by Zara Cox
‘Hey, yourself. Give me a few minutes to sort through this lot and I’ll be with you, okay?’
His gaze dropped to the silk-and-satin lingerie as he set the takeout bag down on a nearby shelf. ‘Want some help with that?’
The thought of him holding my creations in his hands did something to me. Something indecipherable that made me hesitate. We weren’t on steady ground, Bryce and I, and after all this time I wasn’t sure I wanted him this close to my most precious possessions.
Slowly, one sleek eyebrow spiked. ‘You think I don’t know my way around a woman’s lingerie?’
The tingling abated and a tiny bubble burst inside me. ‘I’m sure you do.’ I shoved one box his way. ‘Have at it.’
He frowned but I didn’t want him probing my disgruntled emotions so I turned away and blindly grabbed a few empty boxes. ‘I’ll go and dispose of these. Back in a minute.’
I felt his intense gaze singe my back as I walked away. In the large storage room that held the rest of the deliveries, I tossed the boxes down, then lingered, attempted to get myself back under control.
What the hell was I doing dicing with the only man who’d been able to slip beneath my guard with ridiculous ease?
Because he’s also the only man who’s come closest to accepting you for who you are. The man you’ve secretly crushed on since you were a teenager.
Truth and truth.
And I’d dared myself to go farther, so cowering in the storage room was just pathetic.
With a deep breath, I marched back out. The box I’d left him with was halfway done, his sprawling handwriting jotted down next to my neat notes on the inventory sheet.
He flicked me a glance, minus the frown, when I arrived next to him. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ I answered a little sharply.
Despite my terse response, he didn’t probe further.
Still unable to meet his gaze, I looked over his shoulder and saw the crew preparing to leave. A mixture of anticipation and apprehension assailed me. So far Bryce and I were two for two on getting down and dirty when we were alone. And if I was honest with myself, that had partly informed my decision to dismiss my crew.
Plus after my first addictive dare last night, I had a feeling things were headed for the hot and heavy way sooner rather than later.
The moment the lift doors closed behind the crew my breath strangled somewhere in my lungs.
But Bryce seemed to have other ideas.
With a lazy gait that drew far too much attention to his powerful shoulders and streamlined body, he inspected the half-finished showroom and stopped at the platform.
‘Why the metal frames instead of traditional mannequins?’
‘Every season I pick one outfit that highlights my theme for the season. On launch day there will be a live model under a spotlight wearing it. The runway winds around the centrepiece and once the show finishes there will be a few models positioned strategically around the showroom. Using traditional mannequins would take attention away from the model. This way only the lingerie is on display making it easier to imagine an item of clothing on yourself.’
He nodded, his eyes gleaming as he eyed the platform and the metal frame. ‘Very effective. A stunning concept.’
I couldn’t stop myself from beaming at the compliment. ‘Thanks.’
He strolled back to where I stood and stared down at me for several seconds. ‘So you want to explain that look on your face when I walked in?’
I didn’t want to ruin the moment with thoughts of my myriad insecurities or, worse, my family. A little hypocritical considering I’d grilled him about his family last night, but, hey, I wasn’t perfect. ‘I’m more interested in what you brought in that bag with you.’
His speculative gaze didn’t lessen but he gave me a pass. ‘You can have it on one condition.’
My whole body tingled at the possibilities throbbing behind his huskily voiced statement. And the more we traded that charged, silent stare, the more intense that tingling grew. I knew my nipples had turned diamond-hard. That my breathing was erratic and my panties were damp.
‘Name it,’ I replied, my voice a husky mess.
He twirled an index finger around the room. ‘You let me stay to help with whatever you’re doing here after we eat.’
My lungs deflated. ‘Oh. Sure, if you want.’
He nodded, thankfully turning away before I crumbled in disappointment. I watched him pick up the bag, look around for a flat surface.
‘Here.’ I pulled over a thick plastic cover sheet the crew had been using and spread it out beneath the window. It was wide enough to seat both of us with space in between for our makeshift picnic.
Bryce smiled. ‘Perfect.’
He fetched the takeout bag, folded his large frame into one corner and extracted heavenly smelling food boxes from the insulated bag. The smell of miso soup and duck spring rolls made me groan.
His smile turned into a chuckle. ‘Sit down before you fall down with gratitude.’
I sat, folding my legs in a casual lotus pose that gave me closer access to the food.
Bryce glanced at my folded legs, then up at me. ‘I always found it fascinating how easily you can do that.’
‘Years spent as a yoga disciple will do that. You would be just as limber if you’d taken classes when I asked you to.’
He grimaced. ‘You know how much grief I’d have caught if my rugby team knew I was doing yoga on the side?’
I couldn’t help my own grin. ‘Point taken but we both know you have a devil-given talent for talking people into anything. I bet they’d have all taken up yoga if you’d encouraged it.’
His grimace turned wry. ‘You set too much store in my abilities. But you can feel free to strike the Downward-Facing Dog position for me when I have you naked.’
I was thankful I hadn’t taken a bite of my spring roll because I was sure I’d have choked to death. ‘Seriously, you need to give me a heads-up before you drop sex into our conversations.’
He looked at me as if I were certified. ‘Where’s the fun in that?’
‘Watching me choke to death is your idea of fun?’
‘I’m experienced in the Heimlich. Besides, some people find that sort of thing erotic.’
‘I don’t! Jesus. Bryce!’
This time he gave a full belly laugh, the sound and sight of him amused, even at my expense, so damned sexy I stopped breathing for a full ten seconds. Could our different path include this weirdly wonderful openness about sex where I’d desperately suppressed it before? My stomach flipped with excitement. As landscapes went, I wasn’t displeased about it. At all.
‘Calm down. I said some people, rosebud. I would very much prefer you present and conscious when we fuck. Miso soup?’
The hand I raised to accept the offering shook wildly. He saw it, smiled a little too smugly about it, and when his fingers lingered on mine, they told me he knew exactly what he was doing to me and was thoroughly enjoying ramping up my engine.
We ate the first course in silence, even while his gaze returned repeatedly to my folded legs.
‘Don’t get any ideas. I’m not doing a headstand during sex or anything that sends my blood rushing in the opposite direction of where it needs to be.’
Gleaming eyes captured mine. ‘Don’t worry, the rush will be exactly where it needs to be.’
I wanted to ask him to elaborate but I was a sucker for delayed gratification. An abysmal sex life where the act was over before I could count the minutes on one hand had a way of doing that to a girl.
So I spooned rice and spicy broccoli onto a plastic plate, separated my chopsticks and took a few mouthfuls. ‘Since you’re in a better mood, will you tell me more about this building?’
‘Are you hoping to distract me into not talking about sex? Have you forgotten my m
ultitasking skills?’
I hadn’t forgotten a single thing about Bryce Mortimer, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. ‘The building, Bryce. Why mixed use and not a full hotel?’
He shrugged, letting me change the subject. ‘Because regardless of our prime position and status, it’d be foolish to compete with six other five-star hotels within a quarter-mile radius. Instead of being labelled one thing, having a multipurpose function keeps it vibrant in the long term.’
I nodded. ‘Like blood pumping through a central nervous system.’
He raised a brow. ‘Are we back to talking about body parts and rushes, rosebud?’
Heat crept up my face. ‘You’re incorrigible.’
‘And you hate that, I’m sure,’ he mocked.
I didn’t and he knew it. Every second I spent in Bryce’s company reminded me of everything I’d missed about him. And right alongside it I was learning new things about him. Like the pride in his voice when he spoke about his building, one of the most innovative in the Northern Hemisphere. The way he paused for a considered millisecond before answering a question. Hell, the way his eyes darkened dramatically when he was turned on.
The intensity and angst surrounding our first sexual encounter had left me with little time to fully appreciate a sexually charged Bryce.
Now my heart thumped wildly with anticipation. All the same, I tried to remain on less risqué ground and knew I was failing even before I opened my mouth after another few mouthfuls of delicious rice. ‘And why this particular design?’
His grin was a little strained. ‘A nod to the female form? Gideon and I came up with the idea.’
I didn’t hide my surprise. ‘Gideon?’
He nodded tightly. ‘We were supposed to build it together, even after he took the CEO job back in London. Damian, my cousin, was supposed to be involved too.’
‘What happened?’
A muscle ticced in his jaw. ‘What always happens. Family crap. Gideon went radio-silent and Damian relocated to New York. All I got was a memo stating that the project was now solely mine. So I made changes, starting with the name.’
The words were tossed out but I knew its effect ran deep. That the strain between brother and cousin had contributed to hardening Bryce even further.
‘Anyway, architecturally it was challenging to combine form and functionality with beauty and one hundred per cent green sustainability. I’d like to think it turned out well. Sexy, even?’ His grin was back, the shadow cast by his family temporarily thrown off.
I let that go. ‘You achieved all four, hence all the awards you’ve been lapping up.’
He deftly tossed a cashew nut into his mouth with his chopsticks and chewed while his gaze rested on me. ‘You’ve been keeping tabs on me.’
‘You may have written me off but I didn’t do the same to you.’
All signs of amusement evaporated from his face but before he turned sideways to grab the bottle of mineral water, I caught a different expression. One that made my insides flip.
‘Did you keep tabs on me, Bryce?’ I asked brazenly, because to hell with holding back with this man. He drove me crazy enough as it was. I wasn’t going to add one more mystery to the equation.
He took his time to twist the cap off the bottle. To take a long drink with his gaze boldly on mine. I was twisting with desire by the time he lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘So what if I did? You setting the world on fire was kinda hard to miss. Kudos on that, by the way.’
I was torn between melting with pleasure at the second compliment in ten minutes and abject curiosity. The latter won out. ‘Thanks. But why?’
‘You know why,’ he fired back with nary a raised voice. ‘Isn’t the one who got away supposed to be the most interesting?’
The melting slowed. ‘Sex? You’re reducing this to sex?’
He speared a piece of broccoli. ‘Didn’t we agree that it would be simpler that way?’
‘No, we agreed on a different path, not a simpler, sex-based one.’
‘And you agreed to my terms. Don’t change your mind now. And don’t act all hurt because I won’t let you change the rules.’
‘God, I really hate you sometimes, you know that?’
‘No, because you don’t. You want to pick yet another emotion to hide behind because you’re afraid of this one.’
‘Oh, fuck you, Bryce.’
He leaned forward into my space, his gorgeous lips curved in a sexy smile as his gaze raked my face. ‘Finally, something we both agree on. I hope tomorrow still works for you because I’ve cleared my whole day for you, rosebud.’
I surged to my feet, my emotions too wild to contain. Stalking to the window, I stared blindly at the view, my thoughts scattered to the wind.
Behind me, I heard him rise, heard the crinkle of containers as he gathered the leftovers. His footsteps receded for a minute before they returned.
I didn’t need to look to know he was directly behind me. Firm hands arrived on my waist, drawing me back into his body, and fool that I was, I went. ‘You can scream if you want to, get it all out of your system,’ he whispered in my ear.
I dropped my head and let out a long, frustrated growl. The movement of his chest told me he was laughing at me.
‘Guess I should count myself lucky that you still don’t believe in violence, huh?’ he mused.
‘Heads-up, I’ve been taking Krav Maga classes. Keep it up and I’ll kick your arse into tomorrow.’
Laughter ceased abruptly.
He propelled me around to face him, and I looked up into his fevered scrutiny. ‘Any particular reason why you needed self-defence classes?’ he asked tightly.
I shook my head before the volcano in his eyes could erupt. ‘It’s nothing like that. Dan didn’t...abuse me.’
The clench of his jaw said he begged to differ. And I couldn’t argue with that. The dirty laundry of my divorce had been publicised for the world to see. Bryce probably knew to the penny how much Dan had screwed me over for. How fraught and acrimonious the whole sorry saga had been, starting with his bid to become majority shareholder.
Terse silence stretched between us until he dropped his hand and stepped back. ‘Do you want to get the rest of this sorted?’ He waved a hand at the rest of the boxes.
A little relieved that we’d stepped back from the edge, I nodded.
For the next hour we worked in relative peace, a silent moratorium placed on volatile subjects.
When we were done, he went to dispose of the boxes, then sauntered over to where I stood, staring at the platform.
‘You good?’ he asked gently.
I nodded, a little apprehensive of what happened next now we had no inventory to distract us. I jumped a little when he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His lingering touch sent a bolt of electricity through me. ‘Thanks for giving me a hand.’
‘My pleasure. Would you like a lift back to your place?’
I shook my head. ‘I brought my car.’
‘Okay, then I’m going to leave you alone now.’
Sharper disappointment lanced through me. The urge to tell him not to wait till tomorrow, that I’d happily see him when I was done with my dinner, rose to the tip of my tongue. He spoke before I could voice my desire.
‘But I want you to do something for me.’
‘Yes?’ God, could I sound needier?
He stepped closer and replaced his fingers with his mouth, caught my earlobe gently between his teeth. ‘I’m dying to see what you look like in these stunning pieces you’ve created. I want you to model them for me, privately. Starting tomorrow.’
I gave a little laugh through the delicious shivers coursing through my body.
‘The Voluttuoso collection has over a hundred individual designs this season alone. No way will I have th
e time or the inclination to model each one for you in three weeks.’
‘It’s more like four weeks, but I get your point. Fine, show me the range and I’ll choose.’
I grabbed my tablet, called up the right page and handed it to him. He slanted me a smug, sexy smile. ‘Thanks.’
I waited on pins and needles as he scrolled through the entire collection at his leisure. After a few minutes, he whistled. ‘Seriously, Savvie, these are fantastic.’
I wasn’t sure which touched me more, his use of the shortened name my family never deigned to use despite my stated wish or his warm acknowledgement of my achievement. I chose both. ‘Thank you, Bryce.’
His head snapped up. Our gazes collided. For a moment there was only deep pride and warm friendship in his gaze. Then his gaze dropped to my mouth, stayed, his hazel eyes growing darker as my tongue darted out, slowly licked before pulling my lower lip between my teeth.
I couldn’t have stated more blatantly that I wanted him if I’d shouted it from the top of his building. His eyes flashed back to mine before dropping to the tablet. ‘This one.’ His voice was thick and so was the pressure behind his trousers when I desperately sought that final confirmation, making me swallow and yearn for another taste of what I’d experienced last night.
‘If you want to make your dinner you need to stop looking at me like that and engage verbally with me so I can leave you alone.’
I dragged my gaze from his crotch and squinted at the tablet.
‘There are twenty-seven outfits in that collection.’
‘Perfect. Do you have express delivery?’
‘Of course.’
‘Excellent.’
The next three minutes were spent in charged silence as he filled his online cart with every item off the playsuits and bodysuits range. A few more clicks and he handed the tablet back with a thoroughly satisfied smirk.
Altogether the collection, which included a rose-and-platinum-gold chain playsuit with diamond-encrusted nipple studs that was worth eleven thousand pounds, came to over twenty-five thousand pounds.