Rules of Negotiation Read Online Free Page A

come up with Brit?” she asked. “Isn’t your real name John?”
    “You’ve been reading about me?” He lifted one eyebrow and leaned against the wardrobe, thrusting one hand casually into his pant pocket. The move made the fabric pull tighter across his groin.
    Tori’s pulse skipped a beat. “Research. Know thy opponent, and all that jazz.”
    “Well, if I tell you how I got my name, you’ll have to tell me why you turned down a clerkship with a Supreme Court justice.”
    She sucked in a breath. “How in the world did you find that out?”
    “Research.”
    No one knew about the clerkship offer. Not even her mother—or rather, especially her mother, who was the reason she had been forced to turn it down. Whatever modicum of control Tori thought she had managed to retain slipped through her fingers.
    “Why don’t we head down to dinner?” She had no intention of discussing her clerkship, or any other matter involving her mother, with Brit Bencher.
    His steely gaze assessed, analyzed, and then silently agreed to back off. He glanced at her thin jersey dress with its deep V-neck. “It’s a bit chilly. Do you have a coat?”
    She shook her head. “I try to travel light.”
    “I’ll have the car brought around.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and stepped back toward the door to the room, speaking quietly.
    Tori took advantage of his distraction to scroll quickly through the messages on her BlackBerry. Her fingers trembled; she needed the familiar sight of the mountain of work waiting for her to break through her panic.
    At least at work she knew what she should do. Unlike here, in this hotel room, where she was completely lost.
    Brit finished his brief call and slipped his phone into his pocket. Tori fumbled with her purse, throwing in her hotel key card and wallet, noting as she did that her secret condom stash still had at least one foil-wrapped packet in it.
    Oh dear God, what if he did want to have sex? Could she do it?
    When she looked up again her face was burning. If only Brit didn’t have that tiny bend to his nose, the one that suggested he’d broken it in his youth, then perhaps she might not be acting like a hormone-driven teenager. But his combination of tough and sexy was giving her hives.
    She cleared her throat. “I guess I’m ready.”
    He surveyed her from head to toe. “Are you sure you’re a lawyer?”
    Suddenly aware of the curve of her waist and the way the dress outlined her thighs, Tori felt a rush of pure feminine pleasure. Finally, something she could say for certain: Brit hadn’t invited her out to dinner to talk business. Brit was coming on to her.
    But why?
    And did it matter?
    He’s on the other side of the deal , her sensible lawyer-self said.
    You finished negotiating the deal this afternoon , her sex-starved-self retorted. Besides, your client gave you permission. Hell, he suggested it!
    She forced her mind back to the present. “As hard as it may be to believe, there are actually a number of female attorneys in the business world these days.”
    He placed one hand at the small of her back. “I heard a rumor to that effect.”
    Tori wet her lips.
    Blue eyes threatened to swallow her whole. “Let’s test, shall we? To make sure you’re real.”
    Her body froze, taut as a violin string, practically vibrating with the force of his magnetic pull.
    Deliberately, he moved his hand from her back to her waist. A thumb brushed the soft, sensitive skin of her stomach. Her mouth parted in anticipation, and then it was captured by his warm, seeking lips.

Chapter Four
     
    Tori’s hand instinctively rose to clutch Brit’s shoulder. It was hard and muscled, exactly the way she had envisioned. His lips were firm, expert. He claimed her mouth in a single breath. A shudder went through her and the tingle that had begun the moment he walked in the room turned into a full-bodied ache.
    She moved her mouth against his, and his tongue penetrated her parted lips. Heat