Fistful of Roses (What a Woman Wants, Book 1) Read Online Free

harder and harder, until she encountered his sky-blue orbs.
    “Sophie, the deal you so eloquently wrote out last night, or should I say this morning, is brilliant work. Do you think Mr. Wellesley and the Defence Ministry of Britain are posturing so that I’ll sell for less?” His finger rose and her eyes closed as he touched her cheek.
    She leaned into the touch and her eyes opened wide before she zeroed in on his lips. Cursed, cursed lips. She wanted to attack them with her own. There was a question she should be asking, or answering, but at this point her thoughts were scrambled eggs in the frying pan of her brain.
    “Your hair was caught here.” His finger touched her lips and brushed across them.
    What happened next was instinct, and she could no more have stopped it than she could have stopped her pounding heart. Her teeth caught his finger, and her tongue flicked out to taste. His eyes flared at the touch, and his breathing went harsh as he turned her chair and started to pull her to him.
    The door to the conference room opened, Mr. Bent cleared his throat, and the spell was broken. Regret beat a swift tattoo across his face. He pulled away from her, and she sagged back into the chair. Mr. Bent threw her a knowing look that bordered on downright mean as his brows lowered in warning.
    She looked away and tried to ignore him as she doodled on her pad. Hands shaking, her heart wouldn’t stop trying to beat out of her chest. Her tongue twirled in her mouth as his flavor imprinted itself on her memory. Heat, cinnamon, and something quintessentially male triggered a need to dive into the man across the room from her and just get lost. She’d lusted after him for six months, pretty much the entire time she’d worked here, and now it seemed the feeling was mutual. Yet for her it was more than lust, this insane need that blossomed when she was around him. It bordered on a stalking kind of obsession. She couldn’t let thoughts of him go even when she was at home. He haunted her.
    Definitely this was an alternate reality. Good shit like this didn’t happen to Sophie Hanson. It just didn’t and she had too much baggage, too many responsibilities, to be dealing with someone as potent as Ryan Locke. There was also that little annoying fact he was her boss.
    Completely off-limits. She took a deep breath, recalling that Mr. Wellesley needed to be called back.
    “Shall I get Mr. Wellesley back on the phone, Mr. Locke?” she whispered.
    His shoulders stiffened and he turned slowly, his gaze a slice of blue flame as it traveled over her face. As usual his expression was unreadable. He nodded, and his look turned considering.
    She lowered her gaze and called Emma, his secretary, to get the Defence Council head back on the phone. And then she sat back and waited.
    *
    “Mr. Locke? Mr. Wellesley is on the line.” Emma’s voice was startling in the dead silent room.
    “Thank you, Emma.” Ryan forced his gaze away from Sophie. “Wellesley, we are not giving up our specs, designs, or the patents. You’ve seen the results of this technology and know that the US is on standby with us for orders. I’ve offered this to you before anyone else in Europe simply because of your nephew and the fact that you’re my country’s ally. You have no bargaining tool in this deal. Take it or leave it.” His words dropped into the silence like bombs.
    There was no response from Mr. Wellesley other than a deep sigh. Several minutes passed. Ryan stayed silent; Hayden did as well. Ryan contented himself with looking at Sophie, whose head was bowed as she doodled nervously on the paper in front of her. She had drafted the deal. The report he’d asked her for earlier detailing the specifics had been concise and accurate. She’d needed to be at this call for that reason alone. As its author, she knew the ins and outs better than he or Hayden did. He’d ruffled her feathers intentionally moments ago, needing to get under her skin the way she was