Talking Dirty with the CEO - By Jackie Ashenden Page 0,25
had been with him. An easy, natural smile lit up her face. Then she laughed, and Christ the sound was sexy. Low. Husky. Almost dirty.
A strange feeling caught in his chest. What if he could make her laugh like that?
As if she’d felt him watching, she broke off her conversation and looked at him. All at once the laughter disappeared from her face, a guarded expression taking its place.
Joseph cursed under his breath, feeling as though he’d just kicked a puppy or something. The rest of the guys around her were gazing at him wide-eyed, and he knew they were going to break into some kind of fan thing if he wasn’t careful.
As he came up to them, he grinned and said, “Hey guys, need a word in private with Christie here.”
Instantly they were all nodding, smiling nervously in return, scattering toward the doors in their haste to do his bidding. One of them waved a hand at Christie. “See ya, Chris. We’ll be at E-Blitz if you change your mind.”
Joseph knew E-Blitz. An Internet café that hosted lots of online gaming tournaments. He used to be a fixture there when he’d been younger and jobless. Before he’d discovered his talent for taking apart technology and putting it back better than before.
“You got another date?” he asked.
She stood as he approached, a wary look in her eyes and a very determined cast to her chin. “No. Like I said. I need this interview.” She crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive gesture. “But I’m not sleeping with you again if that’s what you’re expecting.”
Well, that was certainly clear. He thrust his hands in his pockets. “Sleeping wasn’t what I had in mind.”
And sure enough she flushed. “I’m not having sex with you.”
“Pity. I would have liked a whole night with you. Five minutes on the vanity wasn’t nearly enough.”
Christie’s blush became an interesting shade of crimson. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Teasing me.”
“Because I love the way you blush. It’s adorable. And your eyes get all sparky and green.”
A mutinous expression shifted over her face. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
“No problem, I got it.”
“And no more kisses, either, okay?”
“Then stop biting your lip like that.”
She stopped nibbling. “There. Happy?”
“Not really. Your mouth is still red and I still want to kiss it.”
“There will be no kissing.” She glared at him “Understood?”
She might think that now but he could be persuasive when he chose. Very persuasive. “I think we’ve established that. Shall we go?”
Ten minutes later, back in his apartment, Joseph threw his keys on the console table in the hall, handed Christie her phone, and gestured toward the living room. “You remember where it is, right? With the stereo?”
“The Karlsson Series 6, you mean?” She enunciated the words very clearly. “Yeah, I remember.”
He grinned. “Good. Then why don’t you make yourself at home while I get a drink.”
“I don’t need a drink.”
So she was going to be like that, was she? Fine. “Suit yourself.”
But in the kitchen he pulled out a bottle of very nice chardonnay and two glasses. She was cutting off her nose to spite her pretty face and once her temper had calmed, she might regret it.
Back in the lounge, he found her perched on the end of his expensive designer couch, hunched over her phone, the voice recorder all set on the low, black stone coffee table.
He put the wine down on the coffee table and poured two glasses.
Christie didn’t look up, working on her phone.
“I read your article.” He sat on the couch beside her.
The movement of her finger on the screen paused as she registered his presence. But she didn’t look up. “What article?”
“The one on dating.”
“The one on—” She stopped and her head jerked up, gaze locked with his
“Yes,” he said, keeping it casual. “The one where you went out with a guy called Studman500.”
“How did you know?”
“When I saw you in the crowd, I asked one of my staff to see if they could find out who you were. And they did. They also brought me the latest issue of Total Tech.”
“Oh.” The word was soft. “So I guess you know that our date was research? At least, that’s what it was supposed to be.”
“Research, huh?”
A sigh escaped her. “Yeah.”
After a moment she put her phone on the table. Then turned to him, a grimly determined look on her face. “I owe you an apology. I should have told you right from the start.” Her throat moved as she swallowed.