Free Fixation (Magnetic Desires Book 3) by Misti Murphy Page A

her desk. "I’ll be out on shoot this morning, but I’ll make sure I’m back."
    She went back to her filing as I made my way to the stairs.
    "Oh, there’s a woman waiting in your office." Her voice rose in amusement. "A Mrs. Barclay?"
    I froze on the steps. Either my mother had decided to pay a visit for the first time since the gallery opening or Lola was sitting in my office waiting for me.
    Alex chewed on her manicured thumbnail. "Any relation?"
    Blood pounded through my cock at the thought of Lola coming back for more, and my reply came out gruffer than I wanted it to. "That’s none of your business."  
    Taking the stairs two at a time, I threw open the door to find her sitting on my desk. "Didn’t get enough the first time, sweetheart?"
    She crossed and uncrossed her legs, dragging my gaze to the gap that showed her panties. "We still need to talk."
    "Sure." I dumped my bag on the desk beside her before running my hands up over her knees.  
    "I’m serious, Leo," she murmured, though she gripped the front of my shirt.
    I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what she had to say. Her convoluted story, the note she'd left, and what the private investigator I'd hired told me had left me convinced she'd conned me. She'd concocted a story that dragged innocent people into a web of lies. Had she even known Brady O'Brien? The man was shady, but that didn’t mean there had been any ties between them. He'd been a convenient boogeyman to garner sympathy. "There isn't anything you can tell me that will change the past."
    "But I want to tell you about Brady, the six years he kept me from you—"
    Sliding my hands under her skirt, I squeezed her thighs and nipped her bottom lip. "Right now, I'm only interested in one thing you have to offer, and it ain’t whatever you're about to tell me. You've interrupted my ability to enjoy other women, so I plan on taking my pleasure in you."
    "They're not lies. I want to tell you what happened."
    "And I want to fuck you before you make me so angry that I'm not in control of my actions." I dragged my teeth over the bruise on her neck she’d hid so well behind a veil of makeup.
    Her breath hitched. "Do you remember, Leo, that second day on the cruise when you told me I’d marry you?"
    "Yeah." I growled, picking her up and stalking around the desk to sit in my chair with her straddling my lap. "You played a vicious game, Lola."
    Cupping the back of her head, I pulled her in for a kiss, but she pushed at my chest with the flat of her palms and glared at me. "I know you don’t trust me, but I didn’t mean to hurt you."
    "It’s done. Now are you going to let me get inside that skirt, or are you going to be a cocktease?"
    She ground herself against my cock, which hardened with the movement. "Please let me explain."
    "Your words mean nothing to me, sweetheart." My gaze narrowed on her, I clasped the arms of the chair. I wanted to wrap them around her neck for asking me to let her lie to me again. I tapped a digit on the black leather as I weighed my words. "They’re full of empty promises."
    She schooled her features, but in the second before her mask slid into place, her gaze clouded with pain and the small lines at the corner of her eyes and over the bridge of her nose deepened. "I will make you trust me again. Underneath all this bullshit you still want me as much as you did six years ago."
    I cupped her cheek roughly with my callused fingers and brought my face to hers. My chest ached at hurting her, though I needed it to be clear there was no love between us. Once before she’d ripped my heart out, but I wouldn’t let her get her claws into me again. "It isn’t going to happen. I’m using you the way you used me. Understand that."
    "You can’t fool me, Leo Barclay. There’s a difference between what you feel and not wanting to feel it. I know you love me."
    Lifting her from my lap, I took my time responding to her. "I’ll make you a little wager."
    "A wager?"
    I stood up and strode