But Cora’s lips were so close. And there was nothing I wanted more than one last taste of her.
“Respect our territory,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Like you’re respecting mine?” Her voice came out a husky whisper. “Having me backed up against this wall?”
Her words jarred something loose inside me. My heart rate had skyrocketed, and my cock strained against the zipper of my suit pants. I tore myself away from her, drawing in a deep breath of cool air.
Fuck.That had been close.
I headed for the party, intent on either losing her or leaving immediately. But her voice pierced the air.
"Axel! Wait!”
I paused, not turning back to her.
“I have an idea. For getting you the building.”
I clenched my fists and stared out at the party. “What is it?”
Her heels clicked closer to me. “I wasn’t lying when I said I believed in your vision. Even after the completely unproductivetouryou claimed to offer me.”
“Just tell me,” I snapped.
“I say we up the offer. But not you alone. I’ll pitch in enough to beat the competing offer, since I know how much you’ll need. But if I do this, I want your word that I can also use a small portion of the building for my own project. Under strict confidentiality, of course.”
I turned to her, the idea hitting like a breath of fresh air even though I didn’t fully understand how. “What on earth do you want the building for? It’s already yours.”
“Not mine,” she said, peering up at me through her thick, dark lashes. “It’s the company’s. And what I want space for doesn’t jive with the Margulis mission.”
A million questions burbled to life inside me, but I tamped them down. Curiosity might be construed as me wanting to know about her life. I could not have that.
“If we raise the offer by at least three million, all of which will be my money, then the board will have to reconsider the sale. The vote is next week. We have time to get it in.” Her heart-shaped face looked so earnest, so dedicated, I couldn’t help but be swayed by her. Her throaty alto lured me into the idea like a siren’s call. “I’ll transfer the money to you on Monday as a sign of my commitment, if you agree. Even if you wait for the transfer to complete, you can have your offer in before the board meeting.”
I swallowed hard, studying the contours of her face. In the amber shadows of the alcove, she looked like a goddess. Tantalizing, with unknown depths that sang to me, begged me to learn more. Every inch of me craved her, which was why my heart knew the best answer:no.
But logically, the offer was sound. Since she was offering her own money, I doubted this could be a scheme of some kind. She’d be risking a lot, using insider knowledge to snag the deal in our favor and going against her father’s wishes, I was certain. If word got out, everything would tank. Not just our chance at the building, but her own position on the board.
The only problem was that if I agreed, I’d be seeing more of her.
Possibly alotmore.
I opened my mouth, and the words flew out before I could think better of it.
“Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
CORA
A now-distant college friend had once said after a recent breakup, “My ex isn’t an asshole, he’s the whole ass.”
That’s how I felt about Axel as I drifted through his gorgeous soiree, tethered to him by forces beyond my control. He made sure to keep an eye on me, the intolerable ass that he was. Smirking at me across the ballroom while he slung an arm around his perfect model of a girlfriend. Though I doubted she was his girlfriend. Maybe more like a hook-up. If she was really his girlfriend, she didn’t seem to mind the way he paid her almost zero attention, except when it was convenient.
Or maybe I was just reading too much into things and hoping there was some glimmer of a chance for our own love story, still tucked away into a forgotten cavern of his heart.
I needed to hope for as much, because those twenty seconds of being a breath away from him in the alcove off the service hallway had about killed me. I needed to change my panties. I needed more Axel. Not just immediately, but forever. He got under my skin in a way I couldn’t explain, much less rationalize. I didn’t know what the future held, but I prayed Axel would be a part of it.
It seemed like a laughable fantasy, too outrageous to even consider. I might as well wish to teleport. I probably could invent teleportation myself before Axel would consider forgiving me.