Free Iron Rods: 1 (Strip Club) by Brenna Zinn Page B

me and giving me the chance,” she said
sincerely. “I promise you, I’ll do my best.”
    A beat passed before he responded. “I’m sure you will.” He
pulled a coin from his pocket and idly flipped it back and forth as though
needing to busy his hands. “Just for the record, if I embarrassed you before, I’m
sorry. It wasn’t my intention.”
    The unexpected apology left her stunned. She didn’t quite
know how to respond. For the first time since they’d met, he sounded
unpretentious. Dumbfounded, she nodded, then turned and occupied herself by
pretending to examine the various pieces of artwork hanging on the wall.
    An awkward silence descended. After several minutes of
excruciating quiet, she glanced back to see what Bennett was doing and froze. A
warning bell clanged in the back of her head.
    The paperweight he’d been jostling only moments before now
lay undisturbed in the palm of a hand as he stared at her with an intensity
that stilled her blood. His expression, filled with both longing and passion,
weakened her knees. Though he stood several feet from her, she could see the
quickening rise and fall of his chest.
    The office that had once seemed so spacious suddenly felt
intimate. The air practically crackled with heated anticipation.
    Without breaking his gaze, Bennett replaced the crystal back
on the desk and stalked toward her as though he were a sleek cheetah preparing
to pounce on a gazelle.
    She stepped back, fighting an odd sensation of being drawn
to him. Somehow the Earth’s gravitational pull had given way to a new force of
attraction. That attraction was Bennett.
    “I told you before, I’m not easy,” she warned, knowing very
well that any move he made on her would be as welcome as rain in a drought.
Here was a man who was both bold and handsome, her kryptonite.
    “I’m aware of that.”
    Not breaking stride, he closed in until all six foot four of
him had her pinned against the office wall. The invisible draw intensified,
causing the hairs on her arms and at her nape to rise with unbridled
expectancy.
    “Then what are you doing?” Even in the silence of the room,
she could barely make out her quiet voice over the thuds of her wildly beating
heart.
    “I wish I could tell you,” he said a little huskily. “I’m
not sure myself.” He tucked a lock of hair that had come loose from her
ponytail behind her ear, then placed his palm on the wall, effectively trapping
her. “For reasons I can’t explain, I haven’t been able to get you out of my
head since I met you.”
    They stood so close she could feel his soft breath fan her
face. It smelled of fine Scotch and was altogether intoxicating. Tatum licked
her lips, trying to locate a taste of him but failing miserably. She wanted
more. So much more.
    “I know I’ve caught you off guard here. I wasn’t expecting
this either. I’m not the type of man who generally acts on impulse.” With his
free hand, Bennett lifted her chin, giving her no choice but to look at him.
“But I’m afraid if I don’t do something about this attraction I have for you,
I’m going to lose my mind.”
    A chill of desire that had gathered in the pit of her
stomach flashed like frozen lightning throughout her body, prickling her skin
and stealing her breath.
    If she was smart, she’d push him back and put an end to
whatever this was before it started. Office dalliances couldn’t be a good
thing, especially when one of the responsible parties thought the sun rose and
set on his ass.
    But oh what a fine ass it was. And oh how much she’d love to
grab it, smack it and hold on to it while he rode her into sexual oblivion.
    Most likely, Bennett was trying to manipulate her. Lyle had
cautioned her of that. She was going in with her eyes wide open though. No way
she’d allow him to take advantage of her. Quite the opposite. Little did he
know, she was taking advantage of him. She’d been without a man for so long, it
was a wonder she hadn’t already ripped off