Talking Dirty with the CEO - By Jackie Ashenden Page 0,42
her face red beneath her bike helmet, breathing hard.
He felt a tiny bit bad for convincing her to come with him, but not that much. Sad fact of the matter was that he’d gotten a kick out of presenting her with the stack of Lycra that was the cycling gear he’d bought for her. Her eyes had just about popped out of her head in horror.
But she’d put on the clothes without complaint. And even though she’d dubiously eyed the bike he’d rented for her when they’d gotten to the forest and the bike trails, she’d climbed on without hesitation and had managed to stay on without wobbling.
From down the slope came a curse. Christie had gotten off her bike and was pushing it instead. He watched as she came up the last bit, trying not to smile.
“You…said it…would be…flat,” she panted when she reached him. Her glare held enough heat to set him on fire.
“It is,” he replied, biting down on his grin. “At the start.”
There was a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead, chestnut curls hanging damply from underneath her helmet. It reminded him of how she’d looked in his arms the night before and an arrow of pure lust pierced him. She had no idea how sexy she was in the bike pants, either. They revealed her long legs in all their slender glory, leading up to the gentle curve of her buttocks. He wanted to run his hands up them, stroke the smooth skin of her thighs, hear her breath catch…
“How much farther?” She wiped her forehead.
He was being mean and he knew it. Pity teasing her was so much fun. “This is just the beginning.” He leaned forward over his handlebars. “There’s another hour’s hard riding ahead of you.” And at her groan, he grinned and added, “Had enough already? Shall we stop?”
At that, her glare became fierce with challenge. “No, of course not. Though you know, if you’re tired, we can rest a little longer.”
Joseph laughed. He liked that about her. The hint of an of iron backbone beneath her stutter and her vulnerability. With more confidence, she would be formidable.
“Nope. I’m done resting. But before we ride on, remember that surprise I mentioned?”
“Is this going to be the ‘surprise, a hill!’ kind of surprise?”
“Would I do that to you?” Pulling off his backpack, Joseph unzipped it and took out the tiny music player he’d borrowed from his R&D department. It was in development, but he hadn’t been able to resist the chance to show it off to her. She was such a gadget girl and he was dying to see what she thought of it. Man, he hoped she liked it. The possibility that she might not made him nervous.
“Here,” he said and put it into her hand.
Christie stared at it, eyes wide. “Is this…?”
“Ashton Tech’s newest product? Yep. What do you think?”
She’d already picked it up and was playing around with it, swiping her fingers across the touch screen, brow furrowed. “Wow, this looks amazing.”
Joseph allowed himself a small burst of pride and ignored the twinge of relief. “Well, yeah. It is.”
A huge smile broke over her face. “Hey, you even put some music on here.”
“Yeah, I did. Put on all the Gothic metal bands I could find. You’ve probably heard them all, but the Plague Dogs one only came out this morning.”
“Oh my God, I love Plague Dogs.” She glanced at him, eyes alight. The smile that curved her mouth could have put the sun to shame. “Thanks, Joseph. This is awesome.”
The look on her face, the simple joy there, made a strange tightness settle in his chest.
He tried to ignore it. “Well, it needs beta testing. So have a listen while we ride, okay?”
“Sure.”
“And hey,” he said before he could stop himself, “thanks for coming out with me today. I know you didn’t want to.”
She blushed. “Damn. What gave it away?”
“Probably the look of trepidation on your face when you saw the Lycra.”
She laughed. “You got me. I confess that physical activity isn’t my favorite thing. I’m more a couch potato gamer type of girl.”
“So what made you come then?”
Her smile turned shy. “You sat with me for a whole hour last night. Seemed only fair that I come out and spend an hour doing stuff with you.”
He shouldn’t push it, he knew he shouldn’t. Yet still he found himself asking. “So, you only came out of fairness then?”
Christie glanced away. “No.” A small hesitation. “I came because I