The Stand Off by Z. Stefani Read Free Book Online

Hall?”
     
    “Your looks could never be
considered insignificant, not in the least. If you were smart, you’d use them
to your advantage,” he told her as he felt his lust mount to an unreasonable
level.
     
    “Save your underhanded
compliments for the millions of women you swap saliva with and sell me back the
other part of my building,” she snapped back at him.
     
    “I don’t swap saliva with
anyone,” he said with a frown. He had never been into kissing, it was too
intimate. Until Lux, he’d never felt compelled to use his mouth above the neck.
     
    “Well whatever it is that you
do.”
     
    “Do you want to know what I do? I
can show you.” He took a tiny step closer, and she instantly stepped back.
     
    “All I want is for you to sell my
building back to me.” She ignored his last question.
     
    “Why would I sell it to you? I
want you to sell the rest of the building to me . I’ll double the offer.”
     
    “No,” she shook her head and glared
up at him.
     
    If looks could kill, he knew that
he would be dead.…
     
    “Why not? It’s a generous deal;
more than generous.”
     
    “Because we worked too hard to
get that building where it is today. That’s my building.”
     
    They’d redone that building with
their own bare hands, every one of them. Not to mention, she’d watched those
kids grow up and watched their talents grow within those walls. Every inch of
that building had a memory; it was an important part of their lives. Not to
mention that the Music Hall was the only good thing that had come from her father’s
traumatic demise.
     
    Besides the building’s
endearments, there was also the issue with her mother. Her mother had an acute
case of agoraphobia and had not left that building since Lux’s father had died.
Her mother had originally vowed to go down with the house, and Lux feared that
she would make good on that threat.
     
    She had no choice; her back was
against the wall. A lot of people depended on her, she had no other option; she
had to fight.
     
    “Not anymore,” he said with the
hint of a smirk on his lips.
     
    “You’re such an asshole.” She
shook her head, his side smirk was infuriating.
     
    “I’m offering you a lot more than
what that property is worth. How is that being an asshole?”
     
    “That building is worth more than
you could ever offer me. Believe it or not, Mr. Spoiled, rich-prick, some
things are priceless.”
     
    “Nothing is priceless.”
     
    “It’s too bad that you feel that
way,” she said with a slight frown.
     
    “It’s foolish that you don’t,” he
shot back.
     
    “Then I guess we’re still at that
standoff.”
     
    She turned to leave, but he
grabbed her from behind, wrapping his thick muscular arms around her to hold
her still.
     
    “You think that you can come into
my office, insult me, threaten to take my property, and then just leave
unscathed?” he whispered in her ear as he unconsciously pushed his erection
against her lush ass.
     
    Lux found it difficult to breath.
She knew she should be fighting to get away from him, but the cage that his
arms formed around her was mind boggling. Her skin felt like it had ignited as
her body melted into the sensual feeling of being trapped in his strong arms.
     
    “You think that you can just tape
up my building without repercussion?” she whispered breathlessly as she
attempted to compose herself and pull away from him.
     
    “Yes,” he answered as he prevented
her from breaking his hold.
     
    “Then so can I.”
     
    “If you come back to my office,
unannounced, I will take that as an invitation.” He kissed the side of her neck
before letting her go.
     
    She spun around to face him,
“Invitation for what?”
     
    “Come back here uninvited, and
you will find out.”
     
    “Call your men off, and I won’t
have to come back here.” She frowned and walked backwards to the door, keeping
her eye on Dean.
     
    “It’s too late for that, I’m sure
the building