smirk after each question. “Then I don’t get it. I— Oh, forget it. I refuse to be interrogated like this.”
“We finally agree on something.” The pulse at his temple fascinated her. “Why don’t I wait downstairs in your office while you put some clothes on?”
The most edible man she’d ever laid eyes on was asking her to be less naked, and he was one of Cameron Locke’s henchmen. Her night could not get any better.
She imagined the report he’d be giving the new owner in the morning. Inappropriately dressed. Leaves doors unlocked. Shamelessly dangles from ceiling and drooled all over my fancy shirt.
It was so unfair. It had been years, and she’d really wanted to climb that mountain and lick his chin dimple.
“Well?” he prompted roughly.
For some reason, the further that stick went up his behind, the more she wanted to mess with him. Maybe it was payback for that almost-kiss. Her dry spell had made her vengeful.
“It’s adorable that you think I have an office.” She pointed at the attic door on the ceiling that he was tall enough to touch without stretching. “Why don’t you close that up and follow me?”
Bailey didn’t wait to see if he obeyed before racing down the stairs. Her determination to hate him was already being tested as she realized she was leading him to her bedroom. She wished it was to tie him up and show him the error of his asshole-ish ways instead of getting him away from the guest rooms and putting on pants.
It was a good visual, Boot Boy’s wrists tied to her bed. His massive frame would be too big for the dinky thing, so she’d have to crawl on top of him to get him completely undressed.
A ball of hot need lodged in her belly.
Enough. She’d revisit that scenario later. With her vibrator after he left.
Her door was still ajar from the mad dash to the attic. She’d almost forgotten the ominous sounds that had woken her and made her think the roof was caving in. The sounds that had stopped the same moment the ladder collapsed beneath her weight.
Then along came the spider. And Boot Boy. Was it really a coincidence?
He works for the enemy. This is not your guy.
She snagged a pair of folded jeans from the top of her dresser and was stepping into them when she saw him at her door. His presence filled the room without him having to step inside. His knuckles were white where they gripped the wood frame, his face flushed as if he’d been for a run.
“Are you okay?” she asked. He looked too healthy to be having a heart attack, but Cameron Locke would probably charge her with murder if his worker bee died within an hour of arrival. “Do you need to sit down or maybe have a glass of water?”
“I’m fine,” he grumbled. He was staring at the jeans halfway up her legs and he stifled an animal sound that cause a flood of heat between her legs. “Cover yourself.”
Oh.
It wasn’t a heart attack—it was desire.
“It’s a good thing I’m not insecure,” she said as she pulled her jeans higher on her thighs, breathlessly aware of those avid eyes raking over her. The muscles flexing in his arms as he rocked toward her. That pipe he was packing in his jeans…for her. He was fighting it, holding back the same way she was, most likely for the same reasons. But he did want her. It hadn’t been a test.
At least there was that.
“You’ve stopped again, Ms. Wagner.”
The words held enough of a plea for her to do as he asked, but now her hands felt clumsy. Sweaty. She managed to tug the jeans up over her hips, only stilling her usual hop, yank and jiggle for an instant when she heard him groan.
Damn it, why did he have to work for Locke?
“There,” she said as she fastened the button. “Wonder Woman has left the building. Feel better now?”
“Not at all.”
Neither did she. The denim was rough and unwelcome against her skin. She wanted to take it off again, but she ignored the impulse, snagging her light cardigan from its nearby hook and slipping it on for extra protection.
“Unfortunately, we can’t go back in time and forget how you found me. Now I’m embarrassed, you’ve seen me in my underwear and we both know you squeezed the merchandise. I think our best move is to embrace the humor of the situation and forgive each other for