"you remembered my offer," noah murmured.

how could she forget?

the last time that she'd seen noah york, claire had been at her sister's funeral. grief had nearly choked her as she stared down at sara's coffin. noah had been there. right at claire's side. i want to help you. his words whispered through her mind. he'd slipped his card into her hand. i owe you. i owe your sister. if you ever need me, i'm a phone call away.

when the funeral had ended, claire hadn't stayed around to talk with noah or any of the others at that gut-wrenching graveside. she'd run away from them all. claire had gotten good at running.

but there was nowhere to run now. she needed him. a week ago, she'd lost the job that she'd counted on, and claire had forced herself to come to noah. even though he scared her.

"my, what big eyes you have," he murmured. his smile slowly faded as he searched her gaze. "i've never seen anyone with eyes quite like yours. that deep blue is really quite incredible."

her lashes lowered, hiding the blue in question. she found herself staring at his throat. at his tie. at anything but-

his fingers slipped under her chin. claire jerked at the contact and tried to back away from him.

her elbow rammed into the wall of the elevator.

"i don't...i don't like to be touched." the words were sharp. they were also true.

normally.

but she hadn't jerked away from noah because the press of his fingers brought the usual cold fear.

she'd backed away because his touch had scorched her.

"it's a pity," he told her as his hand dropped back to his side. "because i think that i could enjoy touching you."

the elevator had stopped. she just realized that. how long had it been still? "ah, why aren't the doors opening?"

he glanced at the control panel. "because i haven't opened them."

so he wanted the two of them to be trapped together in that elevator?

"are you afraid of small spaces?" noah asked her suddenly.

claire shook her head.

"good to know." he inclined his head. "i'm making a list, you see."

she was totally lost. "a list?"

he pressed a code into the control panel. the doors opened seconds later. "i'm finding out what scares you. what you like. what you don't like."

she hurried from the elevator, but then hesitated on the lush carpet in the hallway. "why does any of that matter to you?"

he shrugged. "because it does."

talk about an incredibly vague answer.

"we're almost to my suite." he headed down the hallway.

claire didn't follow. "i'd expected that we'd meet in your office." not in his suite. if she hadn't been so nervous on that elevator, she would have brought up this point sooner.

noah glanced over his shoulder at her. "i can get the best privacy in my personal suite."

they were having the meeting in his personal suite? the breath that she sucked in felt icy, but claire soldiered on. noah opened the suite door for her. she slipped past him, casting a quick glance up at the chandelier that hung in the entrance way. the huge chandelier gleamed, casting light all over the massive foyer of the suite. a suite that is way bigger than the home my family used to have down in alabama.

noah shut the door behind her.

"do you always have business meetings in your suite?" she asked him, not buying the privacy line for a minute.

"i didn't know we were going to talk just business." he slid by her. not touching, but close. he headed into the next room. she did, too, then momentarily lost her breath at the stunning view she discovered. the new york skyline was spread out before her, on perfect display thanks to the floor to ceiling windows that lined the wall. just to the right of that wall, claire saw a glass door that led out onto a balcony area. when she'd been staring up at the hotel, she hadn't even noticed the balcony. she glanced back at noah. he was watching her.

noah motioned toward the windows and said, "i saw you."

her shoulders tensed.

"you stayed across the street for so long. i was wondering when you'd get the courage to come to me."

she crossed to the windows. stared down. they were up so high. "how could you see me clearly?"

"when it comes to you, claire, i can see plenty."

now she looked back over her shoulder at him.

"want a drink?" he asked her.

"no, i want a job." okay, those words had just blurted out. she'd meant to broach the subject of her employment in a much more elegant way. she was sure that had been her plan. but when she got nervous, elegance tended to vanish from her repertoire.

noah crossed his arms over his chest. "that's a problem."

oh, damn. she'd had such high hopes. keep your pride, claire. it's all you have. her chin notched up. "it doesn't have to be anything fancy. just something temporary. you've got dozens of hotels, i'm sure that you can-"

"i don't fuck with my employees."

wait, what? her jaw dropped.

"and i very much want to have sex with you."

she shook her head. claire wasn't sure if she was denying his words or just-"you didn't just say that to me."

his lips quirked. amusement flashed in the depths of his golden eyes. "i assure you, i did. i believe in honesty."

she didn't know what to say. "i'm not..." okay, this was getting way past her control. "i'm not here for sex. i'm here for a job."

"do you feel it?" noah asked as his gaze seemed to heat with emotion. "or is it just me?"

"is what just you?" claire whispered.

"i look at you, and my whole body burns. i want you naked. i want you screaming. i want to see pleasure make your eyes flash even brighter."

her breath came faster. rougher.

"so i wondered if that was just me. is the arousal all on my side? the attraction?" his gaze dipped to her mouth. "or do you feel it, too?"

i feel it. but claire had rules. so many rules. she licked her lips. saw the gold in his eyes go molten. "i'm not...i'm not interested in having sex with you."

his dark brows rose. "are you very sure about that?"

no. yes. claire hadn't taken a lover in years.

nine years, to be exact.

not since she'd learned how dangerous a lover could be. she pulled at the left sleeve of her jacket. "sex won't be an issue." claire cleared her throat. "i need the job. you said that you owed me." she didn't actually think that he did owe her. he certainly hadn't caused her injury in chicago, but in that desperate moment, she'd try to play on any sense of debt that he might feel. "i-i need the job."

he took a slow step toward her.

"please," she said, truly desperate and-

a flash of anger crossed his face. in the next instant, noah was right in front of her. "don't ever do that."

do what? lost, she could only shake her head.

"you don't have to beg me for anything. remember that." his hands lifted, then his fingers fisted as if he were trying to resist the urge to touch her. "if you want a job with me, it's yours."

her breath expelled in a relieved burst. "thank you."

"i don't want your gratitude." his eyes still burned. "i want you, and that wanting isn't just going to stop."

she could actually feel the heat from his body. it warmed her when she'd been cold for so long.

"but i meant what i said," noah continued, his voice deep and rumbling. "i don't fuck with my employees."

"y-you won't be f-fucking with me."

his lips thinned. "we'll see. i don't want you to beg, i think i was pretty clear about that...you should never have to beg for anything. but i will wait and let you ask me to be your lover."

that shocked her. "it's not happening."

"we'll see." he turned away from her. paced toward a desk that waited in the corner. "you graduated at the top of your class at washington state university. received a bachelor's degree in business management, then got your mba."

he'd checked her out?

"but you've barely stayed at any job longer than six months since you got your mba." his fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the desk. "why is that?"

"because my past keeps catching up with me." and she did not, could not, talk about her past then. she'd lost her last job because her boss found out about her.

noah's expression hardened. "are you in danger, claire?" a new note had entered his voice. rougher. harder.

a shiver slid over her. "no." not any longer. at least, she shouldn't be. she cleared her throat. "i have...a powerful enemy. he likes to punish me, so he tends to make sure i don't exactly have the best employment prospects." please, please, noah, just accept what i say and don't ask any other questions.

her gaze dropped to the manila file on his desk. understanding hit her hard and had claire backing up a step. if he'd learned about her college, then... "you already know."

his shoulders tensed as he straightened to fully face her.

"you know everything that happened to me, don't you?" and she hated that. claire rarely talked about her past. it hurt too much. for noah to know. for this sexy, strong man to know all her dark secrets-

the knowledge of her exposure to him just made her feel weak. too exposed.

he held her gaze. "i know you're a survivor, and that's all that matters to me."

she blinked quickly because, for some reason, his words had her eyes tearing. claire would not cry in front of him. she didn't cry in front of anyone.

"i don't really give a shit how powerful the enemy from your past is," he continued, voice deep, "because i'm pretty sure i've got just as much...if not more...power."

claire thought he did, too. that was why she'd come to him. if anyone could stand up to the man after her, it would be noah. "i just want a chance."

noah inclined his head. "like i said, i'll give you a job."

her shoulders slumped. the relief that hit her then was so dizzying she felt a little light-headed for a minute. the last nine years had been so hard. and with her sister's death just a few months before...the demons that chased claire seemed to have just grown stronger.

"i know i have to start at the bottom," claire said, her words coming fast now, "and that's fine. you just tell me who to report to, and i'll-"

"you'll report to me, claire. only me."

her lips parted. "but-"

"i need an assistant, and you just got the job."

that was...wow. "i can do it," she promised him. "i'll prove that i can-"

"i already know you can do it." he tilted his head as he studied her. "but you should be aware that we'll have to work very closely together. my hours are crazy, and i'll expect you to be at my beck and call pretty much twenty-four, seven."

she nodded. she had no social life, so that was a done deal.

"where are you staying?" noah asked.

"the hamlet, over on-"

"it's a dump, claire." the anger was back on his face and in his voice. "a man was shot there last week."

and two men had been arrested there last night. but when you were trying to save every bit of money you had, well, you didn't have the luxury of being choosy about your hotel.

his jaw locked. "i'll make sure you have a room available here at the towers."

"but..."

a muscle flexed in his jaw. "you aren't staying there any longer."

"what will the other staff members think?" claire asked as she shifted her feet nervously. "if i just move in here, even if it's just for a few days, they'll talk."

"there's nothing to talk about. other staff members stay here." he waved that concern away. "like i told you, i don't sleep with my employees. no one will think anything of your sleeping accommodations at the towers."

right. claire nodded and sighed in relief. "th-thank you, noah. i won't forget this." claire squared her shoulders. she walked toward him. offered her hand.

he stared down at her hand for a moment, then his fingers curled around hers. his hand was so big that it seemed to swallow her own. his flesh was golden, warm, and at that touch-a touch she'd instigated-a surge of sensual awareness flooded through her.

just from his hand? such a simple touch...

"and we will get to this part," he murmured as his fingers tightened around hers. "then you'll have to choose...if you want to keep working for me or if you want to fuck me."

he had claire kramer, and he wasn't letting her go.

noah york was used to getting what he wanted in life, and for the last few months, he'd wanted her.

noah led claire to the room he'd arranged for her. she probably didn't know that he'd had that room-a suite also on the same floor with his-cleared out when he'd gotten her call. he and claire now occupied the only two suites on that floor.