This man hadbadwritten all over him.
She swallowed down what tasted dark and forbidden—like lust. She didn’t come across many bad boys—this was Chicago, land of the nice guy.
She didn’t do nice guys. Nice guys wanted to get married and move to the suburbs to a picket-fenced house. Her lifestyle and goals didn’t align with that. What was the point of going out with them? And she definitely wasn’t going to date a lawyer, like her dad.
But this man… He didn’t look like anyone she’d ever met. She had the insane urge to curl her hands into his sweater and pull him to her. She could almost feel the way his skin would feel if she pushed his top and kissed up his chest.
Over the crazy beating of her heart, she heard her mother’s voice telling her the familiar story.From the moment I met Julian, I couldn’t help myself. There was something about him. I couldn’t resist it. I was powerless when he was with me, and when he wasn’t, I couldn’t think of anything other than being with him.
She knew some things were inherited, like bad vision and alcoholism—or bad judgment about men. But she didn’t have any of that—she’d worked hard to exorcise her mother’s diseases from every cell of her being, and she knew she’d never let herself go down that path. She’d decided that the day she’d walked off the street and into Sunflower Alley.
And this bad boy wasnothinglike Julian Holland, from the top of his braided hair to the tips of his flashy shoes.
She lifted her gaze and looked into his blue-gray eyes, startling against the mocha of his skin. She felt her face flush, with desire and all manner of emotions she wasn’t acquainted with, and she said the one thing that popped into her head. “Ohshit.”
He looked at her warily. But then whatever he saw changed his expression, and he stepped forward, a look of concern tightening his stunning eyes. “Hey, you okay?”
His voice was like smoky whiskey, and it hit her just right, making her feel tipsy. She felt herself list toward him before she could catch herself.
He gently took hold of her arm, steadying her and sending her into flight at the same time. “I’m sorry if I scared you when I burst out like that,” he said gently. “I didn’t expect to run into anyone out here.”
She shook her head, trying to clear it. “It wasn’t that.”
“Then what was it?”
“This,” she said baldly, gesturing between the two of them. “You don’t feel it?”
“Oh, I feel it,” he said in his low, intoxicating voice. “I’m just surprised you called it out there so honestly.”
“We could hardly ignore it.” Reluctantly, she pulled her arm out of his hold. “Our timing is shit though.”
“No one’s ever accused me of poor timing so early in a relationship.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “But you’re right. The timing could be better for me too.”
Made sense. If he was coming out of Winners Inc., he was likely high profile in some way and had something big he was working toward. “I work all the time,” she confessed, knowing on some level that he’d understand her drive.
“Literally all the time?” he asked with a frown.
“Literally all the time.” She had to make sure her upcoming trial went off without a hitch, not to mention that being on the partner track meant she was constantly at the office. Being a woman meant she had to work twice as hard to prove she deserved the promotion.
If only she had time to take on a bad boy. She sighed in regret, taking him in one last time. She gestured to the door. “And now I’m late.”
“You workhere?” he asked, looking behind him, his mouth turning down with a slight frown.
She imagined herself as a motivational speaker and her lips quirked with wry amusement. “How did you know? As you’ve noticed, I’m full of kind, encouraging words.”
He grinned suddenly, full and beautiful. “There are other types of motivations. Like whips.”
She arched her brow. “Do I look like a dominatrix?”
“I wouldn’t begin to imagine what you have on under your clothing.” He batted his lovely eyes innocently.
She snorted. “Now that I don’t believe.”
“I don’t daydream.” He leaned closer to her, so close she caught the subtle tease of his expensive cologne. “I’m more of a hands-on, physical kind of guy.”
“I bet you are.” She leaned into him before she could catch herself.
What was she doing? She shook her head to clear the sex fog that had wrapped around her. She put her hand on his chest to keep him where he was. “I really do need to go in. I hate being late.”