How Not to Be Seduced by Billionaires (2 page)

            Walter and Carole would constantly warn me of how a man’s, umm, member could end up literally tearing your hymen apart and send you to E.R. if you weren’t made ‘ready’ by true love. Since Walter was a top-rated surgeon and Carole his nurse for twenty years, you could just imagine how believable their horror stories had sounded during my younger years. Of course, I knew better now, but old fears were pretty hard to kill, especially if you’d been listening to them since you had your first period.

            Feeling like I had to say something or Mr. Too-Sexy-To-Be-True would know how much he was affecting me, I added lamely, “I didn’t mean to be late.”

            “I know,” he said so nicely it made me look at him. I inhaled sharply when I saw how he was looking at me, the way his eyes took its time to linger on my lips. It was like he wanted me to know he was driving himself crazy wondering how my lips tasted.

            I bit my lip.

            His nostrils flared.

            I hurriedly released my lip, realizing he might have thought I was being deliberately provocative. I swung my seat back in, staring determinedly at the wall across me. I had a hard time believing I just had some sort of eye-sex with a near total stranger. A really mind-blowingly hot one but – still a stranger.

            Who was still staring at me.

            I gripped my armrests tightly, using it to anchor me in place and
not
turn towards him like his eyes were demanding me to.

            A soft chuckle then I heard the cushion of his seat squeaking a little as he turned to face the others.

“Now that we’re all complete, we can start the interview.”

At his words, I had swung my seat back to face him in a second. I gaped at him. Had I heard him correctly?

            Mr. Too-Sexy-To-Be-True glanced at me, his grin no longer secretive but wicked this time. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to officially welcome you to Kastein Inc. Thank you for your interest in joining my company. I’m delighted to see you all here.” He all but purred the last pronoun out, with a swift glance at my lips under his lashes as he spoke.

            It had the most incredible impact on my body, and I could only silently gasp in horror as I felt my nipples coming to life until they were poking against the thick silk of my shirt.

            I hurriedly grabbed my bag and placed it in front of me, but one glance at the knowing gleam in the man’s eyes told me I was too late.

            Maybe – maybe I was too late all along and just one look at me and he knew he could have me. Anywhere, anytime, any---oh God, what the hell was I thinking?

            “You’re Yanna Everleigh?” He didn’t wait for an answer and offered his hand instead. “I’m Constantijin Kastein and I will be interviewing you today.”

            No wonder everyone was staring. No fucking wonder. He was a Kastein – a board member at the very least. And I had taken the seat next to him like I was going to interview the others, too, when I should have been with them at the opposite side of the table.

            Still drowning in a mental pool of embarrassment, I slowly took his hand. His hand immediately gripped mine, but what made my eyes shoot up to him incredulously was how he also managed to caress my fingers at the same time.

            He returned it with an innocent one of his own. “Since you’re the last one to arrive, I hope you understand if you will be the last one I’ll be interviewing one-on-one.”

            I could only nod dumbly. I hadn’t even known there was going to be a one-on-one. I was absolutely unprepared for it but right now, what I was most worried about was how my nipples seemed to be knocking against my blouse and begging for his attention. Worse, I also felt the heat of his gaze burn through my blouse just before he looked back at the other applicants. It was only for a second, but God! That second was something I’d never forget – just that one look and he made me feel he was already cupping my breasts and sucking my nipples.

            I clutched my armrests more desperately. It was all I could do to control myself, knowing that if I crossed my legs he would know I was doing so because I was becoming wet for him. Oh dear, I was
wet.
For the first time in my life I was wet between my legs and it had nothing to do with taking a shower. It had everything to do with the man still eye-humping me and it was all I could do
not
to eye-hump him back.

            How could a pair of silvery gray eyes be so powerfully seductive?

            The nature of my thoughts made me want to drown myself longer in the pool of embarrassment in my mind, now transformed into a sauna of utter humiliation.

           
Constantijin Kastein.

           
He owned the company I was applying for and I hadn’t even recognized him. How could I be so dumb? And I was late for my interview, too. Why was I even here?

            Constantijin was still speaking, his voice deep and husky but his accent less pronounced this time. And then he was handing out questionnaires. He gave mine last, and our fingers not so accidentally – on his part – brushed. I bit back another gasp, aghast and just outright stunned at how the merest touch from him could turn me on, more so than I already was.

            How was it that I had lived 24 years without even being tempted to watch porn or masturbate and yet one look from this man was enough to make me mentally pant for his touch? If I had to be ruthlessly honest with myself, a part of me was even imagining what
his
cock would look like. I didn’t care about anyone else’s – I just wanted to look at his.

            My face burned with color at what I had just privately admitted to myself.

            When he bent towards me, I tensed. “Relax,” he said so softly that I knew I would be the only one able to hear him. “I don’t bite.”

            Just as I opened my mouth to answer, he added even more softly, “Not unless you want me to. Starting with those lovely nipples of yours.”

            Ladies and gentlemen, as of 9:24 in the morning, this 21
^st
of September, I have officially had my first orgasm – or something really close to it. Trembling, I quickly turned away, my seat swiveling completely so that he would only be able to see the back of my chair. I had no plans responding – absolutely no plan at all since I knew whatever I say wouldn’t be able to hide how those words excited my body even as my mind recoiled from them.

            Constantijin Kastein was like no one I knew – or even imagined knowing. I would never have thought of any stranger saying something like that to me; but when he did, it sounded terrifyingly right.

            Ten minutes into the questionnaire and I could feel his gaze on me again, more heated than ever. We both knew I was aware that he was mentally undressing me with his gaze.

            For a second, my fingers clenched around my Barbie-pink pen like a vise – the only thing I could do to release the weird and intense pressure that the sexual tension between us had created inside of me.

            “Cute pen,” he said suddenly, startling me into dropping the said cute pen.

I stared in frustration at how that action had left an inch-long zigzag mark in the middle of my answer sheet. Great – just darn great. Whoever would end up checking this would be forgiven for thinking I might have been doodling around because I was having a hard time answering their questions.

“Thank you,” I muttered, swiveling my seat towards him as I reluctantly lifted my gaze to meet his, knowing I owed him that much. It was exactly as I feared.

Constantijin held my gaze with his bright gray eyes – and claimed me entirely through it. His seat swiveled as he faced me completely, our knees bumping as he did. I could only swallow, knowing that everything he did was a calculated move to seduce me – even though there were a dozen of other people in the room with us.

With this kind of sexual tension – none of that really mattered.

“Is pink your favorite color?” Oh, dear Lord, that accent was so sinfully sexy, too. It made me think of him with days-old stubble, arousing me as he used its rough texture to tease my brea---

Where the hell were all these thoughts coming from?

Realizing he was still waiting for an answer, I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I wanted to turn away but knew it would be the height of disrespect if I did. He was Constantijin
Kastein
of
Kastein
Incorporated, after all.

He inched even closer, and I tensed again when our knees bumped the second time. Unable to bear another not-so-accidental encounter, I swiveled my seat back in and glanced determinedly down on my questionnaire and answer sheet.

If I had thought that would dissuade him, it just seemed to have the opposite effect. Constantijin actually inched closer – enough for his breath to fan my cheek. As he spoke, I could feel his gaze caressing my breasts. “Thank God the ink’s not pink. That would be too much.”

            I gripped my pen tightly again. Damn him. It was
him
that was too much…everything. Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself to tell him off. But when I looked up, he was already busy talking with Bottle Blonde, who – in complete contrast with how I felt – seemed more than eager to have him seduce her. Or even vice versa. You could tell by the way she was playing with the low neckline of her tight black dress, as if she was trying to figure out how to make it “unintentionally” reveal more of her already much-exposed cleavage. Any lower and she’d be showing her nipples.

            Constantijin asked us to return the Q&A sheets after a few minutes. I slid mine on the table toward him, unwilling to have our fingers touch again. I grabbed my bag, hoping I could leave right away so I would have time to compose myself before the dreaded one-on-one interview.

            When I turned to leave, I saw Constantijin blocking my way, his back to me as he firmly bid Bottle Blonde goodbye. As Constantijin turned towards me, Bottle Blonde threw me a vicious glance of loathing. I pretended not to notice because if I did, it would be like a war between one slut to another and I was no slut – even though my body had been begging to differ the moment Constantijin started his visual seduction.

            Nodding a polite goodbye to him, I kept my head down as I tried to sidestep him and leave. But he was suddenly in front of me, blocking my way again. This time, I couldn’t help looking up with a mixture of suspicion and exasperation. I felt just a bit of sexual frustration, too, but that was neither here nor there.

            Constantijin only grinned at the look I gave him, throwing up his hands in the air as the door slammed shut behind Bottle Blonde’s exaggeratedly swaying hips. “I mean no harm, Ms. Everleigh,” he said with exaggerated wide-eyed innocence.

            It took everything in me
not
to smile back and keep frowning, even though he looked even more irresistible when he was so obviously flirting – with me. The thought was such a huge turn-on I didn’t know what to do with my body anymore. Should I throw myself at him? Should I run out of the room and never look back? My virginity was under threat, after all.

            “I look forward to interviewing you later.” The way he said the words made it obvious he had something entirely different in mind.

            I physically tried planting the slim heels of my shoes into the ground, knowing if I didn’t, my body would automatically lean toward him, an instinctive response to the seductive spell he was so expertly weaving around me.

            Looking at his proffered hand suspiciously, I slowly took it for a shake.

            And not a second later, I knew I was right to distrust him. Constantijin’s hand immediately locked around mine and used it to haul me towards him. I stumbled onto him, and the tips of my nipples brushed against his chest.

            Constantijin inhaled sharply. “You are so fucking sexy.”