The tense muscles in his jaw relaxed, and an undercurrent of amusement ran through his voice. “You are downright impossible to ignore.”

“Because I have a valid point.” Chloe basked in the glow of Trainor’s compliment. At least, she decided to take it as such.

“Because you are an unusual person.”

That was definitely a compliment.

He continued. “Opinionated, outspoken, insubordinate, manipulative, mercenary . . .”

Or not.

“. . . and Machiavellian—all qualities I admire.”

Chloe couldn’t stop her pleased grin. “You do?”

“Yes, I admire them so much that I want to do something inappropriate.” He took her hands and stood, drawing her to her feet with him.

Her heart stuttered as he released her hands to slide one of his under her hair to the nape of her neck. He cradled her head and tilted it so he could bring his lips down on hers at a better angle. There was plenty of time for her to armor herself in self-respect and step away from him, but she didn’t.

Because last night she’d been dying for him to kiss her and he hadn’t. Now she wanted to know how his lips would feel against hers. That was all. Then she would bring this to a halt.

She kept her eyes open as he came closer, appreciating the gray-and-silver striations in his eyes, the grit of dark stubble along his jaw, the bold strokes of his eyebrows. Then the first brush of his mouth sent her eyelids drifting down so she could savor the firm warmth of the lips she’d been so curious about. His fingers wove themselves into her hair while he slipped his other hand to the small of her back to bring her whole body against his.

He traced the line between her lips with the tip of his tongue, not invading, just stroking lightly. Then he shifted his weight so his thigh pressed between hers, her slim skirt pulling tight around her hips to accommodate him. It was the lightest of friction, but it sent a ripple of tiny detonations through her body, making her breasts ache and desire pool inside her.

She slid her hands up his arms and gripped his shoulders, crushing her breasts against the wall of his chest. She wanted to rip open the buttons of her blouse and tear off her bra so her skin could graze the fine cotton of his shirt.

In response, his kiss turned demanding, and she opened her lips to him. As their tongues met, his hand slipped downward to cup her behind and half lift her so he could force his thigh farther between hers. The sudden full contact made her arch into him, and he growled low in the back of his throat.

At the sound, a surge of power ran through her. She had made him do that. Any hesitation melted away and she gave in to her desire to run her hands over the beautiful muscles of his back, the roping strength of his arms, and the rippled lines of his abdomen. Another sound of wordless arousal rumbled in his chest.

He dragged his lips to her earlobe, which he nipped. A laser beam of heat tightened her nipples and fed the arousal between her legs. Then his fingers were at the buttons of her blouse. She threaded her arms between his and tugged at his buttons at the same time. He finished first, opening her blouse and pushing it down her arms. She gave up on his buttons long enough to let him pull it all the way off.

His sudden intake of breath sent another wave of heat through her body. She unfastened the last of his shirt buttons and yanked his shirttails out of his waistband. As she exposed the planes of his chest, she remembered his response to her question about keeping in shape. He must have one heck of a sex life.

Distracted by the sight of his torso, she hadn’t realized his fingers had found the clasp of her bra until suddenly it went loose and slid down to her elbows. Before she could react, his hands were on her breasts, his thumbs teasing the already sensitive nipples. Sheer, delicious pleasure rioted through her. She hooked her fingers into his belt and leaned away to give him full access.

Shifting his hands to her hips, he hoisted her up and pushed her onto the desk. Shoving her skirt up her thighs, he spread them apart and stepped in to wedge himself between them. Then he bent to take one of her nipples in his mouth.

All she could do was hang on to his shoulders for dear life because he was driving her to the verge of orgasm.

As he pulled at her breast, she felt his fingers trail up her inner thigh, over the top of her thigh-high stockings, under the lace of her panties, and finally slide inside the wet, aching hollow between her legs. He did something wicked with his thumb, and she convulsed in a blast of explosive release so intense she arched backward and sent the computer screen crashing to the floor.

He flexed his fingers, and the orgasm slammed into her again and again until she went limp, trembling with delicious aftershocks. Collapsing onto his shoulder, she felt him begin to slip his fingers from inside her and locked her thighs together to stop him. “I like you there,” she mumbled.

She squeezed her inner muscles as another aftershock shimmered through her, and he huffed out a breath. “I want more than my fingers there,” he said hoarsely.

Now she wanted more than his fingers there too. She let her thighs fall open.

“No condom,” he practically groaned.

That startled her into opening her eyes and lifting her head. The tendons of his neck were taut, and his face was a study in frustrated arousal. He lifted the hand she’d freed and slid two fingers in his mouth, closing his eyes as he tasted her on his skin. “Perfect,” he said.

The word vibrated into her core, making her frantically scan the room as though she could find a condom somewhere. Then a couple of realizations struck her. He hadn’t planned to seduce her or he would have come prepared. And with all his wealth and resources, he didn’t have something as commonplace as a condom when he needed it. That struck her as funny, and she had to quash a smile. “Maybe you could ring for Ed to bring one.”