❦Kate ❦

"I can't Kate." He whispered, the words reverberating against my lips and sending a tremor through my body.

Then he released his hold on me and I felt him step away. My body screamed in denial and my eyes opened.

I shook my head to clear the hazy cloud of desire I was in and the words he just said registered to me. I felt the humiliation of being rejected wash over me. Oh god, I had all but begged to be kissed and he had rejected me. He didn't want me. Shame filled me and I wanted to disappear. I turned around quickly wanting to get out of there but Jason grabbed my arm before I could move.

Was he not satisfied? Did he want to humiliate me more?

"Let me go." I whispered without looking at him.

He turned me around to face him.

"Look at me." His voice was soft. When I refused, he continued. "You have no idea how much I want to kiss you."

What? My eyes flew to his. I saw the unmistakable passion and hunger in them.

"But it's not enough. Not this time."

"What do you want then?" I heard myself whisper without meaning to.

With a soft tug he pulled me flush against him. "I want more." He spoke into my ear, his lips caressing the sensitive folds. "You have no idea how much I want to bend you over this sofa here and fuck you right now." He dropped his hands to my butt, pulling me firmly into his straining erection. "Like the way I know you want to be fucked. So hard that when I'm finally done with you, you won't be able to walk straight for days."

I gaped at him. The words sent a delicious jolt through my body and exploded in my core. I stifled the urge to squeeze my legs tight together. No one had ever been that direct with me.

"But I know you're not ready to give me that." He murmured, his fingers tightening on me briefly before stepping away. "You and me, it's going to happen." He said confidently. "But not until you're absolutely sure it's what you want."

I understood the message behind his words. He was letting me know that the next move was mine and that he wouldn't touch me again unless I asked him to. Unless I was ready to sleep with him.

My mind was in turmoil. I needed to get away from all this. It was all too much. I snatched my hand back and all but ran from the room.

❦❦❦

❦ Jason ❦

Next time you won't get so lucky.

I stared at the note and frowned. What the fuck was this? The note was in an envelope that Andrea had brought to me along with my other daily messages. I checked the other side of the plain white paper but there was nothing else written on it. Was this someone's idea of a joke? My name was written in bold letters on the envelope so there was no mistake it was meant for me.

I pressed the intercom and called Andrea and asked about it.

"It was delivered to the front desk today." Andrea explained.

Disconnecting the call, I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in my gut. Did this have to do anything with the attack in Bali?

I decided it was time I told Ben about that. I hadn't told him about the incident in Bali because I had thought that it was just a random mugging attack. Now I wasn't so sure.

I leaned back in the chair and glanced at the conference room next to my cabin. A two-way glass mirror separated the two rooms. The glass was only reflective from one side, so I was able to see straight through it, but from the other side it looked like a regular mirror.

Kate was sitting at the head of the conference table, chewing on the end of her pencil, as she flipped through some papers. On either side of her sat the five people I had hired to work under her. All of them seemed to be deep in work.

Ever since we came back from Bali a month ago, Kate had been coming into work every day along with her team. I was very satisfied with the extent to which they were progressing with the hotel project. The layout plans had already been finalized and they were now working on the design concepts.

I sighed remembering the last conversation Kate and I had in Bali. Ever since that night, she had been distant and there was no easy conversation between us anymore. During the time in Bali we had grown to be almost friends but now we were like two strangers, talking only about the hotel project.

Seeing her every day and not being able to touch her was the worst kind of torture. I could have had her that night in Bali. I recalled with frustration. I could still see her face when I rejected her silent invitation to kiss her. It haunted me late at night when I was in bed thinking about her, wanting her. But what I said to Kate was true, the next time I kissed her I didn't want to stop at just that. I wanted it all. And I wanted her to be sure it's what she wanted.

"Does Kate have any idea you're watching her like a creep?" Nathan's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"I'm not watching her. I'm just...okay, mind your own fucking business." I scowled getting up from my seat and giving him a quick hug. "When did you get back?" He had been in Europe for the past two weeks.

"Came here straight from the airport. Got time for lunch?"

"I have a meeting in 2 minutes." I grimaced checking my watch. "Stick around till I finish. I'll wrap it up quickly."

❦❦❦

❦ Kate ❦

I was on the phone with the sales manager of PT. Indonesia Collectors Furniture in Indonesia. I had custom designed the furniture for the hotel and had sent them those designs so they could review and give me a price quote.

Two weeks ago, I presented Jason with the completed layout concept plans which he approved. Now we were in the design phase which included the selection of color schemes, fabrics, furniture and fixtures, and other materials. The past few days, my whole team had been busy with contacting manufacturers, suppliers and sales reps, getting quotes from them.

After finishing my call, I leaned back in my seat and massaged my neck.

"Have you decided on which artist's work we would be using?" My assistant in the project, Erin asked me. She was the same age as me and very capable of finishing all the tasks I gave her on time. So were the others. I was glad the team Jason provided me with were as dedicated to work as I was.

"I'm going with the two local artists from Bali that we all agreed on." I said. "I'll consult with Jason later, and if he approves we can contact them."

A knock on the door made us all turn around. Nathan was standing in the open doorway, a smile on his face. "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course." I grinned getting up. "I thought Jason said you were in Europe."

"I just got back." He said giving me a quick hug and looking around. Apart from Erin and Julia, we had three guys in our team; Brad, Aaron and Robbie. And every single one of them was staring at Nathan with wide eyes.

It was apparent the guys were awed because they knew who he was. I couldn't be sure why Erin and Julia seemed to be blushing. But knowing how us females reacted to gorgeous men, I was ready to bet it was Nathan's smoldering good looks that was causing the flush on their face.

I was used to seeing them like that. It happened every time Jason entered the room. I thought they would get used to him but it had been a month and they still reacted to Jason the same way as they did the first time they saw him.

I couldn't blame them. I acted just like them when Jason was around. I was just better at not showing it. Hiding a smile, I cleared my throat. "Guys, let's take a twenty-minute break."

After they hurriedly left, I turned to Nathan with a smile. "Want to have a look at the designs I have finalized?"

About fifteen minutes later, Jason walked into the room. "Since when did you become such an expert in rugs?" He drawled lazily when Nathan finished telling me his opinion about the rugs I have chosen for the suites.

I didn't hear what Nathan said. I was too busy staring at Jason. He was dressed in a dark navy suit with a white shirt and was far too gorgeous for sensibility. He looked dangerously attractive in casual clothes. But dressed formally, he looked lethally sexy and every inch the powerful businessman that he was.

Our eyes met and he smirked with a slight raise of his eyebrows. I looked away immediately embarrassed to be caught checking him out and saw that even Nathan was smirking.

When they left, I let out the breath I was holding. Every time I saw Jason, I was reminded of our last night in Bali. That night haunted my thoughts even when he wasn't around. It was like I couldn't get him out of my head.

And it was getting harder to ignore the way my body reacted around him. Whenever I saw him all I could think about was flinging myself into his arms and kissing him. I was appalled by my thoughts. I wasn't a very sexual person. Peter wasn't bad in bed but he never aroused these wild feelings in me. I had never wanted to rip Peter's clothes off but with Jason I wanted to attack him.

Thinking of Peter, my mood worsened. I was so confused about us. There were times I questioned whether I was really in love with him. Because if I was, I wouldn't be fantasizing about Jason.

After telling Peter that I wouldn't do anything to hurt him again, I had gone ahead and thrown myself at Jason, begging him to kiss me. I looked at the engagement ring on my finger feeling more confused than I had ever been in my life.

Later that afternoon, I sat down with Jason to get his approval on the artists I had chosen to do the artwork for the hotel. He found their work impressive and gave me the go ahead.

"Their work would be used in all areas of the hotel except for the hotel lobby and presidential suites." I explained. "I want a different style of artwork for those areas."

"My dad is an art collector." He said twirling his pen between his fingers. "In fact, his collection is considered one of the best private art collections in the world. If you want, I can take you to see it."

"That would be great." I immediately agreed.

"Good. I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow morning."

"That's not necessary." I said hastily. "Just tell me the address where the art collection is kept and I'll meet you there."

A smirk touched his face as he regarded me with an amused look. "It's in Florida."

"Oh."

Seeing the look on my face, his smirk deepened. "Make sure you pack a bag."

❦ ❦ ❦

I was about to head home when Hal called me to ask if I was free for the night. We ended up making plans to meet up for drinks later that night. We hadn't really hung out since he came back from vacation. I had been too busy with work.

As I exited the building, I noticed a figure clad in a dark hoodie loitering around. He looked a bit familiar and when he saw that I was looking at him, he immediately put his hood up and disappeared into the crowd.

I raked my brain trying to figure out how I knew him. Then I froze as the realization stuck. Even though I didn't see his face clearly that night, I was so sure it was the same guy. He was the one who attacked Jason in Bali.