long as it's not to kiss you. Or to fuck you. Then I'm good.
“I uh...” Her voice trailed off as she mirrored his action and cleared her throat. “I want to see the paintings from the exhibitions. The orgasm paintings as someone called them. Will you be putting those on display as well? If you’ll let me, I'd like to see them.”
Eli's cock stood at attention. She wanted to see Samson’s personal collection. The orgasm paintings. Geez. He couldn't show her those.
He shook his head. “No. I don’t think it's a good idea.”
“I get it. But look, we can both be professionals. I won’t jump your bones. I promise.”
He grinned. “Those images are intense. I also don't want to get you all hot and bothered.”
“I'm a professional, Samson. I want to see them. I promise you, those will be your real sellers, despite what uptight Middle America will tell you. Where are they?”
He frowned. “They're upstairs, but—”
She twirled away toward the elevator. She paused with a hand on the iron gate and pulled it back. “You coming, Samson?”
“Jessica, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“One way or another. I want to see those paintings. Either I’ll see them now, and you can put your sensitive artist sensibilities away, or I’ll see them when we do prints and display, and that would really be awkward. At least I know I'm not one of your…subjects.”
No, she certainly wasn't. But if by chance she'd met Samson instead of him, she would have been.
“Come on, Samson, show me your private collection.”
As the doors of the elevator closed, Eli sucked in a breath. All he had to do was remember to breathe. How hard could that be? It’s not like Jessica sucked the air out of the room physically.
“Relax.” She smiled. “I’ll only be a minute. I just want to see your other work. Then we can get to business. I need to figure out a gallery opening with the right clientele. I need to get you some high-profile buyers, and lucky for you, I have one or two in my contacts. Then we PR and market the hell out of you. But I need to see the work. All of it. You can’t hide part of yourself from me. It won’t work if you expect me to sell you. The two of us are going to need to be closer than this.” She twined her index and middle finger together.
Oh, shit. Eli recognized the compulsion to do something stupid, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the inevitable pull. Or maybe he and Samson had this in common too—the magnetic pull toward utter and total destruction.
Eli stepped in close behind her and swept an arm around her waist. Her head rolled back and lay on his shoulder. “You know this is all kinds of a bad idea right? Like all kinds of a walk-of-shame bad.”
He inhaled deeply. Right now he didn’t give a shit. He wanted her. And just once he wanted to fall into oblivion instead of doing what was expected.
Pulling her around by the waist, he tucked her against him. “You don’t have to do this. I can open this elevator door, and you can go if you want.”
Wide blue eyes blinked up at him. “You see me pulling a prison break?”
“Your funeral.” He didn’t allow his brain a single thought as he leaned in to kiss her. Pausing right before their lips met to savor the feeling of holding her. When he lowered his lips to hers, electricity zinged through his body. She jerked in his arms. All it took was one split second, and the fire that blazed between them erupted to five alarm status.
He dragged her as close as humanly possible without actually being inside her. She tugged at his clothes. Mewling sounds erupted from her that drove him mad with need. Harder, faster, naked, inside her. As their tongues met, her hips began a slow grind that reminded him of dancing with her. His cock strained against his borrowed jeans.
Irritated, he yanked at the button until it popped. He wanted her in a bed, but if he was honest with himself, he knew he wouldn’t make it that far. Eli yanked up the yards of fabric that was her dress, and satin smooth skin met his fingertips. God, she was so soft. He could spend an eternity doing nothing but touching her legs.
Jessica dug her hand in his hair and tugged. In a hurry, he wasted no time;