“You think I wouldn’t use that to my advantage?” I lower my voice. She’s going to kill me for saying this, but I’m overcome. Having her hand in mine, our fingers laced together. I’m gripping her so tight, I feel like a desperate man. I haven’t forgotten her no matter how hard I try. “I absolutely cannot get the last time we were together out of my mind.”
“Please. We haven’t spoken since. Until today.” She glares at me with narrowed eyes, tugging against my hold, but I refuse to release her. “You know, I really can’t stand you. Seeing you tonight only reiterates my feelings.”
I don’t doubt it for a minute. Most women hate me once they get to know me.
Not Ivy. She knows all my faults yet she still wants to be with me. Or at least she used to. I want that again. The closeness, that connection I share with no one else. She somehow understands me, she always has.
I know for a fact that not many people do.
“Fine, hate me all you want. Just say you’ll do this.”
“It’s not that easy for me to walk away from my life, you know. I have responsibilities. And what if Sharon’s mad that you did this?” I smooth my thumb across the top of her hand, and she releases a shuddering breath. “I’m asking for trouble, working with you.”
“Ivy, please.”
Her eyes widen at my choice of words. I rarely say please. I just take what I want. But please is not working with Ivy at this very moment. She looks ready to run.
“Archer . . .”
“Please, Ivy,” I say again. “I need you.”
Chapter Ten
Ivy
“IT’S HARD FOR me to believe you’re serious.” He’s driving me crazy with how he’s touching me. I can’t think. And the way he’s looking at me isn’t much better.
At this very moment his sole focus is on me. That penetrating dark gaze of his locked on my face. As if nothing and no one else matters. All that intensity is tough to deal with.
Of course, he wants something from me. Not like he can be a complete ass and expect me to be agreeable.
Despite my instinct to scream No! and flee the restaurant, I take this moment to study him, my gaze roving over him greedily. He’s wearing a black sweater that stretches across his chest, emphasizing his broad shoulders. His dark hair gleams beneath the soft glow of the lights shining from above.
More than one woman has glanced in his direction since I sat down. Power, wealth, authority, it radiates from Archer in palpable waves. Funny how I can forget that when I’m not around him. How potent he is to my well-being.
Couple all that potency with a devastatingly handsome face and outrageously sexy body, no woman is immune.
Including myself, as much as I’m loath to admit it.
“What’s so difficult for you to believe? I’ve already gotten your boss’s approval. We’re ready to move forward.” He smiles, drags his thumb across my knuckles yet again. A bolt of heat rushes through me at the seemingly innocent touch. He knows what he’s doing to me, how he affects me. This is an act to make me agreeable.
Stupid idiot that I am, I’m falling for it despite the warning bells screaming inside my head. “For how long again?”
“Two weeks tops.”
How simple he makes it sound. He snaps his fingers and makes it all happen, just like that. Could I really stand to be around him for any extended length of time? I have no willpower when it comes to Archer. He’s a weakness of mine. Like indulging in too much chocolate and bad movies on a Sunday afternoon.
Only a million times worse.
“And Sharon readily agreed to this without protest?” I found it hard to believe. She needs me around, she’s so busy. I don’t know how she can afford to let me go, even if it’s only for two weeks.
“The prestige of her design company working with Hush and Bancroft is more than enough incentive for her to have you come work for me.” He pauses, the confident expression on his face downright breathtaking. “You really think she’d refuse me?”
Could anyone refuse him? He’s a Bancroft, after all. And so arrogant with it, I wish I could tell him no. Just once. Right now would be the perfect time—but the opportunity he’s offering me is just too tempting and Sharon would kill me if she’s already agreed. He knows it too. “What you’re suggesting . . . it’s crazy. You really think we can get this project off the ground and ready in two weeks?”
“We can do whatever we set our minds to. Just say yes, Ivy.” His gaze drops, landing on my mouth, where it lingers a fraction too long. My lips literally tingle, as if he physically touched them.
Extracting my hand from his grasp, relief floods me as I finally break the physical connection between us. When he touches me, I can’t think. I have a problem thinking when he’s looking at me too, so I drop my gaze. Study the tablecloth in front of me, which is a stark, pure white, made of fine, thick linen.
That I’d rather contemplate a tablecloth shows how powerful Archer’s influence is on me. God, I’m weak when it comes to this man.
His sinfully deep voice breaks through my thoughts. “Stop playing this game, Ivy. It’s going to happen.”
Sighing, I reluctantly lift my gaze. “Fine. When do we leave?”
“Tonight?” He flashes that dazzling smile, the one that dissolves my panties. Sexy, no-good jerk.
Grabbing my wineglass, I drain it, my skin instantly warming from the alcohol. I’ll definitely need more wine to get through the rest of this evening. “No way. Tomorrow.”