Talking Dirty with the CEO - By Jackie Ashenden Page 0,12
any way, shape, or form. She was a tech hack who liked computers. And here she was with the hottest guy on the planet, all set to “explore their chemistry,” and where was she? In the bloody bathroom feeling nearly ill with doubt.
Man, what was wrong with her?
Christie opened her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror. Color burned on her cheeks, so intense her freckles turned pink. Her hair had started coming out of the messy bun and now looked like a bird’s nest. Her mascara had smudged, too.
You’ve never been very good with men, have you? Helene’s voice whispered inside her head, insidious.
Christie scowled at herself in the mirror.
No. No way. Her mother didn’t know jack. And she hadn’t spent the last eight years making her own life, living on her own terms, just to fall back into old patterns now.
She’d sworn this date would be amazing. That this date would be for her.
She was Naughtygirl. All she had to do was act like it.
…
Joseph paced around the lounge, antsy and restless. She’d been in that bathroom a long time, hadn’t she? Why? Women’s problems again? Or had he upset her with his quip about other women and his stereo? He’d meant it as a joke, not intending to make her uncomfortable.
Cursing, he made another circuit of the room.
Christ, he hoped he hadn’t blown it, because he hadn’t met a woman he’d wanted quite so much in a very long time.
Naughtygirl was just so…different.
Ovine, not bovine.
Since when had he had a date who corrected him on his sheep terminology? Or on anything, for that matter. Since never. And that was even before the whole stereo conversation. He’d never had a date talk about excess noise cancellation before, either.
And hey, might as well admit to the fact that he totally had the hots for her physically, too.
Long russet lashes and smoky green eyes. A soft red mouth. Stretchy black dress pulling tight around slender thighs. Her elegant neck left bare by thick, upswept hair, small neat ears and delicate, pointed jawline.
So sexy. Even her awkwardness appealed to him, suggesting a sensuality just waiting to be discovered.
Joseph stopped in the middle of the room, staring down the hallway toward the bathroom.
Perhaps she was sick. Perhaps there was something majorly wrong. Perhaps he should be going to see if she was okay.
Not stopping to think, he just headed straight down the hallway to the bathroom. The door was open so he walked right in.
She was standing in front of the vanity, her gaze flicking to his in the mirror as he entered. There was something vulnerable about her, about the look on face. Something uncertain. It hit him like a punch to the gut.
“Hey,” he said softly. “You’re not okay, are you?”
She looked away. “I’m fine.”
No, she wasn’t. Any idiot could see that. “Then why did you leave?”
Naughtygirl turned from the mirror. “Would you believe women’s problems again?”
“Not really, no.”
“I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I’m just…”
“Just what? Look, if you don’t want to take this further we don’t have to.” Fighting his own disappointment, he made himself say it. “I could take you home if you’d prefer.”
Her head came up at that, her eyes wide. “You really want to take me home?”
“No. I don’t. I’m just saying that if you want to leave, then you can.”
For a long moment she stared at him. “But…I don’t want to leave.”
Joseph stepped into the bathroom. She didn’t move as he came closer, just kept staring at him.
He halted mere inches from her. “Good,” he said, his voice thick. “Because, honey, I really don’t want you to go.”
She blinked, white teeth sinking into her luscious lower lip. Nibbling on it. And he couldn’t seem to stop staring at her mouth, wondering how she would taste. What sounds she would make if he bit her there.
And the look in her eyes changed, became determined. As if she’d made some sort of decision.
Before he could move, before he’d even had time to think, she’d closed the gap between them, rising up on her toes to press her mouth to his.
Electricity shot through him. As though he’d been plugged into a power socket, the current shooting straight to his groin. Jesus Christ. He’d never felt anything like it.
He reached for her but she was already pulling away, her face gone bright red, the sound of her breathing loud in the confined space of the bathroom. Staring at him in utter amazement.
So she’d felt it, too. God, they didn’t