A Touch of Confidence by Jess Dee

try to deny you want it just as much as I do.”
    Jack straightened, pushed open the store door, and invited a startled Claire to look around as he walked over to the front desk. While he took care of business, checking the state of the property and finalizing details with the current lease-holders, Claire studiously examined as many jackets as she could. But every now and again he caught her glaring at him, staring daggers in his direction. He also noticed a yearning in her expression. One that mirrored his own hunger.
    Several times Jack had to force his concentration back to the tenants. No matter how much he might want to toss caution to the wind and act on his impulses, throwing Claire to the floor of this up-market boutique and fucking her senseless was not going to score him brownie points…with anybody.
    Jack scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d never reacted to a woman like this before. Never wanted anyone so immediately or so feverishly.
    Her reaction to his kisses served only to inflame him further. Jack was permanently horny, on the verge of getting hard every time he thought about Claire. Funny he should have such a strong physical reaction to this woman.
    Funny and frustrating.
    “So, what did you think?” he asked when they were once again seated in his car, and he was maneuvering the SUV through traffic.
    Her cheeks turned pink. “Of you stripping me and fucking me six ways to Sunday?”
    His mouth split into a smile, even as her question punched a hole in his gut. “Actually, I was asking about the shop. But now I’d much rather know your thoughts about my fucking you.”
    Claire stuck her nose in the air. “You’ve already fucked me, Mr. Wilson. Or have you forgotten about your blunder with my lease?”
    Ouch. “Avoiding the subject, Miss Jones?”
    “Coming back to the subject. One you seem to be studiously avoiding.”
    “It’s hard to think about lease agreements when all I’ve wanted to do since you left the Rose Bay property is get you naked.”
    “Well, perhaps that would explain why I still haven’t signed my lease. You haven’t had a chance to think about it.”
    “Have you had a chance to think about fucking me?”
    “You’re quite determined to get an answer out of me about this one, aren’t you?”
    “Hey, you brought it up. I simply asked what you thought about the Mosman shop.” He grinned at her little growl of frustration.
    “It’s a nice shop. Beautiful jackets, but way out of my price range.”
    Jack let her off the hook. For now. “I mean what did you think about the shop as the new location for Li’l Books and Bits ?”
    She turned to look at him, her mouth pursed. “I didn’t think anything about it. The idea never crossed my mind.”
    Hopefully because she’d been thinking about him fucking her. “I think it would be great. In the heart of Mosman. Foot traffic all around, and just your kind of customer living in the area.”
    Her gaze could have frozen water in the tropics. “That’s why you brought me here? To check out the property?”
    He didn’t bother denying it. What surprised him was that it had taken so long for her to realize as much. “It’s the best shop on my grandfather’s books. The most sought-after area, newly renovated and almost the same size as the shop in New South Head Road.”
    “I’m confused.” She pushed her hair off her face. “Do I have idiot tattooed on my forehead?”
    Oh, he liked her feistiness. Altogether too much. “I don’t for one minute think you’re an idiot. I’m just asking you to explore all your options before settling on a location.”
    Fury ignited in her eyes. “We explored our options in depth before choosing Rose Bay. We didn’t settle for it on a whim. We took our customers’ statistics and data into account and made the best choice for our business. What do you think? That three women running a retail outlet are incapable of making logical decisions? That we chose to rent in Rose Bay on an