Temptation to Submit Read Online Free Page B

him want something deeper.
    “I was angry with you for getting drunk at a company event,” he lied.
    Her eyes narrowed. “Bullshit. That’s not why you’re mad at me.” She jerked away from him. “I know when a man is lying to me.”
    He yanked her closer. “Do you? Are you sure you want the truth?”
    There was a mixture of hope and resignation on her face, but it was gone in a flash, and she was stone-faced when she extracted her arm. “It doesn’t matter what I want, does it?”
    She scooted away from him and went back to work. He itched to demand her attention, to punish her for being disrespectful.
    Instead, he moved away, well aware that he’d probably missed his chance with Victoria months ago. He should have cornered her and made her admit that she wanted him the minute he was aware of it.
    But he hadn’t, knowing there was a fine line between force and seduction. He’d viewed his own desires as suspect and let his mind get in the way. Well, that was the way life was. There was no fixing it now. If he tried to convince her, she’d view it as some twisted form of punishment.
    No, he’d have to wait until she made a move. At this point, he might be waiting forever.
    * * * *
    Four hours of receipts and invoices was enough to drive even the most enthusiastic accountant nuts. Atticus called a halt and phoned room service. He glanced at Victoria. Her blonde hair was askew from the many times she’d run an agitated hand through the strands. She’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt as soon as her luggage had arrived two hours earlier.
    Their conversation had been about business only. He didn’t try to goad her again, sure that she would freeze him out worse than she already was. As the hours passed, he was doubly impressed by her skill. She was detail oriented, methodical, and caught the minutiae that might be missed by the less talented.
    Numbers made sense to Atticus; people didn’t. It was evident that Victoria felt the same way. He noted her deep satisfaction when she tracked down the money that was being diverted, even though this discovery didn’t bode well for people she worked with. He understood it and wondered if she suffered as he did from the way others were disconcerted by her attitude toward numbers and facts.
    It had been Mark who wanted a submissive secretary, enamored with the concept of combining work with sex. Atticus had thought the idea was crazy. He put things in their correct place. Work was work. Sex was sex. The two didn’t mingle.
    Yet as he handed Victoria a napkin and passed her the salt for the rather bland vegetables, he had to admit the combination could be fascinating. After all, Atticus loved his work, and the opportunity to share it with someone else was tempting.
    “Quit staring, Finch. You’re not going to figure me out,” she said with a crooked smile.
    “Oh, I think I have you figured out,” he said and held her amused gaze.
    She waved her hand. “I know. A brat sub with no self-control.”
    “I may have…oversimplified my assessment.” He wasn’t going to admit he was wrong. Besides, she was a brat sub. And those had never appealed to him. Until now.
    Victoria raised her eyebrows. “Oversimplified?” She took a bite of roast beef. “Yes, well, I’m willing to admit that I may be a brat sub.” She shrugged. “I’ve never had a chance to test it, so I guess you could be right.”
    “You don’t seem like someone afraid to try new things,” he said, curious. “Why wouldn’t you explore something like that?”
    Suddenly, there was a vulnerable expression on her face, something she hadn’t meant to reveal at all. He could almost see the words on the tip of her tongue that darted out to lick her lips.
    Her cell phone blared with its familiar ringtone. It irritated him that the possibility of learning something important about Victoria was interrupted by some woman singing about being brave.
    She cleared her throat, rose from the couch, and retrieved her