Opening my eyes, feeling disappointment and regret at what I must do, I’m met by a sparkling sea of green intensity that threatens to drown me in lust, making what I have to say that much harder. “I can’t.”

Picking up on my lack of conviction or word choice, Cooper says, “Can’t? Or don’t want to?”

“Can’t.” I know it would be easier to lie and say I don’t want to, but something tells me he’d see right through me.

“Why?” He leans in just an inch or two. Our bodies aren’t touching, but the heat emanating from his skin ignites mine. Or maybe it’s the heat from my own body that sparks his. Either way, I can’t think straight with this beautiful man so close.

“I … I … I just can’t.”

“You can’t date me?”

I shake my head.

He leans forward to whisper in my ear. Voice gritty and strained, his warm breath sends a shiver through my body that I can’t even try to hide. “Can you kiss me?”

Too distracted to form a cohesive thought, I don’t respond right away.

Cooper pulls his head back slowly, the stubble on his cheek lightly grazing my sensitive skin, until we’re face to face. Smoldering eyes staring intently into mine, mixed with a hard, muscular body just inches away, make it easy to forget that he’s off limits. Banned. Forbidden. A complete violation of the rules of my contract. It only makes me want him more.

Swallowing hard, my mouth suddenly parched, I unconsciously run my tongue along my lips to moisten them, readying myself to finally speak. Cooper’s eyes drop, following the path of my tongue. As his eyes finally find their way back up to mine, I open my mouth to speak just as his lips crash down on mine.

I don’t even attempt to protest, immediately surrendering to the ferocity of a kiss that sets my entire body on fire. Our tongues find each other quickly, his leading mine in a just slightly aggressive way that excites me. Gently at first, the hard contours of his body press flush against the soft of my curves. Then I reach up, my hands threading the hair curling up at the edge of his collar. Cooper growls when I tug, pushing harder against me, deepening the kiss as we move from exploring to feverishly groping each other.

Both of us are panting wildly as we break the kiss. He tugs at my lower lip, claiming it roughly between his teeth before fully releasing my mouth.

“Wow,” I croak out, my mind still in a daze as my eyes flutter back open. Cooper’s thumb rubs tenderly across my now swollen bottom lip as his eyes come up to reach mine again. Flicking down to my mouth and then quickly back to my eyes, he looks torn between kissing me again and saying something.

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” he rasps, one side of his mouth tilting upward into a sexy half grin. “And that, Kate, won’t be the last time that happens. I promise you that.”

My wobbly legs carry me up the stairs, but I feel Cooper’s eyes on me every step as they lead me away. When I reach the top, I make the mistake of looking back. He’s leaning against his car, arms folded over his chest, watching me intensely with those piercing green eyes. Eyes that tell me he’s a man that keeps his promises.

Inside my apartment, I lean my head against the door for a few minutes as the haze of lust clears and my knees find their strength. Replaying Cooper’s vow in my mind, I reach up to feel my still swollen lips. And all I can think of is Oh shit.

Chapter five

Cooper

“Mr. Montgomery?” Helen peeks her head in the door hesitantly. “The division heads are all in the boardroom for your weekly pitch meeting.”

I look at my watch and back to Helen. “Tell them I’ll be a few minutes.”

Helen looks confused. I’m never late and she’s no doubt wondering why I am today, since I’ve been sitting at my desk for the last hour doing absolutely nothing. I just can’t seem to concentrate this morning. She nods without saying anything else.

“Helen?” I call after her before she heads back out to her desk. “What time is Miles’s production meeting this morning?”

“I’m not sure. Let me make a quick call.”

A few minutes later she returns and hands me a few papers. “This is the schedule for the next week. Looks like the production meeting started a few minutes ago.”

I stand.

“You forgot your jacket,” Helen points out as I make my way to the door.

“Reschedule the pitch meeting to this afternoon.”

“Really?” She sounds shocked. I rarely go off schedule, especially with weekly meetings. Another trait inherited from my dad. Don’t cancel meetings, it tells people there is something more important than them. Today, that’s exactly the case.

“Make it late afternoon. I might be a while.”

Miles’s production meeting is already in full swing when I slip in unnoticed. I pick up a pad and pencil from the pile on the table in the back of the room, as if I might really take notes on anything he’s saying. He’s rambling on about the art of sexuality, but I don’t really hear a word. My brother notices me and waves, his already robust delivery of his lecture becoming even more animated for my benefit. He’s always been the showman of the family. I’m surprised he never wanted to be in front of the camera.

I nod and quickly scan the room, my eyes landing immediately on her. Unlike the other attentive women clinging to Miles’s every word, Kate is doodling something on the pad in front of her, not paying a lick of attention. It makes me smile.