Worth the Challenge by Karen Erickson Read Free Book Online Page A

you sure? You seem to be—enjoying it.” He practically choked out the last two words, and her cheeks heated at the sexual undertones.
    “I am enjoying it. But I’d rather we share,” she suggested softly. “I don’t want to be a complete pig.”
    “You couldn’t be a pig if you tried,” he drawled, stabbing his fork into the cheesecake and bringing a bite to his mouth.
    His beautiful, finely sculpted mouth, she might add. She watched in breathless fascination as he wrapped his lips around the tines of the fork, heard the little murmur of approval when he tasted the creamy dessert. Her body responded instantly to that discreet sound. Nipples hard, skin tingling, she swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat.  
    “Good?” she asked, then cleared her throat.
    “Delicious,” he murmured once he swallowed. He pointed his empty fork at her. “Have another bite.”
    It was seduction over shared cheesecake, that was all she could think. Their murmured noises of pleasure, the way he would look at her, their knees bumping into each other beneath the table. Talks of contracts and legal terms were long forgotten, and she found herself staring at his too-handsome face, wondering what sort of kisser he was.
    Probably a really exceptional one, she thought dreamily as she dragged her fork through the bits of leftover cheesecake stuck to the plate. Probably the type who would start out slow, cupping her face with gentle fingers, brushing his lips against hers before he darted his tongue out for a teasing, tempting lick…
    The waiter came and cleared the rest of their plates, offering the check to Rhett with a subtle slide across the table. He pulled his black American Express card from the sleek leather wallet—made by Worth—and handed it to the waiter, who took it with an eager nod and promise to be right back.
    She admired his ability to be so commanding with such little effort. Quite frankly, he reeked of it. Everything about him was wealthy perfection, from the perfectly cut hair to the very expensive clothes. Not to mention his exquisite good looks…
    “We’d like for you to meet with us tomorrow at Worth. My brothers and I,” he added when she frowned. “Alex wants to finalize everything before we move on to the next step. Plus, we have the brief to give you.”
    Oh. Talk about men who reeked of power and wealth. Meeting with all three of the Worth brothers at once was going to be a lesson in learning how to move past intimidation. “And what exactly is the next step?”
    “I haven’t told you. My apologies.” He shook his head, looking thoroughly disgusted with himself. “Well, my plans are to go to Hawaii—Maui specifically. Do a scent tour of the island, if you will.”
    Her father had done many scent tours as had she. “I’ve never been to the Hawaiian Islands.”
    “Really? That surprises me.”
    It surprised her too. “I’ve been to many tropical locations. The Caribbean, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, but we never went to Hawaii. So you’re going for a tropical scent?” She knew this, she’d looked over the brief they’d sent her father accompanied by the contracts.
    “Tropical elegance, we hope. Alex came up with that description. So many island-based scents are cheap versions of what we think it should smell like. Piña coladas, coconut, pineapples. You know what I mean?”
    “I do.” She’d never been a fan of tropical scents and now she was being asked to create one.
    A challenge if she ever heard it.
    “I don’t want any of that shit. Pardon,” he added quickly, making her smile. “When you get off the plane on any of the Hawaiian Islands, the first thing you notice is the scent. It’s so heavy in the air, a mixture of the salty ocean breezes, the plumeria flowers on the trees and I don’t know what else, but I want to capture that. I want you to capture it.”
    Her head already buzzed with ideas but she kept her composure. She didn’t want to appear too excited. “Do you