A Matter of Trust: London Calling Book One (5 page)

Bennett didn’t know what the hell he
was
doing anymore. He’d been angry; he’d needed to hurt her, vent his frustration at her. But when he’d looked past himself to see her, wounded and tucked into herself, he only felt hurt himself.
 

But damn it, he hadn’t sent her away from him just so she could beguile another man. And he
hadn’t
imagined her effect that morning on Aidan and the rest of his team.

 
“Devon, I’m not firing you. But I’m switching things up to keep an eye on you. You’ll work under me now.”

***

Devon refused his bait. She was wrung out and wanted to leave his sumptuous office with its miles of plush carpeting and darkly paneled walls. She also wanted her job. She’d worked too hard and for too many years to get here. She wouldn’t toss it all away on temper. And he hadn’t
hurt
her earlier; she’d been caught off guard, that was all.

 
She inhaled, taking a deep breath and relaxing the tension from her shoulders. She smoothed her skirt, then clasped her hands to keep them still. She would not give him a fight, no matter how he goaded her.

“I’m happy to serve Sterling International in any capacity you think best.” She also wouldn’t use his incendiary terminology. Working
under
him? She nearly laughed at his bold outrageousness.
 

Bennett arched a brow. “Good. You can meet me here, early, say six-thirty on Monday morning.” She merely smiled at the early time, not raising a word of protest. He continued, “In the meantime, I want you to hand off any projects to Aidan.”

That caused a pang for Devon, knowing she’d be leaving work that mattered to her unfinished. Plus, Aidan had his hands full with his own workload. Taking a gamble, she made one attempt at reason. “It would be easy enough for me to finish some of my work out, Mr. Sterling. I could work weekends if you’re worried it would interfere with your own projects. Maybe Aidan would come in too if I needed him.”
 

Bennett’s eyes narrowed and a muscle bunched in his jaw. “No, I forbid it. You’re missing my
point
. I’m not worried about your damned projects. You have enchanted Aidan, and I won’t have it.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, before continuing in a low tone. “He’s a good man, involved with a good woman. I will not see him waste that on some misguided infatuation with you.”

“So your solution is to move me up here?” She waved a hand to encompass the elegant surroundings. “Am I to sit at your side, like a puppy? Or perhaps you’ll put me with Natalie, your PA? Am I to file your folders and organize your calendar?” Her voice rose in outrage as she continued, unabated. “Are you suggesting I do your
paperwork
?”

Bennett shifted under the directness of her stare. “No, of course not and stop being ridiculous. But you’re moving to my team, like it or not. I mean it, Devon. I saw what I saw today.” He flushed under the dark tan of his skin and abruptly straightened, pushing his shoulders back.

Devon inwardly cursed herself for allowing anger to sneak through her defenses. She looked down at her ringless fingers, collecting her thoughts. But no matter how many deep breaths she took, the fact remained. She was coldly, murderously furious.

She faced him, guileless. With a slight smile, she asked, “And what makes you think
you’ll
be immune, Mr. Sterling?”

Rising from behind his desk, Bennett came to stand at his full height of six feet four. Devon’s insides jolted at his expression, but she remained motionless as he walked around to lean back on the desk in front of her. He reached down and, grabbing both armrests, pulled her chair closer to him until they were practically touching knee to knee.
 

“Oh, I’m not immune, Devon. I’ve made my attraction clear to you already so it would be disingenuous for me to pretend otherwise. Besides, you are quite beautiful, not to mention intelligent.” He reached down to lightly cup her jaw. She was surprised to feel that his fingers were slightly rough on her skin, as if he didn’t spend all his time sitting behind an executive desk. She forgot to pull away as she stared up into his beautiful navy eyes, nearly missing his next words.

“But I see now I wasn’t special. I suspect you’ve left a devastated trail of men behind you, Ms. Sinclair.” She thought she heard a tinge of bitterness in his words, but it was gone as he continued, “Maybe you’ve left someone in America. Are you lonely?” His thumb absently caressed her skin, coming to rest in the small cleft of her chin. “Is it simple company you miss, or the pleasure a man can bring?”
 

Bennett couldn’t have been more off the mark. Devon involuntarily grinned, conversely pleased at his wholly inaccurate description of her. She had friends, male and female, but kept them all at a comfortable distance. Her background, and her family, didn’t allow for close relationships. With a burst of humor, she wondered how he would react if he knew she’d never had a lover, American or otherwise.
 

His fingers lightly tightened, wiping away her smile. “Something humorous about that, Devon? Or perhaps it’s me you find funny.”

Before she could react, he raised his other hand and cradled her face between both wide palms. He flexed his thumbs to tilt her chin up further before leaning down and placing his mouth over hers. Shocked, she felt the unexpected softness of Bennett’s lips press into hers. One of his hands tunneled into the thick waves of her hair while loosening the scarf she’d tied there. A gentle nibble caught her full lower lip.
 

Surprised, she looked straight up into his watchful gaze. Rising from the desk, he took one hand and pulled her up from the chair to stand within inches of his body. She felt boneless and heavy, languidly acquiescent. He took advantage by lowering his lids and meeting her mouth again, deepening the kiss while his other hand slipped back to cup her face. She placed her hands on his shoulders, unsure if she wanted to push him away or pull him in. Her hands relaxed as the delicate pressure of his tongue slowly caressed the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth on a sigh of pleasure.
 

Bennett took his time exploring. Nipping out to press kisses and teasing bites along her neck, she heard him breathe deeply. With eyes barely slit open, he cruised his lips across her exposed collarbone, having pulled her blouse away as he feasted on the soft skin. Whimpering, she tugged him to bring his mouth back to hers. But he ignored her, pulling at her loosened hair to sting her into submission.
 

She opened aroused, stormy eyes onto midnight blue. Bennett braced a strong arm to the small of her back and pulled her more fully up against him. His other hand gently flexed on her jaw, opening it more fully before his mouth slanted down in dominant passion.
 

Their tongues danced in a silken duet, each searching and finding its mate. Devon’s nipples pebbled against the lace of her bra and she instinctively pressed herself closer to the hard wall of his chest, hoping to ease their ache. He flicked the tip of her tongue with his and she moaned, feeling a hot rush of arousal. She linked her hands behind his neck, pulling him in, seeking relief to the tension assailing her.
 

He gentled her, smoothing his hands down her spine in a soft caress. When his hands reached her waist, he pulled her slender hips into his rigid hardness.
 

Devon sighed, lost in pleasure. She’d never been seduced, certainly not only with a kiss. But the taste and feel of him was new, warm, and exotically different. His solid maleness was a perfect foil to her fine build; a groan escaped her as she appreciated how flawlessly they fit.

She pushed her hips in harder to cradle the thick shaft of his erection. Gripping his shoulders, she attempted to widen her stance, cursing her tailored skirt. Bennett apparently sensed what she needed. Circling both hands around her bottom, he lifted her against him. Devon felt his length ride up against her as he thrust his hips forward, his tongue mimicking the motion within her mouth.

She carelessly coiled one foot around his calf as her skirt rode up mid-thigh. When her pump thudded to the floor, Bennett twisted her around, bumping aside various items as he placed her bottom on the edge of his desk. Pressing closer between her legs, he hitched up her skirt and exposed the lace bands of her stockings. He grazed his hand along her thigh, playing with the elastic before withdrawing to her knee.
 

Devon was impossibly immersed in him. For the first time, she understood the lure of passion and what it was to crave the sturdy strength of a man over and around her. So it took a moment for her to register the sudden tension in Bennett. She opened her eyes to see him staring back in stunned surprise. She was shocked when he leapt back, tugging her skirt back into place and bringing her knees together. Gripping both hands to help her from the desktop, he righted her when she stumbled against him, imbalanced by standing in one shoe.
 

She stared down at her missing pump, drunkenly lying on its side from where it had fallen earlier. Befuddled at the quick turn of events, she stared at it in dumb silence. She licked her lips, feeling their swollen tenderness. Glancing up, she saw his were reddened as well.
 

Bennett’s jaw tightened before he abruptly sat her down in the chair she’d recently inhabited. He held out the errant pump, waiting for her to take it as she was still staring at it, bewildered. Finally, she looked up and his harsh expression froze all the previous warmth from her insides. A high pitched laugh escaped, and she said, “Is this my Cinderella moment?”

He shoved the shoe at her, where she fumbled to accept it with numb hands. “Don’t be a damned fool,” he grated.
 

Stung, she replied, “Relax, Bennett. I’m hardly expecting a proposal.”

There was a brief but brittle silence. The bitterness she’d glimpsed in him before was back, this time in full force. “That’s good, because you’ll not be getting one from me now or ever. Much better than you have tried and failed.”

The long fuse of Devon’s temper vaporized. She’d rather be damned for pride than mistaken as some silly girl. With the light of battle firing her eyes, she neatly flipped her pump around before letting it fly like a dagger, straight toward his face.

CHAPTER FOUR

S
HOCKED
, B
ENNETT
ONLY
just managed to palm it. Holding the high heel tightly, he demanded, “Just what the hell was
that
?”

“That’s my shoe. Now give it back so I can have another go at your ignorant, insulting mouth!” Fairly glowing with anger, Devon flew off the chair to grab at the pump.
 

Bennett snapped upright, holding her shoe overhead out of reach.
 

“Give it to me! Give it to me right now, or so help me God, I
will
hurt you!”

“Devon, calm down.” His words had the opposite effect on her already skyrocketing temper, but he nonetheless repeated, “Devon, I said
calm down.
”

Chest heaving, she stepped back, but violence sparked in her soot-dark eyes. Unbelievable, he thought. No one would compare the collected persona she normally presented to the vibrating tornado before him.
 

He sat down beside her, motioning her to join him.

“You’re making a mistake and you’re going to regret this. Now calm down. You essentially just assaulted me. Do I need to remind you I’m your employer?”

Devon sat, but continued glaring. Her voice was deadly when she finally spoke. “First, I want to assure you that I am entirely calm. So, you can stop talking to me like I’m some hysterical female.”
 

He started to interrupt, but she silenced him with a single finger. “And you are an arrogant, ignorant baboon of a man if you think I’m going to regret a single thing I’m about to say.”
 

Bennett opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again as she continued.
 

“I’m only going to say this once, so try not to interrupt me again.” Eyes flashing, she went on while Bennett sat and listened, seething. “You kissed
me
. Yes, I participated but you initiated. I enjoyed it, but that doesn’t mean I’m here to seduce you, or anyone else, for that matter. Frankly, after listening to you now, I wouldn’t have you on a damn platter.”

“Are you
finished
?”
 

“No, I’m not.” He couldn’t believe it as she continued to rail at him. “Finally, you’re
not
my employer because, as of right now, I
quit
.”

With that, she leaned forward and grabbed her shoe out of his unsuspecting grasp. He was left staring as she slipped it on and walked out, never looking back.

***

Devon lied. By the next morning, she was fairly eaten alive with regrets.
I’ve ruined my life. I’ve ruined everything my Dad and I worked so hard for, all because I lost my temper.
Sitting on the sofa in her flat, she stared around her at the simple, but cozy décor. She had a place for herself here, seeing the odd pieces she’d brought home, making the space her own.
And now I’ve ruined it. How do I stay in London without my job?