Chanti hated Egan. Like seriously hated him. He was the bane of her existence, the fly in her ointment. The – seriously finest man she had ever laid eyes on. But she wasn’t going to be fooled. No way she would ever let her guard down. He was a player, a womanizer. If only he wasn’t so very doable. It was a good thing she hated him. Right?“Look, I’m not staying. I’m here to drop off my reports. I’ve got something to do tonight.” Give myself a makeover, take a long bubble bath, and contemplate how Napoleon could’ve taken over Western Europe... She would never admit any of that to him, of course, ’cause hey, a woman had her pride. Let him think she finally had a date even though it was well known she shied away from men after her last wreck of a relationship. “Hot date?” The smirk on his face was just too much. “Yep. Decided to finally give in to Kevin’s constant pleas.” The silence that descended was deadly. Chanti hadn’t thought before she’d said it, she’d only wanted to get that damned knowing grin off his face. Kevin was well known around the office as a first rate, certified womanizer. He specialized in turning a woman out and leaving her crushed. Callous to his very core, Kevin seemed to have a personal mission in life to run through women of all shapes, sizes and colors. Rich, handsome and ruthless made him deadly. There was literally no way in hell Chanti would ever consider going out with someone like him. “I’d thought you smarter than that, Chanti.” The use of her real name instead of his nickname hurt in some weird way. The soft disappointment in Egan’s voice was yet another surprise. What was it to him anyway? It wasn’t like he spent his nights alone...Right? “Look, it’s none of your-” The kiss threw her completely off kilter. One moment she was standing there all bravado and bullshit, the next she was crushed against Egan’s hard, lean frame. Oh God, he felt so damn good! He didn’t just kiss her, he took her mouth in total possession, forcing his way inside and devastating every last one of her defenses. He’d lifted her cleanly off her feet with no effort at all. Her legs seemed to have wrapped themselves around his waist somehow. Certainly she hadn’t done that on purpose. And she was going to break off the kiss too, just as soon as her insides stopped melting into a pool of lava.