"You have an office?" I said. "Why?"
"Why not?" he said. "I've got stuff. And people. They've got to go someplace, right?"
Trying to concentrate on more than the mouthwatering idea of getting him naked, I made myself ask, "What kind of stuff?"
"Computer stuff mostly," he said. "Servers, software, work stations, a small graphics studio, that sort of thing."
I almost had to laugh. "I can't believe I'm actually talking about computers with you."
"You know much about computers?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Me neither," he said. "Thus, the people."
"And now," I said, "I can't believe you just said 'thus'."
"Just seeing if you're paying attention."
Oh, I was paying attention, alright. Just not to anything business-related. But thatdidremind me of something. "Speaking of computers," I said, "who hacked into my email account? You never did tell me."
"You can thank Trey for that."
"Somehow, I can't see myself thanking him."
Jake gave a low laugh. "Give it time. You want the tour or not?"
We'd just made it to the elevators. What I really wanted washim. Like now.
I wanted us to be naked. I wanted to reach out with my fingers and trace the contours of his muscles and tattoos. And then I wanted a whole lot more. But Jake had been such a great sport about shopping that there was no way I'd be saying no to a tour, if that's what he really wanted to be doing. Plus, Iwasgenuinely interested.
"That sounds great," I said. "I can't wait." I glanced back toward the parking garage. "So where's your office? Are we heading back to the car?"
"Nah." Still holding the bags, Jake leaned forward and pressed the elevator up-button with his elbow. "It's here in the building."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'll show you."
In front of us, the nearest elevator door slid open, and we stepped forward. Inside, Jake used his elbow again to press the button for the floor just below his penthouse. Once the elevator started moving, we stood side-by-side, facing the elevator doors while I tried not to fling myself at him.
I snuck a quick glance in his direction. He looked relaxed, casual even. I tried to look relaxed and casual too, as opposed to the sex-starved idiot I was on the inside.
In front of us, the numbers on the control panel changed with every floor and then stopped at the floor he'd pressed. When the elevator doors opened, Jake motioned for me to go first.
Breathlessly, I stepped out of the elevator and looked around. The place didn't look like any office I'd ever seen. Mostly, it was all windows and wide open spaces, with marble floors and clusters of nicely arranged furniture positioned here and there.
The lights were still off, but there was more than enough light to get the basic feel of the place. I looked around. The window-blinds were open, and lights from the city streamed in from all sides. "It's beautiful," I said. "But not exactly what I was expecting."
Next to me, Jake set down the bags. "I know the feeling," he said.
I looked over at him. "But you've been here lots of times, right?"
He met my gaze. "I wasn't talking about the office."
A soft breath escaped my lips. "Oh."
He moved closer, and his casual demeanor vanished. "Want to know why I brought you here?" he asked.
My breath caught. "Sure."
His gaze travelled the length of me. "Want me totellyou? Orshowyou?"
How did a girl answer such a thing, especially when he was looking at me like that? Cast in shadows, his angular face showed no hint of that boyish streak that I'd seen in the store.
I gazed up at him. "You could do both," I said, "if you wanted."