Ruthless Temptation (6 page)

“
Not even close. I have no idea what they pay him, but
it’s too much. He does next to nothing all day.” She took a sip of wine. “And
you’ve avoided answering my question.”

“
I’m glad you caught that. I was getting worried you’d
lost your edge from too much food and drink.”

She
placed her glass on the table behind the sofa. “I haven’t.” They watched each
other for a few seconds. “Making up your mind about whether or not to trust
me?”

“
It isn’t that. If I tell you anything, it puts you in
a tenuous situation at work.”

“
I thought you wanted me to spy on him?”

“
Not spy.
Listen
.
I need to know who he was speaking to and where he heard that information.”

“
If it wasn’t true, you wouldn’t be so worried about
it. There are rumors about the twelve of you flying around online every day, so
what I overheard must be way more than a rumor.”

“
What if I told you that if what he said gets out, it
could jeopardize everything? That we have a real chance, finally, after almost
eight years, of stopping The Madeline Project? But not unless we keep what
we’re doing a secret for now. Would that be enough to convince you to help me?
Look what this program gone rogue did to your life. Don’t you want it stopped?”
He gestured toward the fireplace. “Don’t you want to see a real one again
someday?”

“
You’re playing on my emotions.”

“
Yes, I am. Because this is as personal for you as it
is for the twelve of us. People spin their lies about us and think we’re fair
game because we’re rich and successful, but they forget everything else we do.
They never talk about the Storm Troopers anymore. That was Ace Easton’s idea,
and all of us have financed them for eight years now. They don’t talk about
what we’re doing behind the scenes to find the people who did this to the
program. They only want to report on how many women we date, or how many
government agencies they think we have our hands in.”

“
You wouldn’t have known Ralph had this information
unless I had come to your office today. So cut me a break and I’ll help you.”

He
narrowed his eyes slightly. “Define ‘cut me a break’.”

“
Promise me that if I lose my job over this, you’ll
hire me, and in a role that uses my skills. Not some bullshit job where my main
function is to fetch you coffee.”

He
placed his glass on the table next to hers. “I’ve already said I would do that,
but if you need to hear it again, you have my word. If you lose your job
finding out what I need to know, I will hire you, and it won’t be to fetch me
coffee. It will be as one of the analysts in my marketing department. Make an
anagram for me out of
that
.”

Chapter
Six

Madison
laughed. One of the analysts in the marketing department at Ingram Properties.
She’d never have a better offer than that.

“
All right … let’s see … marketing department…” She
glanced down at her hands to think then laughed again. “Kindergarten am tempt.”

“
Quite appropriate. I’m seriously amazed to watch you
do that. I mean it.”

She
gazed into his eyes as they smiled at each other. Guilt washed over her suddenly.
What was she doing? She was ready to rat out her boss for this man, and no
matter what happened to Ralph, she’d have a great new job. Was she really that
shallow?”

“
What just happened?” he asked. “Your expression
changed.”

“
Guilt does that to me.”

He
picked up his wine glass and took a sip. “You mean about Ralph?”

“
Yes.”

“
What if I guaranteed no one will ever know what Ralph
did?”

“
How can you guarantee that? What if he was talking to
someone who doesn’t work for HCS?”

“
I’ll find another way to use the information you get.
I won’t hang Ralph out to dry. Will that ease your guilt?”

She
took another sip of wine to collect her thoughts. He was after information,
nothing more. And obviously what she’d overheard was true or he wouldn’t go to
this much trouble. She wasn’t out to get Ralph fired. She’d only wanted to find
out what the hell was going on. Granted, she’d jumped in without thinking, but
Viggo
was already past that. If she looked at the big
picture, she’d be doing something important enough to affect the entire planet.
And, she’d likely end up working for him when it was all said and done. She’d
have a chance to use her skills, and maybe she’d be able to walk away from HCS
without more disappointment. Perhaps she’d even develop a new perspective on her
time there.

“
And that’s all I have do?” she asked.

He
nodded. “Nothing more. Just find out what I need to know as quickly as
possible.”

Madison
still felt she was missing something. It seemed too easy. “I don’t have to have
sex with you?”

A
slow grin spread over his face. “No, you don’t
have
to, but I know you
want
to.”

He
moved closer, and the scent of his cologne tickled her nose. The fire was warm,
he smelled great, and looking into his eyes this much had made her dizzy with
need. It would be so easy to give in.

“
Why don’t we both stop playing this silly game and
admit what we want?” His voice was coaxing and confident. The effect was
intoxicating.

“
Because I don’t want to be one of your playthings.”
Her voice sounded shaky and unsure. She hadn’t meant for it to come out that
way.

“
I don’t play when it comes to sex. I’m dead serious
about it.”

“
You know what I mean. You’ll seduce me and then
suddenly all bets are off. There will be no job for me with your company,
you’ll find what you need from Ralph another way, and then you’ll move onto the
next woman.”

“
What an imagination you have.” He brushed a lock of
hair off her face, and she had to bite back a moan. “Firstly, if I could find
out how Ralph got this information another way, I wouldn’t have persuaded you
to find out for me.”

He
scooted closer. She could now count his eyelashes. “Secondly, I gave you my
word on the job, and I never go back on my word, Madison.
Never
. When I say I’m going to do something, it’s a done deal.”

She
swallowed hard against the sudden lump in her throat. She had the power to
resist his charms, but it struck her that she didn’t want to. She wanted him to
seduce her. She wanted to have sex with him. She might as well admit it,
because he certainly had seen it coming.

“
And thirdly, I don’t fuck around. When I’m seeing
someone, I don’t date or have sex with other women at the same time,
despite
what the tabloids like to
infer.”

That
was news to her, but he looked and sounded sincere. Had she misjudged him?
“They also say you never date anyone longer than a few weeks or months.”

“
That part is true. I don’t. But while I’m with that
person, I’m with only her.”

Did
he sound sad, or was she imagining it?

“
Madison, I don’t do the happily ever after thing. I
won’t lead you on about that. I’m honest about what I want. No one can say
otherwise. I like you. I’m intrigued by you, and you’re a very pretty woman. I
want to make love to you, but sex is not a condition of what we discussed
earlier. If you say ‘no’ then it’s ‘no’ and it won’t affect our business
arrangement.”

“
If I don’t want to tonight, will you have
me
over for dinner again, or take me out, or ask me to have
sex with you again?”

“
Yes.”

“
Why?”

“
Stop fishing for compliments. I already told you I
think you’re pretty, and you know I want you in bed. What else do you think
you’re going to hear from me?”

Before
Madison had any time to react, he leaned over and kissed her, right on the
mouth, and it wasn’t a chaste kiss. She made a surprised sound and then slowly
brought her arms up, but before she got them around his shoulders, he released
the kiss.

“
Yum. You taste good.”

She
stared at him, stunned, and very unsatisfied that he’d stopped.

“
You’re very pretty, Madison, and very sexy. Now that I
know what your lips feel like on mine, I want you more than ever.” He stroked
her hair, and this time she wasn’t able to bite back the moan in time. “I know
you want me, too. Why shouldn’t we have some fun while we ferret out the bad
guys?”

“
You’re very sure of yourself.”

His
voice and his expression were so confident, and instead of finding that
arrogant, she was even more turned on. It was nice to be with a man who wasn’t
falling all over himself, trying to kiss her or paw at her with no more skill
than a fourteen year old boy would display.

“
We’re both adults,” he said. “We both know what we
want.”

 
She
stared into those blue eyes and knew she was toast. She couldn’t lie to him. He
saw the truth in her eyes, on her face, and in her body language. If he shoved
his hand down her pants right now he’d realize how wet she was, but he likely
didn’t need to prove it. He already knew she was aroused.

“
I’m not on the pill.”

“
That’s all right. I use condoms on general principles.
I have no social diseases. May I assume the same of you?”

“
I don’t have any either. Thank you for bringing it
up.” Should she tell him her limited sexual experience, or would he figure that
out on his own? How wonderful would it be to make love to a man who had as much
experience as
Viggo
?

He
rose and offered his hand. “Why don’t I show you where you can take a few
moments to take care of any personal needs?”

Her
gaze went straight to his crotch, where an impressive bulge tented his pants.
She stood and forced her eyes to his face. “All right. Thank you.”

His
slight frown sent a sliver of doubt racing through her. “Don’t be afraid of me,
Madison. I’m not going to ask you to do anything you don’t want to do. There
are no whips or chains in my bedroom.”

She
couldn’t help smiling. “I’m not afraid.”

“
Something is bothering you. I wish you’d tell me what
it is.”

“
I have limited experience.” He’d find out anyway.
Might as well get it over with before this went any further.

“
Are you a virgin?”

Here it comes
… “Define virgin.”

His
face filled with concern, and she watched her chances of making love to this
extraordinary man evaporate like mist burning off a lake when the sun finally
hits it.

****

Viggo
hadn’t expected that. It wasn’t a
deterrent, but he hadn’t anticipated the possibility. Every other woman he’d
met who was this stunning and charming had been experienced. He realized what
an assuming ass he’d been.

She
was waiting for him to answer the question with a look on her face that
suggested she expected him to send her packing. He needed to dispel that notion
and quickly. “Has a man put his penis in your vagina, yes or no?”

“
No.”

He
barely heard the answer because her voice was so soft now. “Have you had sexual
contact with a woman?”

“
No.”

“
Has a man put his penis in your ass?”

“
No.”

“
How about your mouth?”

“
Unfortunately, yes.”

Oh shit
… He didn’t want to ask, but he had
to know. “Was it consensual?”

“
Yes, but I had no clue what I was doing.”

Thank goodness
. That was an easy fix. “I’m sorry.
Not ever having sucked a cock myself, I can’t relate from the same point of
view, but I know I always prefer new sexual acts to be fun.”

She
almost laughed, and he was relieved. Her reaction could just as easily have
been the opposite. “It wasn’t that it wasn’t fun. I felt … I don’t know.”

“
Yes, you do. Tell me.”

“
He was far more experienced than me, obviously, and
like I said, I had no clue what I was doing.”

Now
he understood. Anger bubbled up
inside him. “The asshole mocked you for it, didn’t he?”

She
nodded.
Viggo
cupped her face gently. Those big brown
eyes looked at him with lust as well as something desperate. An emotion that
suggested she needed someone to validate that she was a sexy, desirable woman.
He normally avoided virgins for that very reason. He didn’t want to be the man
to awaken any woman’s sexual desire. It made the entire act too damn emotional
for them, and that’s when things got squirrely for
him
.

But
something about this adorable girl called to him, and he knew there was no way
he could let her leave tonight. He would make love to her, and he would show
her how fucking fantastic it could be. He certainly wouldn’t mock her
inexperience. It had been a long time since he’d had the chance to teach a
woman something new in the bedroom, and if that caused him some emotional
discomfort, tough shit.

He’d
started this, after all. She was here because he had practically blackmailed
her into it. He had no one but himself to blame for the way his pulse raced
when she looked at him. He’d walked into this with his eyes open and his cock
hard.

“
I’m sorry that happened to you. Any man who would do
that is a stupid pig.”

“
I agree. Thank you for saying so.”

“
We’ll go slowly. I promise.”

“
Why would you do that for me?”

“
I’m not an asshole, Madison. I said I wanted to make
love to you, not simply take you.” His voice came out harsher than he intended.
Now that he knew she’d never actually had sex, some of her comments tonight
made a lot more sense. He’d have to temper his tendency to shoot from the hip.
He didn’t want to hurt her. He was simply used to a different kind of
experience.

“
I know you’re not an asshole.”

He
stroked her hair, his dick so damn hard now it was painful. “It’s going to be
all right.”

“
I believe you.”

He
took her hand. “Come on.” He led her upstairs and showed her to one of the
guest suites. “You’ll find everything you need in there.”

She
glanced toward the doors to his suite. They hadn’t gone inside before because
Nick had come upstairs to tell them dinner was ready. “Should I come to your
room when I’m ready?”

“
If you want, or I can wait here for you.”

She
smiled. “You’re a gentleman.”

“
I told you I am.”

She
laughed softly, and his heart soared. She was okay now. This was going to be an
incredible evening for both of them, if he had anything to say about it.

“
I’ll come to your room in a few moments.”

He
bowed slightly, and she laughed again.

“
As you wish, my lady.”