Free Ultimate Surrender by Lydia Rowan

commitments had kept him from picking up where they had left off. Which might have been a good thing. He hadn’t seen her in days, but if anything, he only wanted her more. His desire for her, once an amorphous thing, had been solidified, made real. There was no doubt what the outcome would be. He and Cassandra were going to end up in bed; it was simply a matter of time and logistics.
    But that certainty didn’t change the nature of their working relationship, which was still as contentious as ever if Cassandra’s pinched expression was anything to go by.
    Still, he could confess that he was more than happy to finally see her again.
    “Lucian, do you have a moment?” she asked.
    He wondered what she’d do if he said no, because though she had asked the question, she walked toward him, her stance telling him she expected him to say yes.
    “For you, Cassie, anything,” he said.
    Her “it’s Cassandra” came out without her missing a beat.
    Lucian laughed softly, cut off when she looked at him quickly. “What can I help you with, Cassandra ?” he asked, making sure to emphasize her full name.
    He watched her face for any sign of change, any hint of what she was thinking about, any sign she was as enraptured by him as he was by her, that what had happened between them affected her as much as it had him.
    “Did you read my report? Have you read any of the last three I sent?” she asked.
    As she spoke, she settled into one of the conference room chairs, and Lucian tried, and failed, not to stare at her as she crossed one leg over the other. To his relief and dismay, Cassandra was always tastefully dressed, her shirts never low-cut, the jackets she wore daily without fail, including Fridays, tailored to show the curve of her waist, the fullness of her hips, while managing to keep her classic tastefulness.
    However, Cassandra had a weakness for short skirts, shorter than one might think from the first look at her.
    She had reason to, because her legs were works of art, long, strong, feminine, sexy.
    Every time Lucian saw them, got a peek at her full thighs as he did now, he couldn’t help but react. He shifted, began to move in order to take his mind off the thoughts that would take him down a road he definitely shouldn’t be going down.
    Time for some antagonism to distract himself.
    “I have work to do, Cassandra. I’m not a paper pusher,” he said, “despite what it may seem.”
    “No. You’re not a paper pusher. Other people push paper for you. You’re a leader, the face of Silver Industries, and you have to act like it,” she said.
    Lucian paused, the irritation he was feeling now real. “Don’t lecture me, Cassandra,” he said.
    “Then don’t make me,” she replied. “How difficult is it to read a report and follow through with a couple of the action items referenced in said report?”
    “Really difficult when you have real work to do,” he said.
    Cassandra’s eyes flashed, her own anger also real, and she stood and faced him, standing toe-to-toe with him. Given the way she stood, her body coiled tight like she was ready to spring and looking for him to give her a reason to, one never would have thought he had nearly eight inches of height over her.
    She certainly didn’t seem to notice.
    “Are we going to have this conversation again?” she said.
    “We don’t have to. You can just leave,” Lucian said.
    “No. I won’t just leave. I’m here to do a job, and I don’t care how difficult you make it for me, I’m going to do it,” she said.
    That stubborn streak was incredible, and Lucian might have marveled at it if he wasn’t too busy trying to swallow back waves of rage. “I’m busy, Cassandra,” he said.
    “Too busy to sign a single piece of paper?” she said.
    “What is so important about this piece of paper?” he asked, frustrated.
    “Nothing, if carrying an illegal firearm doesn’t upset you,” she said.
    “Illegal? I have a permit—”
    “That expired a month