Chapter 2
The moment the sexy stranger wrapped his arms around her, sensations Maya never experienced coursed through her body.
Her nerves were already on overload from his verbal play at the table.
She tried to pull away, but he tightened his arms around her and held her closer to his hard body.
She resisted for a short moment, then brought her arms up around his neck and melted into his embrace.
At length he said, “My apologies. I should have introduced myself first. I’m Ian Jeffries, and you are?”
She lifted her head. “Maya. Maya Brooks.”
Staring at her with an intensity that heated her insides, he said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maya.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Pulling away from his magnetic gaze, she turned her head and closed her eyes.
His deep voice, handsome face and seductive smile had turned her knees to jelly and impaired her ability to think and talk.
Her inner voice screamed that she should get far away from Ian as fast as she could.
A man like him could make a woman sell her soul for just one kiss. And why did he have to smell so good?
It had been a long time since she was in a man’s arms, so ignoring that pesky voice, Maya settled more comfortably in his arms as the music continued to play.
It was only a dance... Although the calendar said it was the beginning of November, the room had been transformed to a winter wonderland, exactly as she imagined it would have been for her wedding reception.
Tonight, she could pretend. The heat of his hand sliding sensually down her back penetrated the cotton blouse as if it were on her bare skin, and she bit back a moan.
She had dated Stephen for a year and couldn’t remember him ever being able to set her body on fire with just a simple pass of his hand.
Maya lifted her eyes to meet his at the same time he turned his head.
Their mouths were so close she could feel the heat of his breath.
He leaned forward and she tilted her chin.
Suddenly, she remembered they were standing in the middle of a ballroom and she was supposed to be working.
She stumbled backward and Ian pulled her flush against his body.
An involuntary moan slipped from her lips.
“Careful,” Ian said with a chuckle.
“I... I have to get back to work.” She stepped out of his arms, made a beeline toward the exit and hastily glanced around the room to see if Mr. Capshaw had noticed.
She spotted him standing with a small group of men, laughing heartily, and breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as Maya pushed through the door, a tug on her hand stopped her.
“Maya, wait.”
“Ian, I need to get back to my job,” she said without turning around.
“How much longer do you have to work?”
Truthfully, there wasn’t anything else she needed to do.
The hotel staff would take care of replenishing the desserts as needed, but Maya prided herself on offering the best services to her clients and often stayed around for a while to ensure that there were no problems. Tonight, however, she was torn between fleeing the hotel as fast as she could and dancing the night away with the fine man still idly rubbing his thumb in small circles in her palm. “An hour or so,” she said breathlessly.
Ian turned her to face him. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”
“No,” she answered hesitantly. Her shop was closed on Sundays.
A slow grin made its way across Ian’s face. “I’ll wait for you.” He kissed her and, instead of going back into the ballroom, sauntered off down the hallway.
Maya slumped against the wall and took in several deep breaths to calm her pounding heart.
No denying she was attracted to Ian, but after the mess she had gone through with her ex, she shouldn’t be entertaining thoughts of even talking to a man.
Pushing off the wall, she made her way to the kitchen and made arrangements to pick up her containers.
“Oh, there you are,” the executive chef called in his heavily accented English, coming toward her, a wide grin plastered on his face.
Her brow lifted a fraction at the stark change in his demeanor. When she first arrived, he had been curt and none too happy that she had been contracted to provide the desserts instead of his staff. She curbed the urge to glance behind her to see if he was talking to someone else.
“My dear, these desserts are simply divine. I must say my favorite is the black-and-white pudding parfait. It’s a chocolate lover’s dream! Would you mind if I kept your contact information...for a few special occasions?” he added, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“I left my cards in my car.”
“No worries.” He rushed over to a table, came back and pushed a small card and pen in her hand.
The mention of chocolate conjured up an image of her and Ian at the dessert table—his nearness, piercing midnight eyes, smooth-as-honey voice—and a rush of heat spread through her body.
The man had a way with words. Still thinking about Ian, she absently scribbled her address on the card and handed it back.
“Thank you so much for your kind words. It means a lot coming from you.”
“No, thank you, Maya. Are you sure I can’t lure you away to come work for me?”
Maya chuckled. “I’m flattered, but I enjoy working for myself.”
He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“Is there anything else you need me to take care of?”
“No. My staff will take care of everything.”
“I’ll drop by on Monday morning to pick up my containers.
” They engaged in polite conversation for a few minutes, and then Maya left.
The chef’s staff had everything under control and this would be the perfect time to slip out before Ian noticed she was gone.
Something about the way he held and kissed her told her this man was dangerous to her psyche and she didn’t want to risk another encounter with him.
But the perfectionist in Maya wouldn’t let her leave without checking the table one last time.
Ian walked directly to the hotel’s registration desk. Holding Maya in his arms had set off a raging desire within him that only she could satisfy. He didn’t know how he would accomplish it, but he had to convince her to spend the night with him.
“May I help you, sir?” the smiling clerk asked.
“Yes. I’d like to book a room for the night.”
She clicked a few keys on her computer. “There are no standard rooms available, but I do have a one-bedroom suite. It has a living area with a sleeper sofa, wet bar—”
He removed a credit card from his wallet and placed it on the counter. “Even better.” He planned for them to use every square inch of that suite. Ian signed the paper, put the card back into his wallet and accepted the room key.
“Enjoy your stay, Mr. Jeffries.”
“I plan to. Thank you.” He stopped at the gift shop first and then went up to his room to deposit the bag.
Ian took a quick peek at his watch. He had forty minutes to come up with a way to persuade Maya to go along with his proposal.
As soon as he entered the ballroom, Mr. Capshaw called out to him.
“Ian, there you are.”
“How are you, Mr. Capshaw? Nice party.”
He laughed heartily. “I can’t think of a better way to start the holiday season, and we have a lot to celebrate this year.” Capshaw’s slightly slurred voice indicated that the man had probably reached his limit two drinks ago.
“Yes, we do,” Ian agreed.
“Grab your brother and meet me at my table where the other investors are sitting.”
Ian walked back to where Chris sat talking on the phone. He tapped Chris on the shoulder.
“Okay, I’ll be home soon,” Chris was saying. He hung up and glanced up at Ian with a grin. “Where’s the woman you were dancing with? You must be losing your touch.”
“I haven’t lost anything. She’s working.”
“Working?”
“Yeah. She made the desserts. Man, you have to try the triple-chocolate mocha truffles.”
“She works for the hotel?”
He shrugged. “I assume so. Mr. Capshaw wants us to meet him over at the table with the investors.”
“Good. We can talk to them for a few minutes, and then be out of here.”
“Actually, I’m going to stay awhile longer.”
“I thought you were anxious to leave,” Chris said, rising to his feet. “Your change in plans wouldn’t have anything to do with the woman who just entered, would they?”
“Maybe.” Ian followed his brother’s gaze and saw Maya heading toward the dessert table with another hotel employee. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before she turned away to focus on whatever the other woman was saying. A bump on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts.
“Mr. Capshaw is waiting,” Chris reminded Ian.
Giving Maya one last look, Ian followed his brother over to where the investors had gathered on the other side of the room. After a round of handshakes, Mr. Capshaw proposed a toast to the partnership.
One of the men asked, “Are we on schedule for the groundbreaking?”
Chris cut a quick look at Ian before answering. “We’ve run into a small hiccup, but—”
“What kind of hiccup?” Mr. Capshaw asked.
“One of the business owners doesn’t want to sell. Someone from our office plans to meet with the owner this week, and I’m sure contract negotiations will follow.”
“That’s good to hear,” Mr. Capshaw said, raising his glass.
Ian and Chris excused themselves minutes later. Once in the hallway, Ian said, “I thought all the owners accepted the offers.”
Chris scrubbed a hand across his forehead. “I thought so, too. But Sam told me yesterday that there’s one owner who called and said she had no intentions of selling.”
“Great. This is my first major project since that mess a year ago. It took forever to convince Dad to give me another shot, and I don’t need this.”
“It’s not the same, Ian. No one is deliberately trying to sabotage you.”
“The result will be the same. Now what?”