“It’s amazing,” I exhaled as I looked toward the far side of the room and saw a three-sided oak desk that looked like the control panel for the Starship Enterprise. It had numerous computer monitors sitting on top of it, but there wasn’t a keyboard or mouse to be seen. “What kind of office is this?”
“It’s my dream desk,” he said proudly gesturing towards the desk. “I had a carpenter build the desk especially for me so that I could monitor everything I was working on all at the same time. It was more helpful when I was running the online betting sites, but now it works well to keep track of the team and all of the different part of running it.”
“That’s amazing,” I said again, imagini
ng what I’d do with a set up like that if I ran a team. “You can keep your eye on everything all at once!”
Dax smiled as I admired the set up, but as soon as I looked up, he turned and headed toward the door, gesturing for me to follow him. I went back into the hallway and followed him to the end of it where he slid open another door, revealing a wide set of circular stairs that led to the top floor and another set of doors.
He ushered me up the stairs, and we emerged in the master suite. I gasped as I saw that the view encompassed both the lake and the city as the outer walls were all made of glass. The room itself was fairly sparse and decorated in earth tones that enhanced rather than competed with the majestic scenery. As I looked to the left, I saw a large bed with an enormous headboard covered in taupe fabric centered on the inside wall. On either side were light, wood nightstands topped with square lamps. On the far side of the room, centered in front of the windows were several overstuffed chairs with ottomans facing outward around a low, glass coffee table. Other than that, the room was devoid of furniture.
“This is breathtaking!” I said, only rotating enough to take in the entire view. On the left, the lake was dark and mysterious with the moon shining off of it and as I shifted my gaze to the right, the lights of the city shimmered and blinked, giving of the sense that the city was alive and breathing.
“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” he murmured from behind me. I could feel the heat from his body and knew he was close enough to touch me, and when he didn’t, I turned to face him.
“This room is amazing, too,” I said as I looked up at him. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his lips. The soft, sensual curve of his mouth begged me to kiss it, but I reminded myself of my promise and held back. “You’ve really created a warm, welcoming home to live in.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he said, looking away toward the city. “It’s just that…”
“Just what,” I whispered as I stepped closer hoping that he’d take the hint and give us both what we so obviously wanted. “Tell me.”
“Payton,” he said with a look that I read as him wanting me as much as I wanted him, and I immediately forgot my promise. I placed my palms on either side of his face and drew him down toward me so that I could kiss him the way I’d been fantasizing about since I’d first done it.
The feel of his lips on mine sent a jolt through me and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer and kissing him harder. His hands moved up the sides of my body and I moaned softly into his lips.
“Payton…Payton…” he gasped as he firmly grasped my hips and pulled back from the kiss.
“Mmm hmm,” I murmured as I looked up and saw my own wild desire reflected in his dark eyes. “It’s okay, I’m not drunk.”
“It’s not that,” he said pushing me back a bit. He stammered, “It’s just that…I just don’t…I can’t.”
“Why not?” I said, startled by the rejection. “Wait, you asked me out on a date, invited me back to your place for drinks, and gave me a tour that ended in your bedroom, and now you’re telling me you didn’t bring me here for this?”
“Well, yeah,” he said sheepishly, looking down at the floor as I stepped away from him and straightened my dress.
“I mean, not that I’m not all about consent,” I said, quickly backtracking as I wondered what I’d done wrong. Suddenly it hit me. I looked up at him and whispered, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize…”
“Realize what?” he asked obviously confused by my apology.
“I’m so sorry,” I repeated.
“Payton, what are you sorry about?”
“Are you gay?” I whispered. “I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with it. I just feel really stupid that I might have misinterpreted you asking me out on a date for—”
“Nope, not gay,” he interjected. And then grinned as he added, “Not that there’s anything wrong with it.”
That shut me up. I stood staring up into his dark eyes as I tried to figure out what was going on. Finally, I took a deep breath and blurted, “Then are you going to tell me why in the hell you did bring me here?”
Chapter Thirteen
Dax
Payton stood staring at me expectantly and it made me nervous. I knew that I shouldn’t have let it get this far, but there was no denying that I was attracted to her, and that given the opportunity, I would take things a lot further than kissing, but right now, I had one aim in mind and I needed to figure out if she was going to stick around.
“Well?” she said impatiently, tapping her foot on the thick carpeting. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or what?”
“Okay, look, I didn’t mean for things to get this far this fast,” I said, trying to figure out how to explain my way out of this situation. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to present a deal; it was that Payton Halas Lasky unnerved me in a way that no one else ever had. I chalked it up to my nerves and the fact that I was aiming to make her my girlfriend. I’d never dated a woman on a bet before, and if she rejected me, Finn would never let me live it down.