…the sight of his hands in hers sent a wave of possessive satisfaction through his system.
However, it was her next words that made him realize the full scope of her feelings.
"I could smell her perfume on you," Victoria whispered, her voice carrying a note of raw vulnerability that went straight to his core. "When you walked in, I could smell her."
The admission hit him like lightning. Victoria Sharp, controlled, untouchable Victoria Sharp was coming apart over the thought of another woman's scent on his skin.
"l...I've never…this isn't something I know how to do." She admitted her voice small in a way that seemed to surprise them both.
"I was burning with red ugly terrifying emotions," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "Watching her touch you, watching you smile at her. I wanted to cross that room and tear her hands away from you. I wanted to make it clear that you belonged…" She stopped abruptly, as if the words had escaped without permission.
"Belonged to whom?" James asked softly, stepping closer despite himself.
Victoria's breathing had become shallow, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled with emotions she clearly did not know how to process. "I don't know how to do this," she repeated.
Victoria held him as if he might disappear, her carefully maintained composure finally cracking completely. James opened his mouth to explain, to tell her that Katherine meant nothing, that there was nothing between them.
But then he stopped himself.
This was his opportunity. She was vulnerable, off-balance, her carefully constructed walls crumbling under the weight of her own desire. If he were ever going to get her to admit what she wanted, it would be now.
He stepped closer, closing the distance between them until he could feel the heat radiating from her body. Victoria's eyes widened slightly at his proximity, hands reached back to hold the sink, her breath hitching as he reached up to cup her face in his freshly washed hands.
"Is that what this is about?" he asked softly, his thumb tracing the line of her cheekbone with deliberate slowness. "You don't like the idea of another woman touching me?"
Victoria's lips parted, but no words came.
James could see her pulse hammering at the base of her throat, could feel the slight tremor in her body as he touched her.
"Answer me, Victoria," he said, his voice dropping to a low rumble that made her eyes darken with desire. "Tell me why you needed to wash her away."
His other hand slid around to the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in the soft hair at her nape, massaging. Victoria's eyes fluttered closed at the contact, a barely audible gasp escaping her lips as he began massaging her scalp with gentle pressure.
The sound went straight to his core.
"James," she whispered, his name coming out breathless and needy in a way that made his entire body clench.
"That's not an answer," he murmured, his thumb now tracing the fullness of her lower lip. "I want to hear you say it, Victoria. I want to hear you tell me exactly what you want."
Victoria's composure was cracking before his eyes, her professional mask dissolving under his deliberate seduction. He could see the war playing out across her features, desire battling with control, need wrestling with the protective walls she'd spent years constructing.
James increased the pressure of his fingers against her scalp, drawing another soft gasp from her lips. The vulnerability in the sound made him feel dizzy with power and arousal.
"You called me here for a reason," he continued, his voice a low purr against her ear as he leaned closer. "You washed another woman's touch from my skin. You can't stand the thought of someone else having what you want."
Victoria's breathing had become shallow and rapid, her chest rising and falling in a way that drew his attention to the elegant line of her décolletage. The sight made his blood burn hotter.
"So tell me," he whispered, his lips barely brushing the shell of her ear. "What is it you want, Victoria?"
The combination of his words and his touch was clearly overwhelming her defenses.
James could feel her trembling under his hands, could see the way her carefully maintained control was fragmenting under the pressure of his seduction.
Victoria's mind was reeling. This wasn't the James she knew; respectful, professional, careful to maintain appropriate boundaries.
This man was commanding, dominant, using his knowledge of her attraction to systematically dismantle every defenses bit by bit until he reached her core.
The feel of his hands on her face, in her hair, was sending shock waves through her system. Each gentle pressure of his fingers against her scalp made her knees weaken, made heat pool between her thighs in a way that left her gasping for air.
She had never experienced anything like the domineering presence he was projecting now. It was intoxicating and terrifying, making her feel small and vulnerable in a way that should have been alarming but instead made her body come alive with desperate need.
"I..." she started, then stopped as his thumb traced her lip again, the simple touch sending electricity straight to her core.
"You what?" James prompted his voice silk and steel as his fingers continued their maddening massage of her scalp. "Say it, Victoria. Say what you want."
The combination of command and seduction in his voice was breaking her apart. Victoria felt her last defenses crumbling under the assault of his touch, his proximity, the heat radiating from his body as he held her captive with nothing more than his hands and his voice.
"I want..." She whispered, then felt her throat close up as the magnitude of her admission threatened to overwhelm her.
"Yes?" James encouraged, his lips now ghosting along her jawline in a barely-there caress that made her entire body shudder with need.
"I want you," she finally gasped….