Chapter 4 #2
Like the other groomsmen, he had been handsomely outfitted in a black tux, but there had been something about him that made him stand out.
It could have been his beard that gave him a rugged look, only adding to his sexiness.
He hadn’t been smiling nor had he been frowning.
His expression was that of a man on the prowl, who’d seen something he wanted and intended to have it.
If that was what he’d been thinking, he’d miscalculated when it came to her.
If he didn’t know how she felt about him when they parted ways last Saturday, she’d make sure to tell him if they ever ran into each other again.
“Rae?”
Startled, Desiree realized she hadn’t answered her friend’s question. “Yes, he is extremely handsome,” she said truthfully.
“Were you attracted to him?”
Desiree decided there was no reason not to be completely honest. “Very much so.”
“Then maybe it’s not your grandfather you need to be concerned about. Maybe you’re worried he’ll manage to persuade you into doing something you won’t want to.”
“Don’t worry about me, Cam. I can handle him.”
“But why do you have to? He might be just what you need to prove Aimery wrong.”
She wished Cam hadn’t brought up the last guy she’d dated, a French racecar driver.
Aimery had assumed that he was the hottest thing alive, both on and off the tracks.
But in the bedroom, all his fire turned to smoke.
The man was a lousy lover. And of course, when she hadn’t climaxed during the one and only time they had made love, he had blamed it on her.
Then, to add salt to the wound, as she was getting dressed to leave, he had picked up his cell phone and invited another woman to his bed.
“The last thing I need, at this moment in my life, is a man. Especially one like Cobra Masters.”
“Then the only thing you have against him is his relationship with your grandfather?”
Desiree nibbled on her bottom lip. “To be honest, I don’t have a problem with Cobra’s relationship with my grandfather, as long as he doesn’t have any ulterior motives. Is it wrong for me to want to make sure his actions are sincere?”
“Of course not.”
Desiree was glad to hear that. She valued Cam’s take on things.
“However,” Cam added, “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. You should get to know him.”
She wasn’t so sure about that. “I don’t know about that. Still, I’m glad I came home, so I can observe things for myself and intervene if I have to.” She sighed. “I’ve told you enough about Cobra Masters. Call me tomorrow and let me know how the play goes tonight, okay? And Cam?”
“Yes?”
“I have a feeling that Léandre will soon realize how you feel about him. Find ways to let him know.”
“Maybe he will, but right now, all Léandre cares about is his next production. In his mind, we’re friends—good friends, but nothing more. Why do the men in our lives have to be complicated?”
“I’ll let you figure that one out, since I don’t have a man in my life, and I prefer to keep things that way.”
After ending the call, Desiree stood, and when she did, she accidentally brushed the earrings she’d removed earlier off her desk, and they went tumbling to the floor. One fell under her chair, and the other rolled under her desk. “Dang.” She got down on bended knees to retrieve them.
Getting the one from under her chair was easy. The challenge was recovering the one from under her desk. A few moments later, she succeeded. “Gotcha. It took me long enough to find you,” she grumbled to herself, leaning back on her hunches to replace both earrings in her ears.
“And I wished it had taken you even longer,” a deep male voice said behind her.
***
When Cobra had opened the door to Desiree’s office, the last thing he expected to see was her on her knees, with her ass in the air.
So, he had done what any other hot-blooded male would do—he’d silently ogled her.
His gaze had taken in everything—the way her skirt hugged her figure, her graceful movements—and he’d immediately gotten hard.
He’d known she had a beautiful body. The sexy outfit she’d worn at Colton and Kelly’s wedding had showcased it spectacularly.
And now, seeing her on the floor, on her knees…
It was doing crazy things to his already jacked-up libido.
His favorite part of a woman’s anatomy was her ass, and he could have stood there and stared at hers for hours.
To be on the safe side, he placed his briefcase in front of him, deliberately covering his crotch. And it wasn’t a minute too soon, if the way Desiree glared at him over her shoulder was anything to go by. If looks could kill… A lesser man would have high-tailed it out of her office.
“You have a problem with knocking, Cobra?”
“I did knock. I guess you didn’t hear me.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just come in.”
“I thought you weren’t here and was going to leave a note on your desk.”
When she made a move to get off the floor, he walked over to her and presented his hand. “Here, let me help you up.”
From the way she looked at his hand before taking it, he thought she’d decline his help, but then she placed hers in his.
The moment she did, that same intense sensation he had felt when they shook hands at the wedding reception rushed through him.
That had to be why he went still and stood there staring down at her, holding her hand instead of helping her up.
A frown settled on her lips. “Are you going to help me up or not?”
Her cutting words broke the passionate spell that had captivated him, and he helped her to her feet, but didn’t let go of her hand until she pulled it away. “Thanks. So, why are you here, Cobra?”
He took a few moments to gather his wits before he answered. “I had a meeting with Richard earlier. I recalled you saying today would be your first day, so I asked him about you, and he told me where your office was located.” Glancing around, he said. “Nice view!”
She followed his gaze. “That’s what I thought when I first saw it.
” Going around her desk, she slid into the chair.
He had watched her every move, thinking she had both the curves and the legs for that skirt.
Pencil skirts had a way of showcasing a woman’s best attributes, and Desiree was certainly a boss in hers. “You haven’t said why you’re here.”
Although she hadn’t asked him to sit, he slid into a chair and placed his briefcase across his lap.
“As I said, I had a meeting with Richard. I remembered that you were starting work today, and thought I’d check in and see how things were going.
” There was no way he would admit that he had thought about her a lot since he last saw her.
She nodded. “So far so good. I have a meeting with Granddad in a couple of hours. Do you normally see him on Mondays?”
“Not always,” Cobra replied. “We meet at least once a month or as needed. He uses his company’s fitness room a lot in the morning, and oftentimes I join him. We occasionally meet up on the weekends to go boating, play golf, and play tennis.”
“My grandfather plays tennis?”
“Sure does. Like a champ. Any reason he shouldn’t? He’s only sixty-three.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Are we talking about the same man? Because just last Saturday, you told me that he deserves peace instead of aggravation because of his age.”
“Yes, and I still stand behind what I said. Sixty-three is old but not ancient, Desiree. I try to encourage Richard to stay active and eat healthy in order to live longer. I’m sure you want him to stay around as much as I do.”
“He’s my grandfather, so of course I care about his health and well-being. But I’m wondering what’s in it for you?”
Her question pissed him off. He didn’t say anything for a minute, mainly because he wasn’t exactly sure what to say.
Finally, he looked her in the eye and said, “This is the second time you’ve implied—in a roundabout way—that my concern for Richard is not genuine, and I don’t like it, nor do I appreciate it.
I don’t know what your problem is, Desiree, or why you’re questioning the sincerity of my friendship with your grandfather.
Are you feeling guilty because I was here for him while you spent almost three years having a good time in Paris? ”
She leaned over her desk, her hazel eyes blazing with fire. Why did the thought of seeing that degree of fire in the bedroom suddenly flash through his mind? “You know nothing about me or what I was doing in Paris.”
He got out of his seat and leaned in toward her. Their noses were close to touching. “And you know nothing about me. Whether you like it or not, my friendship with your grandfather is solid, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
Then, without saying another word, he walked out of her office.