Intimate Seduction - Brenda Jackson [5]
He lifted his shoulder in a nonchalant shrug at the same time that he shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “I won’t be.” An assured smile touched his lips.
For a few timeless moments, their gazes held in a clash of wills. Now she understood Aunt Earline’s warning about him. According to her aunt, the man was a bachelor who had quite a reputation with the ladies. Apparently when it came to what he perceived as an available woman, Donovan Steele believed in equal opportunity regardless of sex, religion, race, national origin or occupation, since for all he knew she was no more than someone who cleaned houses for a living. Definitely not the kind of woman a man of his wealth and stature would mess around with.
It then occurred to her that, yes, a cleaning woman would be just the type of woman a man like him would probably mess around with. Discreetly. Not someone he would get serious about and take home to meet his upscale family. He’d be surprised to learn that she had a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and was a professor at Princeton University.
“So, when can I take you out?”
Donovan’s question intruded into her thoughts. She studied his face and saw the confidence in the dark eyes staring back at her. No doubt because of the women he’d dealt with in the past, he was pretty sure of himself. He probably figured she was an easy lay and with a few sweet words her legs would part like the Red Sea. Boy, was he wrong.
“I won’t be going out with you, Mr. Steele.”
He smiled. “Feel free to call me Donovan, and is there a reason why?”
There were several reasons she could give him, with his blatant arrogance heading the list. “The reason I won’t go out with you is because I work for you, and I’ve learned that mixing business with pleasure isn’t a good idea.”
That response, she thought, sounded more politically correct than what she’d actually wanted to say. “And in addition to that, I’m taking a hiatus from dating for a while,” she tacked on for size.
He tilted his head at an angle that made his stare even more penetrating. And then he did something she hadn’t counted on him doing. He chuckled. But it wasn’t just any old chuckle. It had both a seductive as well as a challenging sound to it. It immediately set her on edge and alerted her to the fact that he didn’t consider what she’d just said as obstacles.
He verified her assumptions by saying. “Your aunt works for me. You’re working for your aunt. It’s not the same. And the only possible reason that I can think of as to why such a beautiful woman like you would want to take a break from dating is because you’ve dated the wrong men. You’re now looking into the face of the right one.”
Natalie wasn’t sure he was the right one, but he certainly was a determined one. Deciding not to waste her time arguing with him, she tightened the bundle of linen she held to her chest and slowly backed up. “I’d better put these in the washer. I’ll be back later to put fresh sheets on the bed.” She quickly moved to the door.
“Natalie?”
Calling her by her first name was a liberty she hadn’t given him but was one he was arrogantly taking anyway. She slowly turned around and once again saw him looking at her. “Yes?”
“Considering the attraction between us, I feel I should give you fair warning that I’m a man who goes after what I want and won’t stop until I get it.”
She lifted her chin and looked at him while trying to ignore the surge of desire that stirred low in her stomach. There was no way she could deny an attraction existed since the chemistry between them was so blatantly obvious.