“Good.” She lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “All I said was the truth.”
He looked at her, surprised. He hadn’t been sure how much of her speech to the board was part of the deal, and how much she actually believed. “Is that so?”
“Of course,” she said curtly, staring up at the numbers climbing over the door as if she’d rather be discussing anything else. She’d always seemed bored whenever her family would go into their business discussions, excusing herself while they talked real estate. He’d already started to change the subject when she clucked her tongue. “Jack. That meeting was ridiculous. There’s no question about it. You deserve to be on top.”
Her confidence in him filled him with sudden lust. “What if I’d rather you be on top, instead?” He winked, savoring the way her cheeks flushed as he spoke. He took her hand and drew her body toward his. “I am the teacher, after all. You’ll have to do as I say, or you’ll be punished.”
She didn’t laugh. She trembled a little in his arms, and her voice was all but a whisper. “All right.”
He studied her, threading his warm fingers through her cooler ones. She couldn’t be having cold feet about this arrangement—not now, when he was one hundred percent in and desperate to discover every inch of the beautiful body beneath her wicked little dress. “You’re really nervous about this?”
“Not at all,” she insisted, her eyes darting from his.
Something new flickered inside him. Most women, by now, would be all over him. He was the king of elevator sex, after all. For a split second he felt the urge to protect Eva from men like himself, to take her hand in his and promise he would never hurt her, but he shook that inclination away.
No, she was still his innocent Eva, but she wanted an education in fucking, not hand-holding.
As the elevator ascended, he drew her mouth toward his, urging the wild Eva he’d met Sunday night to come out and play. The alcohol was definitely doing the trick. After only a moment, she returned the kiss with hungry abandon, her arms wrapping around his neck as she boldly drew him closer. She pressed against him and moaned softly, clearly wanting more, much more. He ran his hands up the sculpted curve of her bare back, to the silken tie around her neck, his fingers fondling the fabric, relishing the thought of letting it loose, putting her perfect tits on full display.
“What are you teaching me tonight, Mr. Bennett?” she murmured as his mouth roamed over her jaw, finding the flesh of her earlobe. She was wearing little diamond earrings.
He took the entire lobe into his mouth, tasting the warmth of her perfumed skin melding with the cold stone of the gem. He could feel her hanging on his answer, so he decided to make her wait a little longer. When the elevator doors parted, he led her down the hall to the suite, opened the door, and flipped on the lights, allowing her to enter before him.
She stepped inside and tossed her clutch on the settee before wandering across the room to set her phone on the bedside table. Veering back toward the center of the luxurious space again, she looked back at him for reassurance. “So…” she muttered awkwardly, clapping her hands, a what do we do now? tone in her voice.
He tipped his chin toward the table, where a bottle of Dom was chilling in an ice bucket. “I’d thought you might need something to help you relax before this next lesson. But it appears you’ve taken care of that on your own.”
She raised her eyebrows and licked her lips. “Now I’m worried. Is being sloshed a requirement for what you have planned?”
He took her hand and brought her toe-to-toe with him. She gazed up at him, eyes wide and alert. The alcohol hadn’t deadened her senses, which was a very good thing. If she were truly drunk, he would have had to call a time out and he really didn’t want to spend another night alone, wishing she were in his arms. “I thought you trusted me?”
“I do, but—“
He put a finger on her lips. Then he strode to the table, opened the champagne, and poured himself a glass, deliberately taking his time with every movement.
He drew the blinds closed. She watched him, clearly on edge. He could nearly hear her heart beating, swift and eager, from across the room, and he relished it.
“I believe you told me,” he announced, “that you wanted to learn how to drive a man wild.”
He reached for the desk chair, pulled it out, and pointed it in her direction. He sat down, took a sip of champagne, and placed the flute on the desk. When he looked at her next, she was standing there in her fuck-me heels and painted-on dress, but fidgeting like that little girl who used to follow him and Antonio around.
He’d never seen anything sexier in his life.
“Is that what this lesson is about?” she asked, unsure.
“Quiet. Do as you’re told. Come here,” he ordered, leaning against the backrest and getting comfortable in the chair.
Visibly shivering, she started to totter over to him in those ridiculous heels.
He held up a finger. “No. Slower. Shoulders back, take your time. Own the room.”
She stopped. Her face flushed as she drew her lower lip between her teeth. Fuck, that was even hotter. She took a step. Then another. She moved slowly, deliberately toward him, cat-like and graceful now that she’d shifted her focus. “Like this?”
He nodded, satisfied, and motioned to her head. “Your hair. I want it down.”
She stopped, wobbling a little, then reached behind her head.
“No, Eva,” he demanded. “Slower.”