"Any questions?"

Blake leaned back in his chair, glancing from face to face. Nine interns, all under his charge. He sighed. How had he gotten stuck with baby-sitting duty?

Since no one spoke, he nodded curtly and stood. "Well, then, get to work. I expect this finished by Friday."

He watched as they scurried out of the room like frightened rabbits. Except for one, Katerina Berkley. She lingered at the table, slowly gathering her things. She was, hands down, the smartest of this crop. Her razor-sharp mind sliced a case down to the bare facts. He had no doubt she could negotiate a deal as shrewdly as any lawyer in the firm.

And she was gorgeous, to boot.

Therein lay the problem. Whenever she was in the room, Blake couldn't take his eyes off her. When she spoke, her low, dulcet voice filled him with yearning. For weeks, he'd watched her, relieved there was distance between them. But he'd never imagined having to work with her, thinking Laura's supervision kept him safe. Now temptation taunted him, laughing in his face and heating his blood, stoking his burning lust with every day that passed.

She rose to her feet with fluid grace and shook her head, tossing her hair back. The lush, auburn locks tumbled around her shoulders, and all he could think of was the flaming tresses flowing over his pillow like molten lava. She nodded to him and smiled, her full ruby lips parting over white teeth. His body hardened, and he clamped down on a surge of rising desire. She was an intern and not his to take. Still, her shapely legs drew his gaze as she sauntered out the door. He drew a deep breath. Three weeks and she would be gone. Surely, he could keep his lust in check for that long.

Kat made a point to visit Blake every day, to be alone with him in his office for at least a few minutes, because if all went according to plan, he would end up in her bed. It was that simple. She wanted him, and she would have him, one way or another. He might resist, but she would win, in the end.

She'd noticed him her first week at the firm. One hazy morning when the card scanner hadn't let her through, he'd reached out from behind her to use his own. She'd glanced up to thank him only to find herself drowning in a pair of eyes the color of smoke after a raging fire. But they'd burned her, still, even if the flames were banked, and she knew he'd felt the jolt of lightning that had raced through her, as well. But there was no chance to get to know him. He only passed her cubicle every now and then, turning to sear her with a glance of veiled promise.

When he'd taken over supervising the interns, those heated looks had become deliberately muted. He tried to conceal his own longing for her body, though she knew how her presence affected him. She understood such a game was dangerous in the closer quarters they now occupied, but her desire overpowered anxiety, and she tried her best to lure him into a bout of passion.

Kat peeked into Blake's office as she walked past. He stood eye to eye with Marina Russell; the tall, stunning brunette was another intern in Kat's batch. Apparently, he wasn't particularly pleased with her, because he was speaking softly and briskly, a tone most learned to fear. But Marina missed the hint.

"What exactly is it that you don't understand, Ms. Russell?"

"This case. It's drudgework. I didn't come here for this."

"It's due diligence, Ms. Russell. Tedious, but necessary. We all do it, and you will, too. Without complaint. Is that clear?" His posture was stiff and rigid. If Marina wasn't out of his office in the next five seconds, Kat had no doubt Blake would see her decapitated. She took a step forward.

Blake looked up. His stormy gaze held a deadly warning. He clenched his hard jaw, and his chiseled features appeared strained. Marina turned, and her expression filled with contempt when her eyes landed on Kat. Arching a brow, she walked out of the room, brushing past Kat without a word.

Kat glanced at Blake. His steel-grey eyes moved over her body, piercing her like the point of a sword. Oh, my ... she wanted his sword to pierce her. She wanted to rip off that impeccable Armani suit, tackle him to the ground, and take him inside her, to pump and thrust until his big body was slick with sweat and his muscles taut and poised for release. And finally, when she gave him permission, his orgasm would tear through him, wrenching a strangled cry from his throat.

"Ms. Berkley?"

She snapped out of her reverie. "Oh. I wanted to ask you about the Ricer case."

"What about it? Are you going to tell me you want more of a challenge?" He sighed and reached up to massage his neck. He looked exhausted. It was all she could do not to ask him if she could help. Moisture soaked her panties. Surely some of her tender ... ministrations ... would assuage his tension.

She flicked her tongue over her lips and perched on the edge of his desk. "Could you look over this for me? Laura asked me to draft a few clauses in the Ricer contract, and I don't know if I've done..."

"Let me see." He cut her off and took the paper from her. Furrowing his brow, he skimmed it quickly. He handed it back to her with a nod of approval. "This is good. Very well done." He smiled slightly. "Could you do me a favor, Ms. Berkley?" He turned and walked back to his desk, taking a seat behind the stacks of paperwork.

She lifted her brows. "Of course."

"Go find Ms. Russell and explain how you wrote that. She doesn't seem to get it."

She grinned. "Well, as I recall, she didn't do very well in our contracts class."

He grunted and shook his head, obviously irritated. "Figures."

"I'll show it to her right now." Kat turned and strolled to the door, feeling his eyes on her. "Let me know if you need anything else." She shot a naughty, suggestive smile over her shoulder and walked out of the room before he could say a word.

Late that night, Kat sat in her cubicle, typing furiously. Her stomach growled, because she'd skipped lunch. Instead, she had taught Marina how to structure a contract, something the other woman should have learned long ago. Marina had been hostile, but she had listened.

"Don't you have a life?"

She looked up, startled. Blake gazed down at her from the other side of the wall, resting an arm on the top of the partition. He lifted a corner of his mouth. Kat stared. Since when did Blake smile?

"It's ten o'clock, Ms. Berkley. Why are you still here?"

"I was just doing a bit of research for the Ricer case."

"Ah. And this can't be done tomorrow?"

She shrugged and turned back to her computer, but it was hard to concentrate with his powerful presence heating the air around her. "I really have nothing else to do, so I may as well finish it."

Blake stepped into her cube. "I find it quite hard to believe that you have nothing to do. No one's waiting for you?"

Kat met his gaze. "Nope." Her smile was slow and seductive. "What about you?"

"No."

She raised a brow. "Well, then."

Blake was silent for a moment. "I wanted to thank you for talking to Ms. Russell. She revised that contract until it was just about perfect. Of course, she whined about it while she was giving it to me, but I seem to be getting that from more than just her."

"Well, I know there are a few who feel they aren't doing the work they expected to."

"But you need to learn the basics, first. You'll get to the complications in good time. Too soon, if you ask me." He reached up to rub his temple, suddenly looking even more exhausted than he had in his office.

"Are you all right?"

Surprise flickered across his handsome face, but it faded quickly. "Fine. Just a little tired." He sighed. "If you want a complicated case, take a look at the Barrett deal. It's driving me crazy."

She wrinkled her brow. "Oh. Well, can we help?" She grinned up at him. "Marina would be thrilled."

"I can imagine," he drawled, "but she'd undoubtedly botch it."

Kat crossed her arms across her chest. "I wouldn't."

His hard mouth curved. "I'm sure you wouldn't, Ms. Berkley, but you know the rules regarding high-profile cases."

"Hmm." She pouted.

Suddenly, she realized that somewhere in the past few moments, Blake had moved closer. He was so close that the scent of his cologne surrounded her. She rose smoothly to her feet. A few more inches, and her body would be pressed to his ... she looked up. Oh, no, she certainly wasn't the only one affected by the close proximity. His silver eyes burned with desire. She tipped her head back and touched her lips to his. Blake stiffened, but he didn't try to push her away.

After a moment, his arms slid around her, and he pulled her to his chest. A door slammed in the hallway, and his hand froze on the small of her back. Feeling his anxiety, she tried to withdraw, but to her surprise, he deepened the kiss. Electricity shot through her as his tongue deftly parted her lips and plunged inside her mouth. She dug her fingers into his hair and rose on her tiptoes to devour his hard mouth; with a moan, he lifted her in his arms. The deep sound thrilled her. She had him in the palm of her hand.

Finally, she broke away, gasping for breath. Blake's hair was mussed and his tie askew. She reached up to straighten it.

"Well, I don't suppose I can call you Ms. Berkley, anymore, can I?"

She smiled and traced a finger over his sculpted lower lip. "I suppose not."

"Katerina, then?"

She laughed, low and silky. "God, no. Only my mother calls me Katerina." She glanced up into his searing silver eyes. "It's Kat."

He lifted a brow. "Kat?" His fingers brushed her neck and trailed down her arm, coming to rest on her waist. He lowered his mouth to her ear. His warm breath tickled her skin, and she shuddered. "Well, Kat, you're one impressive little pussy."

And she had found her tom.

Blake slammed the front door and made a beeline up the winding staircase to his bedroom, unable to form a coherent thought. How could he? That damned woman was driving him insane. A fucking intern! This was going to get him fired!

So why didn't he care?

It had taken iron control to restrain from tearing her clothes off and plunging his cock deep inside her. God, he'd felt her breasts straining against her soft blouse. She wanted him, too.

He walked into his bedroom and removed his tie, suit jacket, and shirt. He was sweating. That's how badly he needed her. Jesus, no one could blame this mess on him. She'd kissed him, not the other way around. She was a brazen temptress, and she knew it.

He dropped his trousers and freed his cock, still hard and erect from the heated encounter. He stared at himself naked in the mirror. The light from behind him threw his image into the shadows. A massive, well-muscled man gazed back at him, a taunting glint in the silver eyes.

He succumbed.

He watched himself flinch as he took his thick cock in his hand, his thumb fondling the swollen head. A low moan escaped his throat. He stroked himself slowly, imagining the feel of her skin, the way she would look in his bed. His breathing quickened and the air grew heavier around him. If only he hadn't gone to her cube tonight ... But she lured him to her; with every word, every smile, she meant to entice him. And it was working, dammit. They'd been on the brink of discovery; anyone could have walked past and seen her in his arms. She had even pulled away from him, and he had gone after her. The little hussy was playing with him.

And he enjoyed it more than he dared admit.

He squeezed his cock and grunted, his strokes growing harder and faster. How would she react if he locked his office door and ripped her clothes off? He envisioned her ripe breasts springing free of the restrictive black suit. Her drenched, throbbing pussy would be his to explore once he rid her of that skirt. But then ... the skirt was barely there, anyway, so damned short he had no trouble imagining what was underneath. Every glance at her legs gave him an instant hard-on. He couldn't help wondering what they would feel like wrapped around his waist as he fucked her against the wall. He groaned, arching his hips into his hand.

Blake glanced at himself in the mirror. His face was flushed and contorted as his fingers pulled and tweaked his cock; his breath rasped harshly in his ears. He felt his release coming. Squeezing his shaft ferociously, he shouted as his seed spurted out.

He had never watched an orgasm before, but it amazed him. His body coiled like a lion before the fatal charge. His cock literally jerked from his grasp as it spewed forth a stream of milky liquid. Blake collapsed against the dresser, leaning on it for support. The charge had left him exhausted and gasping for breath.

"You're welcome, Mr. Ricer. Always a pleasure."

Blake shook Walton Ricer's hand as the elevator doors slid open. Ricer stepped inside, and Kat stepped out. She glanced at Blake and nodded before turning and walking across the hall towards the glass doors. As she slid her card into the scanner, he caught up with her.

Her citrus perfume intoxicated him, and he had to remind himself to speak. "So Ricer's going well."

"Great."

An awkward silence fell between them. They strolled across the receptionists' area and down the corridor, neither saying a word. He glanced at her; a thick lock of flame hair hung seductively over her eye. His body hardened. He longed to taste her lips, but ... "Can I speak to you?"

She raised her gaze to his. "About what?"

Blake shrugged and rubbed his neck. "Uh, last night. I just ... you know it's not exactly permissible. I mean, we shouldn't be..."

"Of course." She tapped her foot, clearly impatient. Her tone was flat and uninterested. "There are a lot of things we shouldn't do, Blake, but they happen." She glanced at her watch. "Can we talk about this later?"

He inclined his head to her. "I suppose."

"Good." He felt a tinge of hurt surprise as she hurried away. She hadn't even let him finish his sentence. It was true that they should not be pursuing their pleasure together, but after that heated kiss, did she really expect him to keep his distance?