Seduced By His Touch

"Would you mind sitting back down for a moment, please, Ms. Denz?"

Amara sat down hard, her knees turning to water. Leo Joe towered over her, a solid six-foot-three of tailored charcoal wool and raw, masculine energy. His dark hair was styled in a way that looked effortlessly disheveled, as if he had just stepped out of a high-end roadster. His brown eyes were as beautiful as they were cold, and as he smiled—showing off rows of Hollywood-perfect teeth—Amara realized with a jolt of horror that he didn't seem to recognize her at all.

To him, she was just an applicant. To her, he was the ghost that had haunted her nightmares since graduation. Leo Pluo had become Leo Joe. The charity-case rebel with the ripped jeans was now the billionaire CEO of Baze.

Shit, she thought, her heart hammering against her ribs. If she had known, she never would have set foot in this building. But she was here now, and she was trapped.

"Is something wrong, Leo?" Tyrant asked, his voice cracking slightly. The HR manager looked as blindsided as Amara felt.

"Not at all," Leo answered, reclaiming the head of the conference table. He reclined in his leather chair like a king surveyng his court. "I just have a few follow-up questions for our candidate."

The three HR managers exchanged uneasy glances. This was a total breach of protocol. Amara watched them, her mind racing back to Lyons College, back to the day the "wolf" had first bitten.

She had been a shy, quiet girl back then, hiding behind a mask of aloofness because she didn't know how to talk to people. And Leo? Leo had been the sun around which the school revolved. He was the bad boy, the scholarship genius, the extrovert. She had nursed a crippling crush on him for years, pretending he didn't exist while her heart shattered every time he walked past.

Then came the day in the cafeteria. She had overheard him boasting to his friends about a math assignment due on Friday. She knew it was due on Wednesday. Against her better judgment, she had turned around, her palms sweating, and whispered, "The assignment is due on Wednesday."

He had swiveled that god-like head and scowled. "Ah, the teacher’s sheepdog wants to corral the sheep. News flash—I’m a wolf."

His friends had howled with laughter. Amara had tried to explain herself, her voice shaking, but it only made the target on her back larger.

"Denz is probably getting wood from Dusty Sam," Leo had shouted over his shoulder, referring to their ancient math teacher.

The cafeteria had erupted. That rumor—that she was sleeping with a man old enough to be her grandfather—had followed her until the day she graduated. Leo had taken her one moment of courage and turned it into a lifetime of shame. From that day on, he had been her tormentor, finding a new way to humiliate her every time they crossed paths.

And now, here he was. The CEO.

"Ms. Denz," Leo said, snapping her back to the present. "I'm Leo Joe. You'll be working directly for me if you're hired. I'd like to interject, if that's alright with the panel?"

Amara felt a primal, animalistic pull toward him that made her stomach flip. Despite the hatred simmering in her veins, her body was betraying her. She clenched her thighs together, trying to stifle the sudden, unwanted thrumming between her legs.

"When did you realize the previous company you worked for was going to collapse?" Leo asked, his gaze pinning her to the chair.

"Eight or nine months before the doors closed," Amara replied. She was surprised by how steady her voice sounded.

"Did you tell your CEO?"

"I gave him the facts," she said, her chin lifting. "Repeatedly. He refused to listen. I stayed because I don't believe in bailing when things get difficult. I stayed until the lights went out because the team deserved that much loyalty."

Leo nodded slowly, a shadow of something like respect crossing his face. "You start Monday. Eight a.m. sharp. Don't be late."

The room went dead silent.

"Mr. Joe," Tyrant stammered, his face flushing. "We... we still have other interviews scheduled. We have a pool of candidates—"

"And what?" Leo interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we haven't completed the vetting process for the others," Tyrant said, looking at Amara with a mixture of pity and confusion.

"The technical requirements for a PA are standard," Leo said, his voice dropping into a register that commanded absolute obedience. "What I need is loyalty. Ms. Denz has proven she has it. She stayed with a sinking ship; imagine what she’ll do for one that’s actually sailing. I’m satisfied."

Tyrant swallowed hard. "Got it. I'll process the paperwork."

"Thank you," Leo said curtly. He turned his eyes back to Amara. "Do you have any questions for me?"

Amara stared at him. She needed the money—she needed the insurance and the salary more than she needed her pride—but the thought of being at this man’s beck and call every day felt like a death sentence.

"No," she whispered. "No questions."

Leo stood up and walked around the table. He stopped in front of her and extended his hand. Amara rose on shaky legs and took it. The moment their palms met, a jolt of electricity shot up her arm, making her breath hitch. Leo didn't let go immediately. He held her hand for a beat too long, his thumb brushing against her knuckles.

"Good. See you Monday, Amara. Welcome to Baze."

He flashed a dazzling, predatory smile and swept out of the room.

Amara stood frozen, her hand still tingling. The HR team was staring at her in shock.

"Umm, thank you for your time," she managed to stutter out, looking at Ama and Pete.

"Welcome to the company, Amara," Pete said, sounding utterly baffled.

"See you Monday," Ama added, her expression unreadable.

Amara practically ran out of the conference room. She didn't stop until she was outside the building, breathing in the cold city air. Her head was spinning. She had just landed the best job of her career, but the boss was the man who had destroyed her reputation.

She couldn't decide if she wanted to scream with joy or throw up. Leo Joe didn't recognize her—that much seemed clear. He saw a loyal, efficient assistant. But she knew exactly who he was. She knew the wolf beneath the expensive suit.

"I can do this," she whispered to herself, clutching her briefcase. "It's just a job. He’s just a man."

But as she walked toward the subway, the memory of his hand against hers lingered. She had entered that room a girl desperate for a paycheck, but she was leaving it as something else. She was the woman who was about to go to war with her past.

Up in the corner office, Leo stood at the window, watching the tiny figure of Amara Denz disappear into the crowd. He wasn't thinking about business or loyalty. He was thinking about the way her skin felt against his.

"She doesn't know," he murmured.

He had seen the shock in her eyes, the flash of a memory, but she had buried it well. She thought he was a stranger. She thought Leo Pluo was dead and gone.

He walked back to his desk and picked up her resume. He had told Tyrant he hired her for her loyalty, but that was only half the truth. He had hired her because the moment he saw her, the ten years of distance between them had vanished. He was the boy in the hallway again, and she was the girl he couldn't stop hurting because he didn't know how to love her.

"Monday," he said, his voice a low growl.

He had her in his building. He had her on his payroll. And by the time he was done, he would have her in his life—not as a "sheepdog," and not as a "pet," but as his.

The wolf had finally caught the lamb, but this time, he wasn't planning on biting. He was going to make sure she never wanted to leave.