Des stood beside Jessica in the elevator of her apartment building, every nerve ending in his body alive with her presence. The depth of his desire for this woman touched him inside and out. Pressed him beyond logic and reason, controlling his decisions, and overcoming the turmoil of his thoughts, of his concerns. Of the reasons to turn and walk away from Jessica. His team had already copied her security pass and keys and slipped them inside the Porsche at the mansion. Staying would ignite temptation. Jessica ignited temptation. She thought he was making a donation to the museum. It was wrong to be with her under these conditions.

Walk away, he had told himself.

But he didn’t walk away. He couldn’t.

The door to the elevator opened, and Des motioned Jessica forward, careful not to touch her, not to snap his barely contained control. Continuing down his mental list of reasons to leave, he reminded himself he and Jessica came from different worlds. Her father treating him like the plague was a big reason. And the feelings produced by that were better left in the past. For that feeling was one he’d hoped never to feel again, swore he wouldn’t, in fact. He’d felt beneath Senator Montgomery. For a moment back in that mansion, he’d been the Mexican slave and Jessica was the rich master’s daughter.

He unlocked Jessica’s apartment, thinking about how eye-opening this night had been, what a reality check. So why was he here?

While he worked the key, he drew a breath. Damn it. Why was he putting himself through this? Jessica stirred the past in his mind.

He shoved the door open and allowed Jessica a path inside her home. Desperate, Des grabbed the pain of the past and twisted it into anger, clinging to it, using it to shield himself from his interest in Jessica.

As if she’d read his thoughts, Jessica turned at that moment, fixing him in a brilliant stare, the long dark strands of her hair a contrast to the light blue of her eyes. His anger melted away, lost in the soft touch of her gaze.

“Thank you for everything you did tonight,” she said, her tone laced with sincerity. Her face flickered with distress and then softened as she focused on Des again. “It was difficult to lose my mother’s diaries, but it could have turned out much worse if you hadn’t been there. I really think they might have hurt me. You know? To prove to my father they meant business.”

Guilt engulfed Des at her words. His men had stripped the intruders of the diaries before they ever left the property. As much as he wanted to tell Jessica they were safe, wanted to tell her everything that was going on, he’d seen how emotional she and her father had been back at that house. He couldn’t risk telling her and having her decide he was the enemy. He had to claim the journal before the Beasts.

“Don’t thank me,” he said, his voice low, running a rough hand through his hair and discreetly tuning out his men. They’d heard more of his personal life than they should as it was. Then he added, “I don’t want your gratitude.” Silently, he added, I don’t deserve your gratitude.

Her eyes lingered on his, warming. Her voice lifted with challenge, a hint of seduction playing along the edges of each word. “Then what do you want?”

Lord help him, he wanted her and he wanted her in a bad way. His gaze traveled over the soft curves of her hips beneath the fabric of her skirt, clinging to all the right places, before returning his attention to the ivory perfection of her face. “More than I can have,” he answered, the truth washing over him like a tidal wave. One night would never sate the yearning this woman had created.

She took a step closer, tempting him with her nearness, teasing him. His nostrils flared, the scent of her arousal now mixed with her perfume, insinuating into his senses, driving him wild. The softer side of Jessica had fled, replaced by a sensual woman who seemed intent on pushing him over the edge.

“My mother used to say you could have anything you want.” She paused. “If you want it bad enough.”

Oh, he wanted her bad enough all right. That was the problem. He wanted her too much. One taste, one touch, one night would never be enough. He told himself to walk away now, not to take her bait.

Instead, he followed her lead, reaching deeper into the realm of temptation. Every word, every moment, ushering him to the place of no return. “What do you want, Jessica?”

“I want you,” she whispered and took the final step that put them within reaching distance. One lift of her hand and she would touch him, and without question, his barely contained control would unravel.