In Heat (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #1) (2 page)

She nodded dumbly.

He placed the file into the box and picked up the others for her as she stared at him, trying to figure out if he was real or whether she was just fantasising again. She'd never seen such a gorgeous man. His short black hair looked as velvety as it had been in her dreams and his eyes were everything she'd imagined they would be.

Her eyes widened when she was suddenly standing and she glanced at the large hand that was holding her arm. She swallowed and blinked, her senses reeling as she remembered the feeling of his touch. She pushed her fantasies away as he said something and she looked up into his eyes.

She was lost again the moment they met hers. They were just like the colour of honey, with dark flecks in their depths. She'd never realised that people could have eyes that colour.

“Are you sure you're all right?” he said with an amused smile but there was the tiniest hint of concern in his eyes.

“I'm fine, thank you,” she said with a smile. Her cheeks flushed when he grinned.

“Don't concern yourself with Kay. She's always been a little clumsy.” Laura stepped between her and the man.

“Kim,” she whispered, correcting her.

The man smiled.

“We weren't expecting you for another half an hour, Mr. Blackwell,” Laura said.

Kim tried not to stare at him but her eyes seemed to ignore every command she sent to them. He was breathtaking. It wasn't just his looks; it was his whole air. There was something about him that spoke of danger and passion, of heat and seduction. He positively oozed masculinity and sensuality.

Or maybe it was just her dreams making her feel like this.

The cool room suddenly felt very hot when his eyes came back to meet hers. He was speaking to Laura but Kim didn't hear a word he said. Her heart pounded in her ears. She averted her gaze for a split second but it roamed back to him, as though he'd called it and she was powerless to resist him.

Laura turned to her. “They need those files in room two.”

Kim looked at her, feeling a little dazed and definitely confused. Files? She looked down when Laura did and saw the box there. Files. She'd completely forgotten about them.

“I do hope Kim will be working on my case,” the man said.

Her heart skipped a beat when he said her name. He'd heard her. He'd heard her correct Laura. Is that why he'd smiled? He'd smiled at her?

“Kim? She doesn't work on cases like yours,” Laura said with a broad smile.

Kim frowned. She did work on cases like his and Laura knew it. If this were the man they were supposed to be meeting this morning, then it was a case she was supposed to be working on. She specialised in contract negotiations.

Laura began walking and he followed her. Kim watched him heading towards the stairs, taking in the strength of his build and how tall he was.

Tearing her eyes away, she bent over and picked up the box of files.

She smiled when she heard him speak.

“I think Kim should work on this case. I think I need her.”

K
im leaned against the railings on the balcony of the meeting room and stared at the small garden below. It wasn't much, but it was more than most city offices had. It was her favourite space in the building and she savoured every rare moment she got to spend there. She was only there now because Laura had sent a call up to the office and asked her to come and sit in on the second half of the meeting. She needed this moment of calm to prepare herself if she was going to have to sit opposite that man all afternoon. How was she supposed to work with him without imagining every single fantasy she'd had about him? How had he, a walking, talking real-life version of her dream guy walked into her life? They were just dreams, weren't they?

The sun was beating down on the garden where it nestled in the courtyard of the building, turning it into a little suntrap. It was sweltering. She took off her neat black jacket and undid the top two buttons of her white blouse. Placing the jacket over the dark green railings, she leaned her elbows against them again and heaved a sigh.

It was so peaceful out here.

She closed her eyes and raised her face to the sun. It warmed her through instantly.

“It's nice out here.”

So did his voice.

Her heart sped a little and she brought her gaze over to him. He was leaning with his back to the garden, eyes closed and head tilted back. The sun washed over his tanned skin, playing softly on his beautiful features. Her eyes traced his profile, taking in his dark eyebrows, jet black hair and square jaw.

She smiled when he opened his eyes and turned his head to face her.

It was strange to feel so comfortable with a client, a man she'd only just met.

He straightened up and smiled back at her. It sent her heart racing and made her mouth dry.

“Erik Blackwell,” he said, extending a hand. “But you can call me Erik.”

She looked at it and then took it when she'd got her senses into order. His fingers closed around hers, holding her tightly, and her eyes shot up to meet his. He was staring at her intently, his honey eyes locked on hers in a way that made her want to blush again. His fingers shifted against hers, sending a shiver through her, and he frowned when she took her hand back.

She fiddled with the cuff of her left sleeve, pretending it was undone as she tried to piece herself back together. It was ridiculous that one simple brush of his thumb against hers meant anything. She was stupid to let it affect her the way it had.

A furtive glance up at him showed he was still watching her.

“I'm Kim,” she said.

“Not Kay.” He smiled.

She blushed.

“I'm not normally like this...clumsy I mean...or talking back to my boss.” She lowered her gaze again and stared at the vivid green plants in the garden.

“I'd like to know what you're normally like then, Kim.”

She swallowed but it did nothing to shift the dry lump in her throat. He wanted to know what she was normally like? And why did he have to keep saying her name? She could barely stand as it was when he was around her. Whenever he said her name, rolling it off his tongue in such a silken voice, it made her want to throw herself at him.

“More professional,” she said flatly, getting the better of herself.

He looked disappointed.

He was a client, and she was just imagining that disappointment. There was no way a man like him would ever really look at a girl like her. He'd want Laura—blonde, bouncing, perfect Laura.

She was beautiful enough for him.

The door to the meeting room opened and Kim turned to see the woman in question entering with her friend, Simon.

Laura shot her a dark look. Kim knew what it meant. It was a warning not to slip up and embarrass the firm, but it was more than that too. She got the impression that Laura was interested in Erik as more than just a client.

“We should go in. It's far too hot out here anyway.” Kim looked at him. He showed no sign of moving.

Instead, he leaned his head back again, raising his face to the sun.

“I like the heat,” he whispered. “I can feel it in every inch of me, feel it warming me through.”

She was enthralled. Her gaze lingered on his face and the sublime smile he was giving to the sun. He looked positively content. Like a cat lying in the sun. Almost ready to purr.

She frowned at her thoughts and told herself that only men in dreams could purr.

“Don't you like the heat, Kim?” he said and brought his gaze down to hers.

She swore for a moment his eyes were more yellow than honey. She dropped her attention to his hands, staring at them, waiting for the fur to erupt.

Nothing.

She told herself that this was real, and in the real world men didn't purr when you touched them, and they didn't suddenly sprout velvet-black fur.

“Well, Kim?” he said. He was closer now, so close that she could feel the heat coming off him. His voice remained a whisper, teasing her senses and sending her thoughts back to her dreams. “Do you like the heat?”

She stared at his chest, watching the rise and fall of it, mesmerised by his nearness.

She nodded.

He was gone.

She blinked and turned to face the garden, breathing hard as she tried to steady herself. He was a client, and he really wasn't interested in her. It was just harmless conversation. This attraction was one sided. Nothing was going to happen.

She jumped when someone touched her shoulder.

“Kim?” Simon smiled at her. “Little jumpy today.”

She nodded, smiling back at her friend. She was glad that he was sitting in on this meeting. Hopefully he'd ground her and she'd make it through without messing up.

“Just a bit nervous,” she said.

Simon looked over her shoulder. She turned her head to see what he was looking at and found Erik watching them.

“Looks like Mr. Blackwell doesn't like to be kept waiting,” Simon said with another smile. “I hear all kinds of things about him. It's hard to know what to believe.”

Before she could ask what Simon had heard about him, he'd gone into the room, leaving her alone on the balcony. Her eyes were drawn to Erik again and she found he was still watching her while he spoke to Laura.

Walking into the room, she placed her jacket down over the back of the chair and opened her notebook. She wrote the date in the corner and Erik's name. She stared at it, getting the feeling there was more to its owner than met the eye.

Just who was Erik Blackwell?

* * * *

Erik leaned back in his chair, fascinated with the woman across the table from him. She was writing furiously, scribbling down note after note of what was being discussed. He wondered if she could feel him watching her in the same way that he could sense when she was looking at him.

He gave Ms. Townsend half of his attention, answering her questions about the contract as much as he could and keeping his girl writing so he could observe her. There was a pause in discussion as the man who had introduced himself as Simon stood, offering to order coffee or tea. He declined both and asked for some water, his eyes still fixed on Kim. He didn't like the easy manner she'd had with Simon when he'd gone out onto the balcony. There was something wrong about him. Whatever Kim thought their relationship was, Simon clearly thought it could be different.

A glass of water appeared in front of him and he licked his lips as he looked at its crystal depths that promised cool relief. The heat wasn't abating and the air in the room was so hot now it was stifling. He'd taken his jacket off and loosened his tie, but it hadn't helped. The hair at the nape of his neck was damp with sweat.

Simon placed a glass down in front of Kim and Erik's attention was with her again. She pressed her bare wrist against the condensation on the ice cold glass. Her tongue swept across her lower lip, wetting it, and her eyes closed briefly. He could almost feel her relief as the coldness of the glass lowered her temperature. It only made him hotter.

His eyes followed her every move as she took hold of the glass and brought it to her lips. He watched the movement of her throat as she drank, her eyes closed in pleasure, and then stared at her mouth when she lowered the glass and licked her lips again, capturing every drop of moisture on them.

He grabbed his glass and downed it in one go, trying to cool himself down but failing dismally.

Putting his glass down, he continued his observance of Kim.

She thoughtfully bit the end of her pen, her fine brows knitting as she scrunched up her nose and stared at the piece of paper.

There was no doubt it was her.

The attraction he felt, the way she reacted to him, and the shape of her. Even the smell. It was her. He'd been dreaming about her for so long now, desperate for her touch and dying to know who she was.

And now he'd found her.

She was younger than he'd expected and seemed a little wary of him. It wasn't at all like he'd been told it would be. She was supposed to know. But then, he was supposed to know her face in the visions too, but she'd always remained a mystery until today.

Was something wrong?

It worried him that she wasn't reacting as he'd been told she would. She recognised him, of that he was sure. Her manner towards him and how open she was around him told him that.

Wasn't she attracted to him? Didn't she feel the connection?

He was burning for her, hungry and desperate for her touch, unable to tear his eyes away from her for more than a second. He wanted to see if she felt the way that she did in his dreams, if she tasted and smelt as sweet as she did in them. He was anxious to see if she'd react to him the way she did there.

He wanted to know she wanted him.

He growled quietly; a call only she would hear.

She gasped and raised her head, her pupils dilating as she stared across the table at him.

He could hear her heart racing, feel her blood thundering through his own veins as it sung to him. He vividly remembered the slide of her legs against his, the way her fingernails dug into his arms as she writhed against him. He remembered the smell of their bodies, their sweat, as they moved against each other. He could still feel the electric sweep of her fingers over his bare flesh, teasing him into a hardness so painful he'd felt he would explode if she only breathed on his length. He held her gaze as he thought about her; the rough glide of her tongue over his neck; the whispered words in his ears; the way her fingers always buried themselves in his hair, holding his mouth against her body. She blinked at him. He sniffed, inhaling deeply as he continued to hold her gaze, not letting her go. He could smell her. She wanted him. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

It was destiny.

Twenty-seven years of dreaming of her, of searching for her, and now he'd finally found her.

Long hot nights spent tantalisingly close to her in his visions. Countless hours of touching and torturing her body as she explored his own. It had all been worth it because now he'd found her.

She swallowed hard.

He smiled.

He'd found her, now he just had to show her how good they could be together.