“You are the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen,” I murmured against her throat as her head fell back. “Heather, tell me what you need.”
Her eyes met mine, and all I saw was a flash of every single emotion at once. Then she tucked her head shyly and bit her lip as if she were thinking.
Or unless… was she nervous?
I realized that she was pinned in a four-foot square glass room with a strange man who was twice her size. In an instant I set her on her feet, quickly escorting her out of the shower enclosure.
“I’m so sorry,” I said quickly, keeping my hand on her lower back, but giving her some space. “I didn’t mean to corner you or make
you feel uncomfortable.”
She breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t step very far away. “No, I liked it,” she said. “It’s just…” She looked stressed. Then she murmured, “I’m just surprised, I think.”
“I’m so sorry, beautiful,” I smiled. “I realize that this is happening completely out of order. I’d like to take you for a nice dinner and get to know you, then start off with a few good night kisses. I’d like to do this in the normal, proper order of things. But I’m having a very unusual reaction to you, and finding it difficult.”
She blushed so prettily that I pulled my hand away before I grabbed her again.
“Let’s go through the rest of the space, and you can tell me whether or not I should buy it,” I winked.
I had to admit, the entire space was exquisite, and had everything I needed and more. The office was next to the living room and had a brilliant view of the water. “Do you work from home?” she asked.
“Most of the time, yes,” I said. “My job is fairly global, so many of my meetings are via video calls. When I need to meet with financial institutions, I sometimes drop by their offices.”
She looked around the office space carefully. “Can you picture yourself being happy working here all day?” she asked.
I greatly admired how thorough she was. Surprising myself, I blurted, “I love the way your mind works.” The tug of a smile at the corner of her lips was enchanting.
“Yes, I could see myself working here quite comfortably,” I said. “There’s plenty of natural light for video calls, plenty of space for files, and I actually rather like this desk.”
Heather’s fingers trailed along the glass surface. “It will be covered in fingerprints at the end of every day, but it’s very stylish,” she said.
“I’ll be careful not to eat chips or anything cheesy in here,” I laughed.
We went back out to the main space, and I took a slow, critical look around. “Heather, I know I’ve already taken far too much of your time today, but may I take you to lunch so that you can help me decide whether I should take this space?”
She nodded eagerly. “Sure.”
Heather was likely eager to help make the sale. I should have been concentrating on the details of my new home. But all I could think about was getting to know her better in a casual setting so that I could begin setting the groundwork to make her fall completely in love with me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
* Heather *
Everything was indeed happening out of order. I was supposed to meet a guy, then have time to consider whether or not he was a good match for me before we ended up in an intimate situation.
Steve was breaking all of my mental rules. No, that wasn’t fair. I was breaking all of my mental rules, because every single thing about Steve was making my breath catch and my nipples feel tight.
I couldn’t believe that I wrapped my legs around him in the shower stall. I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t still kissing him right now. My thoughts were a tornado, but I had to bring myself back to the task at hand. I had sworn to myself that my only priority this year would be proving myself to Joel, so that he knew I was a good employee.
We quickly toured the amenities of the condo building, while I tried not to imagine myself swimming in the bright teal pool, or sipping fancy drinks in the exclusive lounge.
As soon as we were back outside, Steve said, “Shall we go to that restaurant you like?”
“Sure,” I said.
As soon as we were settled and had ordered lunch, I pulled out a notebook and pen. “So, what were the most important things you were looking for in a new home, and was that place lacking in any way?”
Steve took a sip of water, staring at me with a strange expression. Did I amuse him?