“You seem surprised,” he said. “Why? I think we’d make exceptional lovers. Our ages are compatible—I’m just a decade older than you. I can afford to give you anything you might want, but at the same time you don’t have to depend on me for financial security. We’re both well-educated and reasonably intelligent. My looks, to my knowledge, have never revolted anyone, and I’ve already told you that I think you’re beautiful. We are ideally suited.”
Furiously, Hailey sprang to her feet. She couldn’t believe that a man, any man, would insult her so shamelessly. “I hope this is a joke, Mr. Scott,” she flared.
“I assure you it is not. I intend to be your lover. Soon.”
“I don’t give a damn about your intentions except as to how they pertain to me professionally. I realize that I was rude to you the other day. I apologize. But I think your form of punishment is in the worst of taste. Your proposal flatters neither of us. Sexual harassment is the lowest form of abuse to a working woman. I’m not in the least bit interested in engaging in any kind of affair with you. If a simple ‘no’ doesn’t discourage you, then you may put all your jobs in the hand basket and go straight to hell, Mr. Scott.”
She spun on her heels and stormed toward the door. “Hailey,” he said with such authority that she halted in spite of her haste to leave him. “Look at me.” Not wanting him to think she was intimidated, she turned to face him again, haughty disdain exuding from every pore.
“Sexual harassment? I hadn’t thought you’d take it like that but since you seem to be under that mistaken impression, I’ll set you st
raight. You will not be harassed but persuaded.”
“Semantics. It’s the same thing.”
He smiled. “Not quite. At least not the way I persuade. When we come together, you’ll want me as badly as I want you.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
“I won’t have to. You’re already attracted to me.”
“Oh!” she ground out through clenched teeth. “You’re … I’m … I never—”
“You never thought for a moment that this was sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is an employer using an employee’s job to blackmail him—or her. Your job is secure. Even if you weren’t my employee, if we’d met under entirely different circumstances, I’d be just as determined to have you.”
“But it doesn’t hurt your depraved campaign that I happen to owe you a certain allegiance.”
“You’re a valuable employee. I wouldn’t risk losing you to gratify a sudden explosion of lust. If I were the kind of man to do that, most likely, I would have already forced you into submission with threats against disclosure. And I wouldn’t have wasted the past half hour talking, either.
“I was driven by panic yesterday. If any other guest had acted like that during an emergency, I would have expected my Director of Guest Relations to respond efficiently and expediently, just as you did. Your top priority was to take care of the distressed guest—in this case, Faith. You did exactly what you should have done.”
She was momentarily disarmed by this flattery. “Thank you,” she said stiffly.
“But,” he stressed as he pushed himself away from the desk and started toward her, “your being a competent employee has nothing to do with this.”
He was within inches of her now, forcing her to tilt her head back to look at him. Her instinct for self-preservation screamed at her to run, but the fervor in his eyes compelled her to stay. His hands came up to settle on her shoulders. His mouth was perilously close to hers as he bent over her and whispered, “I want you in my life and I want you in my bed, Hailey.”
She would have expected his mouth to be firm, hard, greedy, even brutal. But it was none of those. The lips that captured hers were soft and suppliant. He sipped at her lips, moving over them with infinite care, as though he feared she might disintegrate before he could drink his fill.
Hailey neither responded nor resisted. Shock had rendered her immobile. Yet with each heartbeat she felt her rigid control relaxing. Her lips parted as she felt his tongue gliding along them, slipping between them teasingly, but not breaching them completely. From far away she heard a small whimper and didn’t even realize she had made the sound until her hands found their way to his waist where she sought support.
She swayed slightly and he caught her to him with a gentleness that was nonetheless ruthless. His arms wrapped around her like bands of steel—no, like velvet ribbons. In any event, she was powerless to escape them.
She made no conscious decision to open her lips to the persistent, tender probing of his tongue, but she did. Then he was inside her mouth, molding his lips with hers in a kiss that splintered her with pleasure.
She knew she should stop this. It was insane for her to stand there kissing this man, and it was also completely out of character. Yet only last night, in a moment of loneliness and depression, she had convinced herself she should do something wildly spontaneous, if for no other reason than for the sake of experience. Why not indulge that fantasy? She could stop it anytime. This was a harmless kiss. Nothing more.
Expertly and thoroughly, Tyler tasted, explored, and enjoyed her mouth. He drew from it secrets she hadn’t known were harbored there. She moved closer to him, instinctively responding to the pressure of his tongue against hers.
A deep growl of desire went through the chest pressed so intimately against her breasts. Brazenly, she was thrilled that she—steady, dependable Hailey Ashton—could provoke such a reaction from this virile man.
At long last, breathless, he lifted his head and raked his scorching eyes over each feature of her face. His hands were sure and confident as he separated the lapels of her blazer. His gaze burned across her breasts. As though responding to his silent command, she felt her nipples tighten and strain against the fabric of her blouse.
He smiled tenderly. Strong, tanned fingers gently brushed back the copper curls from her flushed cheek. “When you know me better, I’ll discover every delicious secret of your body, Hailey. You’ll be all too willing to share them with me. I promise you that I’ll know all of you from the inside out.”
His softly spoken words broke the trance she had fallen into. She pushed away from him with such determination that he stumbled backward a few steps before he could regain his balance.
“You’ll know nothing more of me than you already do, Mr. Scott.” Her words were spoken in a low, strained voice. Never in her life had she been so furious with another human being. “I’m not going to let your bad manners and disgusting behavior frighten me away from a good job. I intend to continue working at Serendipity in the capacity I now hold. Should you unwisely decide to fire me or try to touch me again, I’ll scream sexual harassment to the highest court in the land. You can’t browbeat me into submission, either, so you may as well give up the effort and look for another, more obliging, victim.”