Mine To Hold (2 page)

Claire inched back a bit.

“Don’t.”

Her gaze flew to meet his.

Noah shook his head. “You have nothing to
fear from me, Claire.” He smiled at her. “Besides, from what I
remember, you’re pretty strong in your own right.”

She blushed. Again. She couldn’t help it that
she had the annoying skin type that flushed way too much. No, she
couldn’t help it, but she could hate it. “I was…” Claire cleared
her throat. “I didn’t know who you were then.” When a strange man
appeared out of seemingly nowhere and came at her, Claire’s
immediate instinct had been to attack. She hadn’t wasted moment on
questions. Instead, she’d gone in fighting.

These days, Claire knew it was better to be
safe—

Than dead.

“And to think,” he murmured as he advanced in
that little space, “you look so…deceptively delicate.”

Claire was tall, about five foot ten, but she
still had to tilt her head back a bit to keep meeting his stare.
“Appearances are always deceiving.” She’d learned that lesson at
sixteen.

His mouth hitched into a half-smile. A smile
that made her heart race too quickly. He was definitely a handsome
bastard, she’d give him that. And the fact that he could make her
heart jump so easily—

That tells me to be careful with him. So
careful.
The last time she’d fallen for a man with a
heart-jumping smile, she’d nearly paid for that mistake with her
life.

“You remembered my offer,” Noah murmured.

How could she forget?

The last time that she’d seen Noah York,
Claire had been at her sister’s funeral. Grief had nearly choked
her as she stared down at Sara’s coffin. Noah had been there. Right
at Claire’s side.
I want to help you.
His words whispered
through her mind. He’d slipped his card into her hand.
I owe
you. I owe your sister. If you ever need me, I’m a phone call
away.

When the funeral had ended, Claire hadn’t
stayed around to talk with Noah or any of the others at that
gut-wrenching graveside. She’d run away from them all. Claire had
gotten good at running.

But there was nowhere to run now. She needed
him. A week ago, she’d lost the job that she’d
counted
on,
and Claire had forced herself to come to Noah. Even though he
scared her.

“My, what big eyes you have,” he murmured.
His smile slowly faded as he searched her gaze. “I’ve never seen
anyone with eyes quite like yours. That deep blue is really quite
incredible.”

Her lashes lowered, hiding the blue in
question. She found herself staring at his throat. At his tie. At
anything but—

His fingers slipped under her chin. Claire
jerked at the contact and tried to back away from him.

Her elbow rammed into the wall of the
elevator.

“I don’t…I don’t like to be touched.” The
words were sharp. They were also true.

Normally.

But she hadn’t jerked away from Noah because
the press of his fingers brought the usual cold fear.

She’d backed away because his touch had
scorched her.

“It’s a pity,” he told her as his hand
dropped back to his side. “Because I think that I could enjoy
touching you.”

The elevator had stopped. She just realized
that. How long had it been still? “Ah, why aren’t the doors
opening?”

He glanced at the control panel. “Because I
haven’t opened them.”

So he wanted the two of them to be trapped
together in that elevator?

“Are you afraid of small spaces?” Noah asked
her suddenly.

Claire shook her head.

“Good to know.” He inclined his head. “I’m
making a list, you see.”

She was totally lost. “A list?”

He pressed a code into the control panel. The
doors opened seconds later. “I’m finding out what scares you. What
you like. What you don’t like.”

She hurried from the elevator, but then
hesitated on the lush carpet in the hallway. “Why does any of that
matter to you?”

He shrugged. “Because it does.”

Talk about an incredibly vague answer.

“We’re almost to my suite.” He headed down
the hallway.

Claire didn’t follow. “I’d expected that we’d
meet in your office.” Not in his suite. If she hadn’t been so
nervous on that elevator, she would have brought up this point
sooner.

Noah glanced over his shoulder at her. “I can
get the best privacy in my personal suite.”

They were having the meeting in his
personal
suite? The breath that she sucked in felt icy, but
Claire soldiered on. Noah opened the suite door for her. She
slipped past him, casting a quick glance up at the chandelier that
hung in the entrance way. The huge chandelier gleamed, casting
light all over the massive foyer of the suite.
A suite that is
way bigger than the home my family used to have down in
Alabama.

Noah shut the door behind her.

“Do you always have business meetings in your
suite?” She asked him, not buying the privacy line for a
minute.

“I didn’t know we were going to talk just
business.” He slid by her. Not touching, but close. He headed into
the next room. She did, too, then momentarily lost her breath at
the stunning view she discovered. The New York skyline was spread
out before her, on perfect display thanks to the floor to ceiling
windows that lined the wall. Just to the right of that wall, Claire
saw a glass door that led out onto a balcony area. When she’d been
staring up at the hotel, she hadn’t even noticed the balcony. She
glanced back at Noah. He was watching her.

Noah motioned toward the windows and said, “I
saw you.”

Her shoulders tensed.

“You stayed across the street for so long. I
was wondering when you’d get the courage to come to me.”

She crossed to the windows. Stared down. They
were up so high. “How could you see me clearly?”

“When it comes to you, Claire, I can see
plenty.”

Now she looked back over her shoulder at
him.

“Want a drink?” he asked her.

“No, I want a job.” Okay, those words had
just blurted out. She’d meant to broach the subject of her
employment in a much more elegant way. She was sure that had been
her plan. But when she got nervous, elegance tended to vanish from
her repertoire.

Noah crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s
a problem.”

Oh, damn. She’d had such high hopes.
Keep
your pride, Claire. It’s all you have.
Her chin notched up. “It
doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just something temporary. You’ve
got dozens of hotels, I’m sure that you can—”

“I don’t fuck with my employees.”

Wait,
what?
Her jaw dropped.

“And I very much want to have sex with
you.”

She shook her head. Claire wasn’t sure if she
was denying his words or just—“You didn’t just say that to me.”

His lips quirked. Amusement flashed in the
depths of his golden eyes. “I assure you, I did. I believe in
honesty.”

She didn’t know what to say. “I’m not…” Okay,
this was getting way past her control. “I’m not here for sex. I’m
here for a
job.
”

“Do you feel it?” Noah asked as his gaze
seemed to heat with emotion. “Or is it just me?”

“Is what just you?” Claire whispered.

“I look at you, and my whole body burns. I
want you naked. I want you screaming. I want to see pleasure make
your eyes flash even brighter.”

Her breath came faster. Rougher.

“So I wondered if that was just me. Is the
arousal all on my side? The attraction?” His gaze dipped to her
mouth. “Or do you feel it, too?”

I feel it.
But Claire had rules. So
many rules. She licked her lips. Saw the gold in his eyes go
molten. “I’m not…I’m not interested in having sex with you.”

His dark brows rose. “Are you very sure about
that?”

No.
Yes. Claire hadn’t taken a lover
in years.

Nine years, to be exact.

Not since she’d learned how dangerous a lover
could be. She pulled at the left sleeve of her jacket. “Sex won’t
be an issue.” Claire cleared her throat. “I
need
the job.
You said that you owed me.” She didn’t actually think that he did
owe her. He certainly hadn’t caused her injury in Chicago, but in
that desperate moment, she’d try to play on any sense of debt that
he might feel. “I-I need the job.”

He took a slow step toward her.

“Please,” she said, truly desperate and—

A flash of anger crossed his face. In the
next instant, Noah was right in front of her. “Don’t ever do
that.”

Do what? Lost, she could only shake her
head.

“You don’t have to beg me for anything.
Remember that.” His hands lifted, then his fingers fisted as if he
were trying to resist the urge to touch her. “If you want a job
with me, it’s yours.”

Her breath expelled in a relieved burst.
“Thank you.”

“I don’t want your gratitude.” His eyes still
burned. “I want you, and that wanting isn’t just going to
stop.”

She could actually feel the heat from his
body. It warmed her when she’d been cold for so long.

“But I meant what I said,” Noah continued,
his voice deep and rumbling. “I don’t fuck with my employees.”

“Y-you won’t be f-fucking with me.”

His lips thinned. “We’ll see. I don’t want
you to beg, I think I was pretty clear about that…you should never
have to beg for anything. But I will wait and let you ask me to be
your lover.”

That shocked her. “It’s not happening.”

“We’ll see.” He turned away from her. Paced
toward a desk that waited in the corner. “You graduated at the top
of your class at Washington State University. Received a Bachelor’s
degree in Business Management, then got your MBA.”

He’d checked her out?

“But you’ve barely stayed at any job longer
than six months since you got your MBA.” His fingers tapped lightly
on the edge of the desk. “Why is that?”

“Because my past keeps catching up with me.”
And she did not,
could not
, talk about her past then. She’d
lost her last job because her boss found out about her.

Noah’s expression hardened. “Are you in
danger, Claire?” A new note had entered his voice. Rougher.
Harder.

A shiver slid over her. “No.” Not any longer.
At least, she shouldn’t be. She cleared her throat. “I have…a
powerful enemy. He likes to punish me, so he tends to make sure I
don’t exactly have the best employment prospects.”
Please,
please, Noah, just accept what I say and don’t ask any other
questions.

Her gaze dropped to the manila file on his
desk. Understanding hit her hard and had Claire backing up a step.
If he’d learned about her college, then… “You already know.”

His shoulders tensed as he straightened to
fully face her.

“You know everything that happened to me,
don’t you?” And she
hated
that. Claire rarely talked about
her past. It hurt too much. For Noah to know. For this sexy, strong
man to know all her dark secrets—

The knowledge of her exposure to him just
made her feel weak. Too exposed.

He held her gaze. “I know you’re a survivor,
and that’s all that matters to me.”

She blinked quickly because, for some reason,
his words had her eyes tearing. Claire would
not
cry in
front of him. She didn’t cry in front of anyone.

“I don’t really give a shit how powerful the
enemy from your past is,” he continued, voice deep, “because I’m
pretty sure I’ve got just as much…if not more…power.”

Claire thought he did, too. That was why
she’d come to him. If anyone could stand up to the man after her,
it would be Noah. “I just want a chance.”

Noah inclined his head. “Like I said, I’ll
give you a job.”

Her shoulders slumped. The relief that hit
her then was so dizzying she felt a little light-headed for a
minute. The last nine years had been so hard. And with her sister’s
death just a few months before…the demons that chased Claire seemed
to have just grown stronger.

“I know I have to start at the bottom,”
Claire said, her words coming fast now, “and that’s fine. You just
tell me who to report to, and I’ll—”

“You’ll report to me, Claire. Only me.”

Her lips parted. “But—”

“I need an assistant, and you just got the
job.”

That was…
wow.
“I can do it,” she
promised him. “I’ll prove that I can—”

“I already know you can do it.” He tilted his
head as he studied her. “But you should be aware that we’ll have to
work very closely together. My hours are crazy, and I’ll expect you
to be at my beck and call pretty much twenty-four, seven.”

She nodded. She had no social life, so that
was a done deal.

“Where are you staying?” Noah asked.

“The Hamlet, over on—”

“It’s a dump, Claire.” The anger was back on
his face and in his voice. “A man was shot there last week.”

And two men had been arrested there last
night. But when you were trying to save every bit of money you had,
well, you didn’t have the luxury of being choosy about your
hotel.

His jaw locked. “I’ll make sure you have a
room available here at the Towers.”

“But…”

A muscle flexed in his jaw. “You aren’t
staying there any longer.”

“What will the other staff members think?”
Claire asked as she shifted her feet nervously. “If I just move in
here, even if it’s just for a few days, they’ll talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. Other staff
members stay here.” He waved that concern away. “Like I told you, I
don’t sleep with my employees. No one will think anything of your
sleeping accommodations at the Towers.”

Right. Claire nodded and sighed in relief.
“Th-thank you, Noah. I won’t forget this.” Claire squared her
shoulders. She walked toward him. Offered her hand.

He stared down at her hand for a moment, then
his fingers curled around hers. His hand was so big that it seemed
to swallow her own. His flesh was golden, warm, and at that touch—a
touch she’d instigated—a surge of sensual awareness flooded through
her.