The triumph quickly faded, though, and he closed the gap, giving them both what they wanted. His lips were not slow and seductive, they were urgent and filled with need. She responded with a passion that would’ve shocked her if she could think straight.

Trenton released her just as quickly as he’d grabbed her and took several steps back. They were both breathing heavily as they stared at each other across the room. Neither of them was willing to back down.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to your car,” he finally said, then grabbed her arm and led her to the garage. Jennifer thought about fighting him, but decided not to. His expression was a bit frightening and she wasn’t willing to provoke him any further than she already had.

The ride out to the ranch was silent. It took all of Jennifer’s will-power but she refused to look over at the man who invaded her thoughts as much as he invaded her space during the week. She didn’t know how she’d continue working for him, but she couldn’t let go of the job.

They arrived at the ranch and she jumped from the car quickly and watched as Trenton drove away, spitting gravel in an immature peel out. She watched him leave and sighed to herself. She knew she was lying to herself by denying her attraction to him, but she couldn’t accept she’d want him. She didn’t want any man, but especially him.

He was far too confident, good-looking, and arrogant for her taste. She preferred men who were kind, loving, and understanding. She certainly didn’t want to be with someone who would grab her and kiss her breathless without her permission. She’d just need to remind herself of that fact over and over again.

She headed up the stairs and could hear the kids before she even knocked on the door. She smiled to herself, happy her niece had found some joy in life once again. She knocked on the door and waited for it to be answered.

The next month at work flew by for Jennifer. She made sure she was never alone with Trenton for any length of time. She felt his eyes on her constantly and it was crumbling her wall of defenses, which she was so proud of having built up.

She was making new friends, making her realize she could deal with the tension between her and Trenton. She didn’t want to give up her job. There were a couple of single parents who worked there, who’d been invaluable in giving her tips and ideas. She’d been thrust into parenthood, and though she wasn’t complaining, she knew she had a lot to learn.

“Hey, Jennifer, a bunch of us our heading to a club tonight. Want to come with us?” one of her new friends, Tracy, asked.

“That sounds perfect. Molly’s spending the night with a friend so I have the night free. Where do you want to meet?”

“We’re going to the new club over on Second Street. Dress extra sluty,” Tracy said with a laugh. Jennifer blushed and Tracy gave a large wink before she left, laughing the entire way.

Trenton was sitting in his office, seething. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind and she was planning on living it up at a club. He wanted to haul her into his office and remind her how good they were together. He managed to stay seated, just barely and pretended to get work done.

At the end of the day, when he watched Jennifer walk out of the office with some of the other women, smiling and laughing, he made his decision to do some clubbing of his own.

Trenton left the offices with such an angry expression on his face all his employees turned the opposite way, instead of daring to actually speak to him. He didn’t notice because all he had on his mind was one particular employee who was driving him nuts.

Trenton got home and changed out of his suit into his favorite pair of jeans and t-shirt. He didn’t want to look like a wealthy man that night. He wanted to look like an everyday guy and prove to himself he’d still have women hanging off him. He didn’t need the attention of one stubborn woman.

He drove to the club, which he’d never been to before, and though it was only ten in the evening, the club was already crowded more than he liked. He made his way to the bar and ordered a stiff drink. He had the feeling he’d need about twenty of them that night but could only have one. He needed to be able to drive later.

He leaned against the bar to peruse the room and it didn’t take him long to find her, even in the crowded club. His gut clenched and he felt himself actually gripping the bar to keep from rushing onto the dance floor and ripping her from the arms of the guy she was with. The guy had her pulled tightly against him and her head was thrown back in laughter. He spun her out and quickly pulled her in again and Trenton wanted to rip the guy to shreds.

Just as he was about to lose the battle with himself and rush out there, a blonde rubbed up against him, pressing her half exposed breasts into his side and giggling.

“I’m so sorry,” the blonde said with another annoying giggle.

“It’s not a problem,” he told her, though she was actually irritating him. What was the matter with him? A beautiful woman was throwing herself at him and he could care less. She was much more his type than Jennifer, but he wanted to push her aside and rush out to his assistant. Hell, he’d come to the club in the first place to prove he could find other women attractive.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he offered and gave her his million dollar smile. She actually swooned from his full attention.

“That sounds great, handsome,” she purred before rubbing even closer. He clenched his teeth and swore to at least try and flirt with the air-headed blonde.

Jennifer gritted her teeth as the man, who had asked her to dance, pulled her in tightly against him again. He was gorgeous, with a body she was sure took many hours in a gym, and a smile that would send most women into total organ failure.

Her friends had pushed her into dancing with him, when he’d asked, though she really hadn’t wanted to. The song seemed to never end and he was definitely placing all the signals he wanted to take the dance to the next level.

He was cute and entertaining, but she had to fake her enthusiasm, because she felt absolutely nothing for him. She was terrified her boss had set the standard so high she’d no longer be attracted to anyone else. That wouldn’t work for her.

She’d been with Trenton for over a month at the offices and he was constantly on her mind. She’d daydream about him and then he’d return to her in her dreams at night, as well.

He consumed her thoughts and dreams in such a short amount of time. She did her best to ignore him and had done well at keeping things professional, but it was certainly causing her a lot of stress, and her body a lot of aching.

The song finally ended, and with a smile, Jennifer pulled free from the man and headed toward her table of friends. He followed behind her and it took all her energy to remain nice, while still letting him know she wasn’t interested in anything more.

“Thanks for the dance, sweetheart. I’d love to do it again. Can I buy you a drink?” he asked in what she assumed was his most seductive voice. It did nothing for her.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m here with my friends. Have a great night,” she told him and turned away, acting as if he didn’t exist. He must have left because a minute later Tracy looked at her like she was insane.

“Oh my gosh, Jennifer, he was completely hot and you totally blew him off,” she said, almost accusingly.

“I’m not interested in men like that, besides I didn’t come out tonight looking for a guy, I just want to relax and have some fun,” she told her friend with her best smile. She was trying to act as if she didn’t care.

“You’re crazy, but okay,” Tracy said and then thankfully the conversation changed to other topics and the time started passing quickly. She danced a few more times with other men, who all made it perfectly clear they were looking to go home with someone, and they didn’t care who it was. She was regretting her choice of clothing.

It was getting late and she’d drank a few too many margarita’s, as her latest dance partner swung her around the floor, she felt dizzy, and was having a harder time staving off his advances.

“I need to sit down,” she tried to tell him.

“You’re fine,” he said and pulled her tightly against him. There was a wall of people around her and she couldn’t untangle herself from his arms. She was starting to get a bit freaked out and was no longer pretending to be having a good time.

“You need to release me, now - I want to go back to my table,” she told him in as firm a voice as she could manage. He ignored her, and his hands started exploring her body. She was close to tears, as she realized how women could be so easily violated out in the open. No one was paying the least bit of attention to her, or the situation she was in.

She kept pushing him away, but it was to no affect. He was gripping her backside, and pulling her into his body. She felt dirty and violated and wanted to leave the club right away. Suddenly, the man let her go and flew backward with a shocked expression on his face. She looked up into the angry face of Trenton, shocked to see him there. She didn’t know what to say.

“The lady said she wanted you to let her go, I suggest you leave, now,” Trenton said and the power in his voice must have scared the man because he left quickly, without another look back. She was so thankful for his interference she didn’t even question what he was doing there, or his high handed methods.

“Thank you, Mr. Anderson. He wasn’t hearing the word no,” she said and turned to head back to her table. She wanted to leave and her friends seemed to be having a great time, so it looked like she was going to grab a cab. She didn’t know where Trenton had gone but that didn’t matter.

The group told her to stay, but she explained she’d gotten a headache and needed to leave. Tracy offered to leave with her, but she was having a great time and there was no need for that. Jennifer told her no and made her way to the front of the club.

She stepped out onto the sidewalk, and was surprised by the empty street. There were a few cars here and there and several people milling around but she couldn’t see a cab anywhere. She turned and decided to walk for a while, hopefully clearing her head.

“Hey lady, are you looking for a date?” some creepy guy asked, sending chills down her spine. How stupid of her to walk the Seattle downtown area in the middle of the night. She blamed her stupidity on one too many margaritas. She shook her head and walked a bit faster.

The guy started trailing her, making crude suggestions, really starting to scare her. She looked around for somewhere safe to go, thinking it may be wiser to turn around and try and make it back to the club. She could go inside and ask them to call her a cab.

Suddenly, her arm was grabbed and she was about to scream, when she turned and saw Trenton. She’d never been so happy to see the man.

“What the hell are you doing out here, wandering the streets?” he demanded. “I turn around for one minute and you’re gone. Don’t you know what could happen to you out here at this time of night?”

His tone of voice instantly put her on edge. She wasn’t some adolescent child who needed scolding. Sure, she’d made a stupid choice, but she was an adult and if she wanted to make stupid decisions on her own time, it was none of his business.