The Debt / Cross My Hart. Clare Connelly

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      Or thinking about how watching the blonde and me was turning her on.

      Or about the realisation that it wasn’t so much what the blonde was doing to me that was making me hard as it was Ellie’s reaction.

      It was obvious she didn’t want to look and yet hadn’t been able to help herself, and I liked that very much.

      Too much.

      I’d got under her insufferably chirpy skin, flustered her; made her blush. And I found that incredibly satisfying, especially after she’d steadfastly refused to show any reaction to me or my temper.

       Except there’s nothing you can do about it.

      Irritation gnawed at me. Even though she was only driving for me temporarily, she was still an employee and that was a line I never crossed.

      And it irritated me still further that the thought she was forbidden only made me harder, perverse bastard that I was.

      The lights from outside illuminated Ellie’s face in the mirror and the deep blush still burning in her cheeks. I could even see the scattering of freckles across her nose. She was clearly embarrassed yet she didn’t look away. ‘Uh, so I guess I’m fired now, right?’ she said, that cheerful smile trying to make an appearance again, though it wasn’t as confident as it had been before. ‘Perving at the clients isn’t exactly a good look, I know, but—’

      ‘Want to tell me why you were staring at my dick?’ I demanded, not letting her finish, impatient with the attraction that burned in my blood and with the hard-on in my jeans that refused to subside no matter how unwanted it was.

      Her smile faltered, green sparks of irritation flickering to life in her hazel eyes, and that didn’t help. Because I did not need further signs that I was getting to her. Not given the state I was in.

      ‘To be fair, I could hardly not stare at your dick,’ she pointed out. ‘Especially when it was in my face every time I had to check my rear-view mirror.’ She tried again with the smile, though it was even less convincing this time. ‘And hey, if you really didn’t want me to see, you should have put the partition up.’

      She might have been trying to make a joke of it, but I heard the note of challenge in her husky voice and it hit me like a shot of adrenaline, making my cock even harder than it was already.

      Fuck, she had guts confronting me like that.

      Respect stirred inside me even as my anger deepened, mostly at myself for not simply getting out of the car and going after the blonde, whom I could at least have in my bed without all these moral quandaries.

      And it didn’t help that she was right. I should have put the partition up. But I hadn’t. Because I liked her watching.

      My jaw ached, tension crawling through my shoulders.

      I’d come out of the club so pleased with myself, because my meeting with Delaney had gone extremely well. My price for the islands was significantly more than what Dumont had offered him and he’d been into the idea. Though not without a few unexpected caveats.

      The islands had been in his family for years and he had a certain sentimental attachment to them, going on to tell me that he’d hoped to sell them to someone who was family-minded, too.

      I wasn’t family-minded in the slightest, but to get those islands away from Dumont, I could pretend, so I’d muttered some nonsense about a girlfriend and how we were looking to get serious. Delaney had been surprised, but very positive, and told me he’d be in touch in a couple of days, likely with good news.

      It had all been very satisfying. As had been the prospect of a couple of hours’ pleasure with the blonde.

      But not now. Now the thought of the blonde left me cold.

       Get out of the car, you stupid bastard.

      I should get out of the car. Not sit here, hard and annoyed because I wanted a woman I shouldn’t touch.

      But I didn’t.

      And she was still looking at me in the rear-view mirror, gold glowing through the green in her eyes, like the sun through leaves on a hot summer’s day. Making me realise that I was cold and had been for quite some time.

      Except the gold in her eyes now was different from the sunny cheerfulness of before. There was a smoky heat to it that was definitely not forced.

       Where there’s heat, there’s fire.

      Oh, yes, I could see hints of that fire now, glowing embers in her gaze that wouldn’t take much to ignite…

      ‘You shouldn’t look at me like that.’ My voice was rough and harsh in the dense silence of the car. ‘Not if you’re not ready to face the consequences.’

      ‘What consequences?’ Her hands were curled around the steering wheel, making me think of how it might feel to have those delicate fingers wrapped around my cock.

      Did she really have no idea? Could she not feel this tension between us? Static, she’d said back at the hotel, a response that had seemed genuine. Which meant she was probably inexperienced.

      Yet another reason for me to get the fuck out of the car and not sit here like a bloody fool, staring into her pretty gold eyes.

      ‘What consequences do you think?’ I snapped, my temper getting a mean edge. ‘I don’t want to fire you, Miss Little. I want to fuck you.’

      Shock flickered over her face. ‘What?’

      ‘Don’t act so surprised. Did you really think those little glances you kept stealing wouldn’t get me as hard as a rock?’

      She blinked rapidly. ‘Uh… Are you sure you’re not talking about the blonde chick? I mean, she was the one who had her hand on…um…you.’

      Was she serious? Or was she playing with me? Some women liked that kind of game, but I didn’t. I preferred straight-up honesty, especially when it came to sex.

      However, there was no doubting the surprise in Ellie’s eyes: she really had thought it was the blonde.

      ‘No, I’m not talking about the “blonde chick”,’ I said, increasingly annoyed at the hard-on in my jeans and my apparent inability to get the fuck out of the car and away from her. ‘You kept looking at me like you wanted to join in.’

      Her cheeks turned an even deeper red. ‘I didn’t want to join in.’

      ‘No? Then why did you keep staring?’

      ‘I…’ She looked away. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. That wasn’t very professional.’

      ‘Screw being professional. Just answer the bloody question. And look at me when I’m talking to you.’

      She stiffened then abruptly twisted around in her seat so she was facing me, the dusting of freckles across her nose even more fascinating close up without the distancing effect of the mirror.

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