Page 14 of Scarred Ruin

“Ah. A woman who’s cautious around men. Admirable.”

“Please. Don’t flatter yourself. Not only men. Women can be far more abusively cunning when necessary. Fortunately, I can spot both a mile away.”

“Can you now?”

“I can.” She lowered her gaze to my lips while dragging her tongue across her bottom lip.

There were so many aspects of her personality I admired already, alongside several that left me with questions. Granted, I was the type of man who preferred deciphering answers on my own. In the case of getting to know her, I could envision us working together very closely.

What enchanted me almost as much as anything was her refusal to comment on my scars or waste an extra second staring at them. There wasn’t a human alive who upon the first couple of meetings didn’t find their eyes drawn to the disfigurement. It was human nature to be curious about something so repulsive.

Yet not with her.

I spun her around, the force breaking our physical connection while also causing her to gasp in surprise. I quickly brought her toward me again, also using enough upper body strength that she was pressed against my chest.

The surprise slipped into a hint of annoyance, but as I’d seen before, she was also aroused. She was close enough I could also detect a hint of nervousness and to become even more aroused by her perfume.

The scent was heavy, intoxicating, and dripping with the kind of sultry sweetness that could make any man hunger to abandon all his carefully laid plans just to breathe it in.

I wasn’t prone to deciphering a lady’s perfume, so the moment we were sharing contained several firsts.

She pressed her hand against my chest, pushing just enough to indicate I should give her space.

Not a chance.

The dance continued and I eased my hand to the small of her back, pressing her body into a slight arc. “You’re an exceptional dancer, Isabel.”

“So are you. Studies in the art of seduction?”

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“You tell me.”

“I’m certain this is the part where you tell me any attempt at conquest would be deemed unprofessional, especially since we’ll be working so closely together.”

“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,” she offered. “I can’t do this project. I do very much appreciate your confidence and while my reason is personal, it has nothing to do with you. I’m truly sorry, but I just don’t think you understand the magnitude of a project of this nature.”

“You’re making assumptions about me without any basis.”

Her shrug was completely casual yet as if she was in full control. “What can I say. I’m an excellent judge of character.”

“Your boss seems to think you’re on board.”

Her smile was sly. “John has been an amazing mentor and while he can be a little rough around the edges, he’ll understand.”

“As you already observed, I don’t take no as an answer very often if at all.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to experience disappointment perhaps for the first time in your life.”

Did she have any understanding of what she was doing to me? Now wasn’t the time to be too forceful with her. Answers were still needed.

“You’re a professional so let me make a suggestion. Will you hear me out?”

Isabel debated the question. “It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t.”

“You have me at a disadvantage while being at this gala. You have every right to understand more about my qualifications and the reasons why I believe so highly in this project. As you might imagine, this is neither the time nor the place for doing so.”

“Alright. Fair enough. What do you have in mind?”