Mine to Hold (Mine #3)(4)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Is what just you?” Claire whispered.

“I look at you, and my whole body burns. I want you naked. I want you screaming. I want to see pleasure make your eyes flash even brighter.”

Her breath came faster. Rougher.

“So I wondered if that was just me. Is the arousal all on my side? The attraction?” His gaze dipped to her mouth. “Or do you feel it, too?”

I feel it. But Claire had rules. So many rules. She licked her lips. Saw the gold in his eyes go molten. “I’m not…I’m not interested in having sex with you.”

His dark brows rose. “Are you very sure about that?”

No. Yes. Claire hadn’t taken a lover in years.

Nine years, to be exact.

Not since she’d learned how dangerous a lover could be. She pulled at the left sleeve of her jacket. “Sex won’t be an issue.” Claire cleared her throat. “I need the job. You said that you owed me.” She didn’t actually think that he did owe her. He certainly hadn’t caused her injury in Chicago, but in that desperate moment, she’d try to play on any sense of debt that he might feel. “I-I need the job.”

He took a slow step toward her.

“Please,” she said, truly desperate and—

A flash of anger crossed his face. In the next instant, Noah was right in front of her. “Don’t ever do that.”

Do what? Lost, she could only shake her head.

“You don’t have to beg me for anything. Remember that.” His hands lifted, then his fingers fisted as if he were trying to resist the urge to touch her. “If you want a job with me, it’s yours.”

Her breath expelled in a relieved burst. “Thank you.”

“I don’t want your gratitude.” His eyes still burned. “I want you, and that wanting isn’t just going to stop.”

She could actually feel the heat from his body. It warmed her when she’d been cold for so long.

“But I meant what I said,” Noah continued, his voice deep and rumbling. “I don’t f**k with my employees.”

“Y-you won’t be f-fucking with me.”

His lips thinned. “We’ll see. I don’t want you to beg, I think I was pretty clear about that…you should never have to beg for anything. But I will wait and let you ask me to be your lover.”

That shocked her. “It’s not happening.”

“We’ll see.” He turned away from her. Paced toward a desk that waited in the corner. “You graduated at the top of your class at Washington State University. Received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, then got your MBA.”

He’d checked her out?

“But you’ve barely stayed at any job longer than six months since you got your MBA.” His fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the desk. “Why is that?”

“Because my past keeps catching up with me.” And she did not, could not, talk about her past then. She’d lost her last job because her boss found out about her.

Noah’s expression hardened. “Are you in danger, Claire?” A new note had entered his voice. Rougher. Harder.

A shiver slid over her. “No.” Not any longer. At least, she shouldn’t be. She cleared her throat. “I have…a powerful enemy. He likes to punish me, so he tends to make sure I don’t exactly have the best employment prospects.” Please, please, Noah, just accept what I say and don’t ask any other questions.

Her gaze dropped to the manila file on his desk. Understanding hit her hard and had Claire backing up a step. If he’d learned about her college, then… “You already know.”

His shoulders tensed as he straightened to fully face her.

“You know everything that happened to me, don’t you?” And she hated that. Claire rarely talked about her past. It hurt too much. For Noah to know. For this sexy, strong man to know all her dark secrets—

The knowledge of her exposure to him just made her feel weak. Too exposed.

He held her gaze. “I know you’re a survivor, and that’s all that matters to me.”

She blinked quickly because, for some reason, his words had her eyes tearing. Claire would not cry in front of him. She didn’t cry in front of anyone.

“I don’t really give a shit how powerful the enemy from your past is,” he continued, voice deep, “because I’m pretty sure I’ve got just as much…if not more…power.”

Claire thought he did, too. That was why she’d come to him. If anyone could stand up to the man after her, it would be Noah. “I just want a chance.”

Noah inclined his head. “Like I said, I’ll give you a job.”

Her shoulders slumped. The relief that hit her then was so dizzying she felt a little light-headed for a minute. The last nine years had been so hard. And with her sister’s death just a few months before…the demons that chased Claire seemed to have just grown stronger.

“I know I have to start at the bottom,” Claire said, her words coming fast now, “and that’s fine. You just tell me who to report to, and I’ll—”

“You’ll report to me, Claire. Only me.”

Her lips parted. “But—”

“I need an assistant, and you just got the job.”

That was…wow. “I can do it,” she promised him. “I’ll prove that I can—”

“I already know you can do it.” He tilted his head as he studied her. “But you should be aware that we’ll have to work very closely together. My hours are crazy, and I’ll expect you to be at my beck and call pretty much twenty-four, seven.”

She nodded. She had no social life, so that was a done deal.

“Where are you staying?” Noah asked.

“The Hamlet, over on—”

“It’s a dump, Claire.” The anger was back on his face and in his voice. “A man was shot there last week.”

And two men had been arrested there last night. But when you were trying to save every bit of money you had, well, you didn’t have the luxury of being choosy about your hotel.

His jaw locked. “I’ll make sure you have a room available here at the Towers.”

“But…”

A muscle flexed in his jaw. “You aren’t staying there any longer.”

“What will the other staff members think?” Claire asked as she shifted her feet nervously. “If I just move in here, even if it’s just for a few days, they’ll talk.”