“What the hell?” His words came out too loud and too pissed. A family of four standing near the elevators looked over, clearly concerned.
Mia raised her brows at him in the most goddamned adorable little smirk. “Be careful,” she sang. “You don’t want this to turn up on the news, do you?”
His mind shot to Tate. Then Joe. And Rafe’s blood ran cold again.
He reached out and stabbed a finger against the Up button. “I’ll go up to talk about this. But that’s it.”
Holding on to that smirk, Mia looked down at her phone. To clear his head, Rafe watched the numbers on the elevator and strategized how he planned on keeping the woman he’d wanted for years at arm’s length. A woman who looked good enough to fuck a dozen different ways every day for a week straight without coming up for air.
“Look at that,” she said, pulling his gaze from the numbers. But Mia was still looking at her phone. “Dictionary.com defines ‘anything’ as ‘in any degree; in any way; to any extent.’” She met his eyes and smiled—a wicked hot little smile. “That’s my anything. You—to any degree, in any way, to any extent I want.”
Rafe was on fire. He rubbed his hand over his mouth and found sweat collecting on his brow. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“In fact, my head is clearer than it’s ever been. And since the agreement was anything I want, talking isn’t included.” She lifted one slim shoulder in a careless shrug. “Unless you want to throw in some dirty talk. Bet you’re good at it. That might be hot.” She slipped one arm around his waist and lifted her chin. “Give it a try. Talk dirty to me, Rafe.”
His heart seized. He slapped a hand over his eyes. “Jesus Christ.”
Ding.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the elevator, then found himself hoping someone else came on, suddenly rattled at the thought of being trapped in this box alone with her.
She pressed the number for the top floor, and the doors closed without another passenger. Rafe went into offensive mode. “Let’s get real, Mia. You’re just getting back at me for not talking to you. I’m not stupid enough to think you’re serious, so you can drop the act already.”
Before he’d finished the last sentence, Mia was pressed up against him, her hands roaming his chest, wrapping around his torso underneath his blazer. Her gorgeous green eyes stayed focused on his.
“You may be smart, but you’re epically clueless. So I’m being very serious and very clear for you. This isn’t about revenge. This is about reclaiming my life. And part of that is about holding you accountable for your promise. Making sure you follow through on our trade. This is about you being as loyal to me as you’ve always been to Tate and Joe for a change.”
“For a change? What does that mean? I’ve never been disloyal—”
“Are you going to try to tell me that purposely ignoring me for a year is showing loyalty?”
“Yes,” he said with absolute finality. “It was.”
“To Tate and Joe, maybe. Not to me.”
She had him there. He couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Exactly,” she said in his silence. “That’s why tonight is about you and me and one night together. That’s it. Don’t make it more complicated than it is. You’ve given Tate and Joe decades of your loyalty. All I want is one night. One full night of you, naked, in my bed, fucking me until you can’t fuck me anymore.”
Rafe’s breath whooshed out. His knees turned soft again, and for the second time in his life, he had to catch himself with a hand on the rail lining the elevator.
His vision grayed at the edges, probably because every ounce of blood in his body now resided in his cock. He was breathless, like he’d been skating sprints. Sweating like he’d been lifting weights. To keep himself from lunging for a woman he should think of as a sister, even though she was anything but, he gripped the bar on the wall with both hands.
“This is… What are you…” Sweat crept along his forehead. “Fuck, Mia…”
“There you go. Now we’re on the same page.” Reaching for his tie, she began working the knot open. “And let’s ditch these clothes, because I really am sick of the starch in my life.”
She leaned into him. Her flat belly rubbed his cock and launched a craving that clawed through his lower body.
“Oh yes,” she purred, rocking into him until he saw stars. “We are definitely on the same page.”
He was losing the battle. He felt the last threads of control slipping from his grasp. And Rafe’s mind transitioned from denial to damage control. But that tiny shift opened the floodgates on a desire unlike any he’d ever known before. “What…what about your brother?”
She laughed. “He’s not my type.”
“Mia.”
She glanced around the empty elevator. “Do you see my brother? I don’t see my brother.”