That night he was escorted by her huge bodyguard once again through the door of the private lounge. Claire leaped up and marched toward him, the fire in her eyes igniting an animal response that he tried to tamp down. He’d liked Jenny. But this woman, coming at him fired up and crazy sexy, on top of what they had before, was giving him all kinds of wicked ideas. There were layers to her, a complexity that fascinated him, and a passionate nature that he wanted to delve into deep.
She stopped in front of him, cheeks flushed pink, hazel eyes flashing. Her white V-neck shirt exposed cleavage that he well remembered tasting. Hot and sweet. Her jeans hugged her body and those black heels needed to stay while he peeled her out of the unnecessary items. He shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t touch.
“How much to shut you up?” she snapped.
He considered how to move things to where he wanted. Defuse the situation and reignite a different scenario.
She snapped her fingers in his face. “Well?”
He pushed her hand out of his face. “I told you I wouldn’t say anything. Why do you assume it was me?”
She narrowed her hazel eyes suspiciously. They were pretty, green and gold with a ring of deep blue. He liked her hazel eyes better than the bright green. Her hair was shoulder length and dark brown. He liked her blonde better. He’d found a picture of her in that spiked bikini and she had short spiky blond hair in it, looking all badass. This color made her look too pale in contrast.
“Josh! Are you high? Where are you?”
He forced himself to focus. “What?”
“I said you are the only one with good motive.”
“Sorry, Claire Jordan, you’ll have to find someone else to blame. My word is gold.” He liked to use her full name because it tickled him to know her true identity after pining over the fictional Jenny. He saw now that the name held her back. She was flipping out over some tabloid headlines. He was sure she must get that all the time. It was up to her to move out from behind that name and take a chance on him.
“Would you stop calling me Claire Jordan? It’s just Claire.”
“Okay, Just Claire.”
She made a growling noise in the back of her throat that made him rock hard. He understood a little better how much fun Josh must have riling up Hailey. He turned away, heading toward the bar on the far side of the room, hoping there was something there to take the edge off. He wasn’t so good at playing the gentleman when he wanted something. And he wanted Claire with a fierceness way beyond Jenny, which had already been damn intense. This woman had him by the balls, though she didn’t know it. He’d like to keep it that way.
He headed behind the bar and found an excellent merlot. He held it up. “Wine?”
“No!” She marched over to the bar and stood on the other side from him. “We’re not here to party.”
He unscrewed the cork and poured himself a glass. He could hear her doing some deep breathing over there, trying to get herself under control. He’d like to get her under control too, under him. He took a sip of the wine, pretending a casualness he was far from feeling.
She slapped a hand on the bar top to get his attention. She’d never lost his attention. He was hyperaware of her, every sense tuned in, from her heaving breasts to her flushed cheeks and neck, to that throaty, husky voice that even in anger turned him on. She didn’t smell like vanilla and sugar today. She smelled like roses and something distinctly Claire, a tangy spiciness. Some perfume for her role in the movie? Didn’t matter. He wanted to kiss and lick and suck every inch of her.
“Yes?” he drawled. “You have my undivided attention.”
She pursed her full lips, making his pants even tighter. “I heard the press was all over you today. Did they bring a lot of publicity to your bar?”
He set his glass down. “I don’t even own that bar.” It bugged him that Josh had to lie low on account of whoever wanted something out of Claire. “I told you it wasn’t me. Do you need it in blood?”
She narrowed her eyes. “It had to be you. How much?”
“I don’t need your damn money.”
“It always comes down to money. How much? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand?” She crossed her arms. “That’s my final offer, you greedy, lying, conniving jerk!”
Jake lost it. “Do you know who I am?” he roared.
She startled.
He jammed a hand through his hair. “No, of course you don’t,” he said in a low voice. He took a deep breath. “I’m Jake Campbell, CEO of Dat Cloud. I took Josh’s place on the blind date because he wanted to go out with someone as me to teach her a lesson, and I wanted the sweet small-town girl date. I was sick of glamorous superficial types.” He placed both palms on the bar top and leaned in to make sure she heard this next part because she was just as much to blame for this mess as he was. “I was looking for something real.”