Melting the Ice Queen ✔️

~7~

Scott refused to pace while he waited for Alicia to arrive. 

So he made do with planting his elbows on the desk, clasping his hands together and praying his tense body didn't snap, rubber band–like, and ricochet off the walls. He'd lost his head with her the last time, and couldn't afford to do it again. He had to be smart—had to stick to the plan. How else would he land her for his wife? By asking nicely and giving her a pretty ring? Hell, no. Alicia didn't work that way; things couldn't be that easy with her.

No, he had to rock her world, jar her out of her comfort zone and make her realize how much more they could be together, if only she'd give them a chance.

For God's sake, how long did it take to ride up in an elevator?

All right, man. Chill. Occupy yourself.

Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts drift to the sweet memory of the day they met....

He was sitting at a table in the attorney's conference room, waiting for the case to be called, reviewing the couple's financial information and cursing the twist of fate (a sick partner) that'd landed the stupid case in his lap. He hated divorce work, hated the whining husband client, and wasn't looking forward to this pointless settlement conference with the opposing attorney—Alicia somebody. He needed to be back at the office working on—

Someone rapped on the door and, without waiting for any answer, marched inside. Glancing up from the file, he had a startled impression of a woman in a dark suit bringing the faint scent of expensive perfume with her.

Christ, she was gorgeous.

He knew that: 

a) his jaw had dropped into a gape; and 

b) it was rude, but he couldn't stop staring because his circuits were now officially scrambled.

Freaking gorgeous.

This little honey had toned legs, flaring hips that gave way to a tiny little waist, and the additional flare of a generous pair of breasts. A perfect hourglass. Though he couldn't see it now, he'd bet a month's pay that she had a juicy ass, too, nice and round.

She was curvy then. Curvy was good. He lived for curvy.

She also had a stunning face that could stop traffic a mile back. Framed by shoulder-length brown hair, it was heart-shaped, with a pointy little chin, arched brows and heart-stopping gray crystal eyes that were unfortunately narrowed with annoyance.

Oops. Had she caught him ogling? Bad boy. Shame on him.

She called him on it, too, and he liked her ballsy-ness. "Seen everything?" she asked tartly, clicking the door shut behind her. He took a minute to appreciate the view. Yeah. There was that tight ass. "Can we get down to business now?"

He stood, forgetting everything but her. Case, client, possible settlement, his name—all of it scattered to the four winds. "By 'getting down to business,' do you mean having wild sex on this conference table, or trying to settle the case?"

That was when he first broke through her brusque façade. Pausing in the middle of unpacking her briefcase, she looked at him. Really looked at him.

It was a long moment, filled with surprised chemistry, unwanted connections and the unspoken inevitability of something developing between them. Those wide eyes were cool and businesslike the whole time, refusing to crinkle or soften with a smile. She was good at hiding her feelings then. But not good enough at managing the sudden flare of heat that deepened her eyes to a stormy blue-gray. Luckily for him, he played poker and was good at catching giveaways; hers were her amazing eyes.

Recovering, she stuck out her hand across the table. "Alicia Carroll. I'm not going to have a problem with you, am I, Scott? You are Scott, right?"

He took that smooth hand in his, holding it tighter and longer than he needed to. His skin sang with the contact. Honest to God. He would have sworn such a thing was impossible—the mere idea was ridiculous—but that was the only way to describe what happened when he touched her.

"I am Scott, and we won't have any problems. As long as you understand that as soon as I give this case back to my sick partner and there're no ethical issues, I'm going to ask you out."

She blinked. Another tell. But then she recaptured what he was beginning to realize was her usual briskness, and tried to put him in his place. "I'm going to say no."

Yeah. He really liked this one. So much that he couldn't stop the slow smile that crept across his face. "We'll see about that, Alicia."

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