The pounding spray of hot water on his skin, went a long way to easing muscles that'd been locked in tension since leaving his parent's home.

Eyes shut; Ryan rested his head against the tiled wall, his mind running through the encounter with Sameera, his emotions still in a riot. What the hell had his father gotten him into?

The woman was equal parts frustrating, stubborn as hell and - god help him - beautiful. Since stepping into her office and she'd leveled those brown eyes at him, full, sensual lips widening in a smile that had flown, straight to his groin.

He'd been taken aback, stunned out of his anger for a minute as his brain had registered huge, liquid brown eyes, shining with excitement, full pink, pouty lips and glowing brown skin that made his fingers tingle with the urge to run his fingers over her face.

Then, she'd opened that mouth and fucking tried to lord it over him.

Every lustful thought had dissolved, to be replaced, mercifully, by anger. Her words had cut at him, the threat she'd uttered in that calm, coldly calculating tone had nearly rendered him speechless.

Ryan sighed again, and reached out to shut off the faucet. He stepped out of the shower, dried off and pulled on a fresh pair of boxers, all the while, his mind lingered on the problem at hand.

He had to find a way to get Sameera Bhatt out of his department. If there was one thing he'd learned about her during their argument, it was that this was a dangerous woman, the kind who didn't give a damn who she hurt in the bid to get a job done.

Opening the bathroom door, he stepped into his office and froze at the sight of the woman who'd set his world on its head in the space of a few hours.

He tried to ignore the bolt of lust that streaked down his spine, or the way his body hardened in appreciation at the sight of her leaning over his desk, that damned skirt riding high, giving him a view of the hottest pair of legs he'd seen in a long time.

Of their own accord, his eyes travelled up those legs, past the point where they disappeared beneath the tight skirt, shaping a nicely rounded bottom.

He could just imagine his hands caressing that bottom, kneading the soft flesh while he thrust into her heat from behind.

He gave himself a mental slap upside the head, the way his sister did when she thought he was being obnoxious, and reminded his traitorous body that the owner of those great legs was an annoying know it all with a stick up her ass. The exact type of woman he should certainly not be getting aroused by, no matter the temptation.

Then, his mind registered the fact that she was leaning over his laptop; his unlocked laptop and he frowned.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he barked, striding towards her.

Startled, she emitted a shriek and spun around, eyes wide in horror, widening even more when her brain registered his state of undress.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they stood, frozen, gazes locked on each other. He watched the play of emotions on Sam's face as her gaze dropped down to his chest, noticed the quick intake of breath, the way her eyes traveled down his body, coming to linger on his crotch.

Ryan felt his dick respond to the appreciative stare, going from mildly aroused to fully hard in less than a second.

She made a strange, strangled sound, rather like a thoroughly confused chicken, mouth dropping open in surprise.

Despite his irritation, Ryan found her reaction highly amusing.

So, the 'I'm so tough' Ms. Bhatt liked staring at his good, heh?

"My eyes are up here, Princess." he informed her, mouth set in an amused grin.

His mocking tone snapped Sam out of her shock. Her gaze shot back to his face, and she straightened, coming to her full height, which for Ryan, was rather impressive given that at 6'1 himself, she had to be only two inches shorter in her heels.

"You're naked." her voice flattered and she resolutely avoided stealing another glance.

His grin widened. "That so?"

"You do realise this is a place of business, don't you?" Her voice took on a prim tone, as she recovered her composure.

Christ! The woman was unbelievable.

"I'd like to point out that this is my office, and last I checked, there are no rules banning me from taking a damn shower." He replied, his amusement fading as quickly as it came. "Now, I ask again, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you, and the door was open, so I let myself in."

She edged away from him and crossed to stand by the cold fireplace, the move putting a safe distance between them, a fact that didn't escape Ryan's notice.

"The project files, is there some reason those are locked away?" She asked. "I wanted to have a look at the ongoing projects, but I've been told you only give restricted access to them."

"Was that why you were messing with my laptop? Trying to see if you could access the files without my permission?" He stalked towards her, enjoying the brief flare of alarm on her face as she realized what he was doing.

"What? Don't be ridiculous." She leveled a glare his way, all the while backing away from him as he came close. "I wasn't snooping through anything. I was merely looking at the picture on your desk."

Ryan glanced at the framed photo and back to Sam. Her words held a ring of truth in it, but he'd learned the hard way that some women were capable of twisting the truth to suit their own ends.

"Look, Mr. Silverton, could you please put on some clothes?" she sounded exasperated. "It's rather disconcerting trying to have a business conversation when you're...not fully clothed."

His grin widened, "What's the matter, Sam? Can't handle seeing a man in his underwear?"

Her eyes flashed at the challenge, lips twisting in a scoff. "I have brothers, Mr. Silverton. Believe me; I've seen more than enough naked chests to last a lifetime."

"Just your brothers?" Ryan cocked an eyebrow in mock surprise. "You mean, other than them, I'm the first man you've seen naked? I'm honored."

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm not a prude, Mr. Silverton. "

"I didn't say you were one," he pointed out. “I'd say, from the way you were staring at me a few minutes ago, I'd be hard pressed to define you as prudish."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She uttered the denial with an outraged huff, pert nose in the air, giving her the look of a prim and proper princess.

A princess he'd very much like to...

He killed the thought quickly, reminding himself that this one woman was off limits.

Damn, traitorous body.

"Yes, you do. But feel free to lie to yourself if that makes you feel better." He crossed to a small closet and selected a black suit from the rows hanging there. A stripped, gray tie joined the selection, and he draped the lot over the arm of a chair.

Ryan shook out the pants and pulled them on, swearing under his breath as he tucked himself in, forcing his mind to think of mundane things in an effort to quell the damn arousal. It didn't help much that he could feel her eyes on him the whole time, and he wondered just what could be going through her mind.

"Must be strange to watch a reverse strip show, isn't it?" He teased, wriggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Caught staring, she flushed, and turned to stare at a painting above the fireplace.

"You clearly have an over inflated ego going for you," she muttered.

"How so?"

“You assume, without proof, that I'm attracted to you. That there, is your ego at work."

From her reaction earlier, he had little doubt of the effect his body had on her. Without being too egotistical, he knew most women found him attractive, but other than his ex, he'd never really responded the way he had with Sam.

“Princess, I know you're attracted," he shot her a grin. "But like I said, feel free to lie to yourself."

“About, the files," Sam's tone told him firmly she intended to drop the topic. An act that was more confirmation of her feelings. "May I please, have access to them?"

For one sweet moment, Ryan contemplated turning her down. If she couldn't access his projects, then she couldn't do her job. He knew his father well enough to know he would not tolerate any excuses from Sam, regardless if the fault wasn't hers.

However, he knew even if she was fired, Bradford would simply send somebody else to finish the job. And Ryan would still be a failure in his eyes.

No, he had to prove to himself, and to his father that he was capable of handling this crisis. So, he would put up with her bossy and irritating attitude until he had sorted out the mess with Caine and land some new, lucrative contracts.

Then, he would get the lovely Ms. Bhatt kicked out on her fine ass. In the meantime, he needed her to stay the hell out of his way and if giving her the files meant distracting her long enough to set his plans in motion, then so be it.

"I'll forward them to you via email," he said, running a hand through his damp hair. He grimaced and made a mental note to get Lola to make an appointment with his stylist.

Sam brightened at his reply. "Thank you, Mr. Silverton."

"Ryan," he corrected, waving away her gratitude. He peered at the mirror attached to the closet door, stiff fingers working to knot his tie, scowling when as usual, the damn thing turned out lopsided.

"Dammit," he loosed the knot, cursing under his breath at the pain and numbness in his wrist that made simple things like tying a knot impossible. He added making an appointment to see his doctor to schedule the surgery to correct the carpal tunnel syndrome to his mental to do list.

Where the hell was his assistant when he actually needed assistance?

"May I?" Sam's voice so close, startled him and he wondered when she'd moved close. He frowned, confused as to her request until she gestured at his futile efforts with the scrap of gray silk.

He stared at her, and handed over the tie, surprise rendering him speechless. She took it and stepped close, the subtle, exotic scent of whatever perfume she had on enveloped him, setting his senses on fire.

"Bend a little, please." Sam's tone held a hint of uncertainty, as though having second thoughts about her decision to help.

Ryan obeyed. She raised her arms, stepped even closer, so the soft fullness of her breasts brushed against his chest for one, tantalizing, fleeting second. He caught the hitch in her breath at the contact, awareness turning her eyes to liquid brown pools.

Invisible currents swirled around them, as she dropped her gaze to focus on her task, giving him a view of thick, gleaming mass of black hair, styled in an intricate twist at the top of her head.

A too real image of them both lying on a couch, she leaning over him, that thick hair falling like a curtain around her, enveloping them both as he cupped her face and pulled her down to him in a searing, hungry kiss, filled his mind.

He cleared his throat softly, swallowing the lump that had built in his throat and wondered when the hell his mind had started conjuring thoughts like that.

Sam's gaze flew up to meet his, her movements stilling as she gazed at him in silent inquiry.

To cover up his the inappropriate thoughts, he cocked his head at her. "Is this another thing you learned from having brothers?"

She chuckled, the sound going straight to his errant dick. He subtly angled his lower half so there was little chance of her inadvertently finding out just how aroused he was.

Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him today? Why was he acting like a fucking hormonal teenager around his first crush? Maybe this was his body's way of telling him he'd been celibate for far too long.

Hell, it'd been a year since he'd had sex...even the self pleasuring kind. Since the big, fucking disaster, his libido had taken a vacation, but apparently, the thing was back with a vengeance.

“My oldest brother would rather face a live bear than wear a tie," she replied, resuming her task.

He caught the slight tremble of her hands as they brushed the exposed skin of his neck, but she carried on talking, her voice steadier.

"And Yash, the middle child, uses a clip on when he absolutely has to dress formal."

One final tug and she stepped back to admire her work. "That should do it."

He glanced at the mirror, over her head just long enough to see she'd executed a perfect knot and returned his gaze to her. She was watching him, head cocked to one side, waiting for the verdict.

"Nicely done," he said, enjoying the way her smile lit up her face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"So, where did you learn to knot a tie?"

Her smile faded, and her expression became closed off. "My fiance taught me how."

She was engaged? The news hit with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc on his mind. She began to turn away, and acting on instinct, his hand shot out, fingers closing around her wrist to tug her back to face him.

"You're engaged?" He couldn't quite keep the incredulity from seeping into his tone.

The office door opened and his assistant hurried in, attention fixed on her phone.

"Everyone's gathered in the con...oh!" Lola's voice trailed off in surprise as she finally noticed he wasn't alone. She slammed to a halt, eyes widening as she took in the scene before her.