be forced to call a taxi for you if you intended to drive inebriated.”

“Because . . . ?”

“I wouldn’t want you to go to jail. Or for you to be a danger to others.”

Ah, a soft little heart. He liked that. “This job may only last five weeks. If I decide to keep you, it may require relocation.”

She swallowed, looking a bit nervous. “I’ll work hard to make you want to keep me on.”

He believed she would.

“Is this a fair salary to you?” Javier quoted a number that made her eyes widen, and he suppressed a smile.

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. You’ll also receive health-care benefits without any restrictions on preexisting conditions, a healthy 401(k) plan, and three weeks’ paid vacation after the first six months.”

“Y-you’re hiring me?”

It was a stupid decision, given how badly he wanted to fuck her. And he would probably regret it some afternoon when he’d had too much vodka to care about the lawsuit coming his way. But she gave him hope that he could function in this office and make good progress on the projects at hand. The fact that she also gave him an eternal erection was something he’d have to try his best to overlook or overcome.

“HR will insist that you have a drug test first. Give me your e-mail address, and I will have someone contact you with instructions on getting tested tomorrow. Once that unpleasantness is behind us, if you can start Monday, then you have a job, little one.”

The smile he expected never came. In fact, she looked downright worried. “Sir . . .”

“Tell me the problem.”

“My injuries still cause me some pain, and my doctor has prescribed meds. I try not to take them, but I sometimes have trouble sleeping.”

Him, too. But Javier was willing to bet that if they tossed aside the strictures of the boss-assistant relationship, they could work themselves to sweaty exhaustion and get a great night’s sleep afterward.

He pushed aside visions of damp, tangled sheets and entwined bodies. “We’ll make sure HR and the drug testers know about your situation. Don’t worry. Unless I say otherwise, be here Monday at 8:30 a.m. Understood?”

She blinked up at him. Javier didn’t think he’d ever get over those lovely blue eyes and their innocence. “Yes, sir. Anything else?”

The demand that she burn that blouse sat on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back. Since he couldn’t quite stop himself from wanting her, even in that sexless get-up, he’d best let her wear whatever old-fashioned attire she had.

“Don’t be late.”

***

LONDON was still trembling when Alyssa picked her up from her job interview a few minutes later. Her cousin opened the car door from the inside and stuck her head out the window. “Kata called me, and I drove like a maniac to get here. I had to hear the news. What happened?”

“He hired me!” London was still pinching herself as she climbed into the car.

According to the paperwork she’d seen and the auto-signature line on his e-mail, he was Javier Santiago, CEO of S.I. Industries. Imagine, someone of his stature wanted to hire her as his assistant—and for that salary. It was double what she would have expected. He would be exacting, and she’d earn every penny of it, but for now she was just enjoying the feeling of being employed for the first time ever. She was finally on the road to having a real life.

Having a sex life would have to come later. Xander kept tugging at her thoughts—and other parts of her—but he’d said no. She had to respect that. Besides, slipping between the sheets with her boss’ brother probably wasn’t smart. Someone would come along. It wasn’t the right time, place, or man yet. Yeah, she’d love to have someone as knowledgeable as Xander, but it wasn’t meant to be. She’d deal with it. One Mount Everest at a time.

“Oh, sweetie, that’s great!” Alyssa practically bounced in her seat. “When do you start?”

“Monday!”

“You’ll need new clothes.” Alyssa eyed her dusty pink blouse.

London refused to lean on her cousin’s hospitality any more than necessary. “I’ll buy some things after I’ve gotten a few paychecks.”

“We’ll take you this weekend.” When London opened her mouth to object, Alyssa shook her head. “You can pay me back later.”

London mumbled her thanks, then settled back into the passenger’s seat and watched the afternoon scenery go by.

“Sorry about skipping out on you earlier today. Things just got crazy at Bonheur, and after that, Chloe had a doctor’s appointment.” The little girl, strapped to her car seat in the back, giggled at the sound of her name. Alyssa looked at her in the rearview mirror and smiled. “There’s mommy’s pretty girl who did so good. Thankfully, she doesn’t have a cold, just a bit of allergies.”

“It’s fine,” London assured. “We’ll have the next aerobics class later.”

“Right after dinner, I hope. I need the exercise!” Alyssa grumbled.

London had no idea why her cousin would imagine that. Her body looked just as slender and sexy as ever. Given how often she heard gasps and groans coming from Luc and Alyssa’s bedroom in the middle of the night, she supposed they got a lot of their own exercise.

“That’s sounds good.”

“Did you lock up Sirens behind you?”

“I asked Luc to. I had to, um . . . leave suddenly.” London gazed at her cousin’s profile, watching as Lys stared intently at the traffic. “I met someone while I was there.”

Alyssa turned a sharp gaze to her. “How? The club should have been closed.”

“I’d unlocked the door, using your keys. I didn’t lock it behind me, thinking you’d just be a few minutes away.” She skipped the part where she’d stupidly stripped on the stage to fulfill a fantasy that would never come true. “As I was getting ready to leave, this guy came in. We talked for a bit.” She looked out the passenger window, hoping Alyssa couldn’t see how flushed her face had become. “He said that you know him. Xander?”

Lys froze, then slowly eased the water bottle in her hand away from her mouth. “You met Xander?”

She nodded. “He asked me out, but—”

“He asked you out?” Alyssa looked as if she was about to choke.

“Yes.” London peered at her cousin. “Is that bad?”

“Wait. A little over six feet tall, wicked hazel eyes, voice as smooth as melted butter? That Xander?”

She’d described him perfectly. “Logan’s friend, right? Yeah, that’s him. But I said no.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly how it had happened, but she didn’t want to discuss the details.

“You turned Xander down?” When she nodded, Alyssa looked downright stunned, then she laughed. “You’ve got to be the first woman ever in recorded history to do that. I’m dying to know. How did he take it?”

London shrugged. What did she say now? She didn’t really want to admit that she’d thrown herself at him and he’d turned her down first. The whole episode had been a bit humiliating. But it wasn’t as if she was going to see him anymore. “He seemed surprised, but he was pretty nice about it. No big deal.”

“You turned him down.” Alyssa shook her head as if she still couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah, well . . . I didn’t stay after that. In fact, I didn’t tell him that we’re cousins. If you see him, I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t mention knowing me. Things were a little awkward and—”

“Awkward?” Alyssa shot her a suspicious glare. “Okay, what happened? The whole story.”

He stripped me naked and put his mouth on my pink parts and made me scream with incredible pleasure. Best not to say that. “We had a misunderstanding. Nothing major. I just think it would be less embarrassing if we didn’t run into one another again.”