Passion and Surrender (The Billionaire's Temptation Book 6) Read Free

Claire, he’d been all work and no play, and he was tired of being a dull boy.
    With that thought rattling in his head and it nearing the end of the day, he called down to engineering, hoping Harper had a moment to go over her designs with him, and perhaps entertain a few other…projects. Luckily, it wasn’t long before she was knocking on his open door.
    “Thanks for coming to see me.” Needing to close the distance between them, Marshall came around and leaned against the front of his desk as she took the chair before him. “I know you’re heading home soon, so I promise not to take up too much of your time. It’s just that I had a chance to go over your designs, and I really like your idea for providing a different type of vibration and stimulation.”
    “Really?” Her smile lit up her eyes, and there was something so genuine and honest about her. It was a refreshing change after dealing with Claire for so long. “That’s great. If you’d like, I can put together a prototype, and then once it gets your approval, I can hand it over to design so they can implement it.”
    “That would be perfect.” Not that he was ready to let her go just yet. Anything to keep her around just a little longer. “Out of curiosity, what do you think of our current product lines? Are there any changes you’d make? Anything you don’t like?”
    She was in her mid to late twenties, which meant there was a good chance she had her own collection of sex toys, especially with the generous employee discount. It wasn’t an unreasonable question, given her position within the company, and if she was smart enough to think of a new method for delivering vibrations, he wanted her opinion—and it had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet.
    “I think the current line is in keeping with the brand we’ve built so far.” She bit her bottom lip as a blush crept across her cheeks, giving her pearly skin a rosy glow that made him want to cup her face in his hands and cover her mouth in a hard kiss.
    It probably wasn’t the wisest of ideas when he was her boss, but he’d been fighting the attraction between them for far too long. After dealing with Claire’s craziness, he needed an escape, and Harper had caught his eye from the very first time she smiled in his direction.
    He may not have been ready to truly pursue her back then. But now? He was well over his marriage and the lies Claire had told him, and he was ready to start living his life again. Pursuing Harper may not be appropriate, but he was beyond caring of what others thought if he could find a glimmer of happiness.
    “Our latest designs might be in keeping with our brand, but are they innovative enough? I want to keep pushing the envelope—and I need to know if we’ve done that with our latest line. We need to always stay a step or two ahead of the competition.” Unfortunately, that was becoming harder and harder to do when the competition was stealing their designs.
    “I honestly don’t know. I only help to figure out the mechanics once the design is finalized, but I don’t have any say in the design itself.” She gave him an apologetic shrug.
    “But if you did have a say in the design, is there anything you’d change?” They had focus groups, but given Harper’s work experience and education, he was hoping she’d have a new take on it—just like he’d approached the design of his vibes by using his knowledge of the human body as a doctor. It was what set Clio products apart from the competition. “What do you like in the vibes you use? What gives you the most pleasure?”
    Harper’s cheeks went from a simple blush to flaming red, and he knew if he were to brush her cheek, her soft skin would be hot to the touch. “I wouldn’t really know. I hate to say it, but I haven’t used our products, and…no offense, but it’s not something I usually discuss—especially not with my boss.”
    Marshall’s brows shot up as he tried