Touched to the Soul
by Elsa Winckler
Series: Touched, #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 6, 2015
A passion that runs soul deep...
Zoe Sutherland can't stand the pushy, arrogant architect Dale Cavallo. He was just too damn sure of himself, too handsome, too…everything. Maneuvered into working as the interior decorator on his latest project, a glamorous new hotel, Zoe can't keep her mind on the job. And worse, the strange man won't give her access to the hotel's floor plans. How is she supposed to finish the design when she doesn't have the plans? And when the obnoxious man distracts her with every smoldering look, every touch...
Dale has one goal: get rid of the pesky interior designer. Since he's been forced into close proximity with the beautiful Zoe, everything's gone downhill. And to make matters worse, she's only out to further her own career—and he's not about to give her the hotel's plans so she can steal his ideas. He needs to get her out of his system, and sleeping with her seems like the best way to do that. When it comes to women, he's found the best way to handle them is to love 'em and leave 'em. But something strange is happening...because after a night of loving Zoe, he's finding it harder than ever to leave…
Dale leaned back in his chair and stared at her. She looked calm and very collected. Her dark hair was swept up, leaving just a few tendrils curled softly against her face. His fingers itched to touch them, he remembered the silkiness.
And then she swallowed. He bit the insides of his cheeks to prevent him from smiling. So, the lady wasn’t as cool as she pretended to be.
“I tried to contact you after Don and Caitlin’s wedding but you never answered any of my messages.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You know perfectly well why I ignored those messages,” she said primly.
He leaned forward, enjoying her obvious discomfort. “You see, that’s just it. I don’t know. You kissed me, stormed away, and ignored all the messages I sent you.”
Her lips trembled slightly. “You were the one who kissed me,” she said, her eyes stormy.
“You didn’t kiss me back?” he asked, not quite understanding why he couldn’t stop baiting her.
She inhaled audibly, bent her head for a few seconds before she opened the file. “We can go ahead with the contract. That is, if you still want me to.”
“Oh, I still want you…” he said solemnly, waiting a millisecond before he added “…to.”
Her flared nostrils were the only indication that she’d caught his meaning.
“Good.” She got up. “I’ll ask Susan to contact you for the next meeting. Please make sure whoever you send has all the information available—budget, timeline and of course if…”
He also got up slowly. “Seeing that my brother suggested we make use of your firm, I will be working with you. Directly.” He emphasized the last word. “I don’t mind doing favors, but when money is involved, I have to protect the investment we’ll be making. I have to make sure you are not just a pretty face but can actually do the job. You obviously don’t really want to work for me, but you’ve realized it’s good for business. Therefore, I have to make sure our business doesn’t suffer because of yours.”
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