If she was going to act like we didn’t know each other, far be it from me to spoil her ruse.

“Would you like something to drink?” I asked with a smile.

“No, thank you.”

It was the first time I’d ever heard her voice outside of her usual order. It was a potent combination of feminine and sweet, one that had once brought me to my knees.

“Tea, perhaps?” I couldn’t help the smirk tugging at my lips as I waited to see if she’d react to that.

She shook her head, though by the way her eyes flashed, I knew the joke hadn’t escaped her. “I’m fine.”

“Then please enlighten us.” I gestured for her to go ahead.

Cooper’s eyes narrowed, and I knew what he was thinking. Why the fuck are you being such a dick?

“Sir?” she asked, her gaze confused as she tried to understand what I wanted from her.

“Why are you here at Forbidden Desires, Miss Bell?”

“I was . . . intrigued. By your website.” She paused again, weighing her words. “I thought I’d come in and see what you had to offer.”

About nine inches of hard—

I cleared my throat and cut that thought short. Leaning forward, I placed my palms flat on my desk. “I’m sorry, but I’m not buying it. A beautiful woman like yourself, what could you possibly be doing here?”

“I—”

“You need money, is that it?”

Her eyes narrowed. “No, nothing like that.” Her attention flicked to Cooper, whose narrowed gaze was still trained on me.

“What then?” I pressed. “What is it that you’re looking for?”

Watching me intently for several more seconds, she drew a steadying breath that made her nostrils flare slightly. She seemed to be gathering her inner strength.

“Adventure.”

She hurled the word with enough force to tell me that this one had spirit. There was the backbone I’d been wondering about.

This was ridiculous. I was sure that my clients—including Drake—would eat this woman for breakfast.

It was exactly that thought that made me want to usher her right out the door. Since the second she’d walked in, one realization had become clear. I couldn’t have her. I wanted her too much. Giving in to a clawing need like this would ruin us both. That much I knew from experience. But for some strange reason, the thought of anyone else having her made my hands clench into fists.

Leaving my card had been a grave error on my part. I’d gotten cocky, thought I could handle it, but I was dead wrong. Now to get her out of my sight before I couldn’t resist the urges that were stirring deep inside.

“Sorry, but I can’t help you.” I rose from my desk and she mirrored my stance, rising to her feet on shaky heels.

“Surely, that’s your job, Mr. Kingsley,” she said softly. “To cater to people’s . . . desires?”

Our tense standoff stretched out for several seconds, during which Emma refused to back down and my cock twitched in interest yet again.

Fuck.

I had too much to lose now, too many people counting on me. She was a distraction. And in my line of work, she was one I couldn’t afford. I needed her gone.

“Certain dark things are meant to be explored in secret, don’t you think?” she asked, her voice gaining confidence. When my gaze flitted to hers, a smile unfurled on her lips.

“One point on which we well agree, Miss Bell.”

Even as the warning bells blared in my head, I couldn’t seem to force myself to make her go.

Chapter Three

Emma

Holy hell.

Gavin Kingsley was the most intense, arrogant, and infuriating man I’d ever met. I didn’t know whether to stomp out of his office or to curse him out. But I was raised better than that, so I sat there with my lips pursed, watching him, waiting to see what he’d do or say next. So far, he’d been anything but what I’d expected.

His intense gaze held mine, holding me captive. The weight of his stare was much too sensual, almost as if . . . as if it were his calloused fingertips grazing my bare skin. Blood rushed to my cheeks, and to certain other parts of my body, against my will.

Both he and his brother appeared smug, like all of this was familiar territory for them and they were used to getting their way. They were both dashingly handsome, of course, each over six feet tall, well-muscled and broad. Gavin’s square jaw was dusted with yesterday’s stubble, and his hazel eyes drilled into me so intently, it was hard not to gasp. While Gavin’s suit was impeccably tailored, his tie still knotted neatly at his throat, Cooper’s tie hung loosely about his neck. The younger brother had ditched his coat somewhere, and the sleeves of his once-crisp white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing strong, tanned forearms.

So similar in some ways, but totally different in others.

I hadn’t figured them out, not by a long shot, but it didn’t matter. My time here was done.

The men made eye contact over my head, seeming to communicate something I wasn’t privy to.

Gavin’s lips pulled into a slant as he looked back at me again. “If you’re here looking for love, if you think you’re going to find it, that’s not what we do here.”

What had I been hoping to find?

That he’d recognize me and declare his undying devotion? Or maybe leap up and take me in his arms? Tell me he’d been waiting for me for so long?

What an idiot I’d been. Instead, he’d leered at my breasts for a second and then made a joke about my morning tea, the only indication that he recognized me at all.

Gavin wasn’t a fantasy. He was a nightmare.

Shame poured over me, forcing heat to rush to my cheeks. “It was obviously a mistake to come here. Excuse me.”

Real life was not some romance novel. In fact, this moment seemed to belong to the horror genre, or maybe even dark comedy, depending on your outlook. Either way, I wouldn’t subject myself to his patronizing questions any longer.

“One second,” Cooper said, stepping between us. “Give us just a minute, would you, princess?”

I met his gaze and wet my lower lip with the tip of my tongue. The term of endearment coming from his mouth was tender and unexpected. He had kind eyes, and in that moment, for some strange reason I trusted him, much more than I probably should.

“Okay,” I said.

Cooper escorted me to the door, and when we stepped into the hall, he muttered under his breath, “He’s being a prick.”

“Is that unusual?” Maybe this was just the way Gavin operated. All I had to go on was viewing him in a coffee shop. I knew nothing of the man, but so far, this didn’t seem all that out of character.

Rather than answer, Cooper frowned. “Give me two minutes with him. We’ll sort this out.”

Heaving a sigh, I stood my ground. “One minute.”

“You won’t leave? I know you said it’s not about the money, but I have a great idea that could benefit us all, and we pay well. Very well,” he said, his voice softer than I would have imagined for such a big man.

“I’ll wait,” I said, although I fisted my hands at my sides in self-disgust. I had no reason to stay. In less than five minutes, I had been insulted in more ways than I could count by a man I knew was my type—which made things all the worse. But the thought of being able to pay off what I owed on the brownstone and get ahead a little was tempting.

Almost as tempting as getting inside enigmatic Gavin Kingsley’s head and figuring out what the hell he was thinking. It was a curse. The same quality that made me a great researcher and a dedicated librarian also made me almost tragically curious. I couldn’t stand a puzzle unsolved, and Gavin was definitely that.

Cooper went back inside the office and closed the door behind him with a soft click, leaving me to wonder what exactly they were discussing, since the general topic was obviously me.

I should have left. Every part of me knew it, and my whole body vibrated with the desire to run . . . except one tiny part that I couldn’t seem to quiet. The ember burning deep in the pit of my stomach that kept me rooted to the spot.

The one that told me if I stayed, everything would change. That the adventure I’d been longing for waited just on the other side of that door.