His Temptation (X Enterprises Book 4)

by Tanya Gallagher

  Sophie rolled her eyes. “Right. You’re helping people.”

  Avery nodded and caught his eye. “In fairness, if you’re helping people, I guess I am too.” She took on a teasing tone. “At the end of the day, it’s all about pleasure, right?”

  Geoff grinned, his chest lightening. “Right. I’m pro-pleasure, and that makes me pro-sex toys, too.”

  Avery laughed, and Geoff reached for one of the beers he’d set on the table and offered it to her. She cracked it open and wrapped her lips around the mouth, her neck long and graceful as she swallowed.

  Geoff tore his gaze away, back to the screen where Chris Hemsworth’s face was frozen in a grimace. “Anyway,” he continued, cutting his eyes at Sophie, “maybe Avery will be the one to corrupt me.”

  Beside him, Avery choked on a swallow of beer as his sister muttered, “Unlikely.”

  Avery tried to recover, pulling herself back together and dabbing at her mouth with the back of her hand. She set her beer on the table and slid the pizza box closer to her. “So, who’s hungry?”

  “Me!” Sophie crowed.

  “Geoff?” Avery didn’t meet his eye as she opened the lid. “Are you in or are you out?”

  The smell of sauce and cheese wafted through the room, and Geoff’s stomach growled.

  Why the hell not?

  He grinned and reached for a plate. “Well, since you both asked so nicely, I’ll stay.”

  Chapter 3

  “Are you spying on the morning production meeting?”

  Avery pulled her eyes away from the conference room that she—yep, definitely—had been peering into, and whirled to face the source of the sing-song voice. “Naomi! What are you doing here?” Her heart skittered in her chest.

  The X Enterprises receptionist lifted her coffee cup and grinned. “It’s almost ten, and I’m still at least a cup of coffee short of my ideal caffeination level.” She reached for the break room’s coffee pot and filled her mug. Then she turned and narrowed her eyes at Avery. “Like I said, are you spying?”

  Avery’s cheeks flushed. “Nope. I just need to catch Jeremy before he gets pulled into another meeting.”

  “You might want to work on your subtlety.” Naomi gestured over Avery’s shoulder at the clear glass walls of the conference room. “That being said, your timing might have worked out in your favor.”

  The X Enterprises headquarters in downtown Seattle was a case study in perfect branding. The offices dominated the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in the city, and everything about them screamed sex appeal, from the dark marble floors and the sleek, tasteful portraits of nudes hung gallery-style along the hallways, to the interior glass walls that allowed natural light to stream in. The glass also provided convenient opportunities to check in on the whereabouts of your coworkers. If you could be smooth about it.

  Avery followed Naomi’s gaze to the conference room, where the morning meeting seemed to be adjourning. Her coworkers in Sales and Accounting moved toward the door, notebooks and pens in hand.

  “Thanks, Naomi,” Avery said. “Are we still on for lunch?”

  Naomi nodded, and Avery lifted her coffee cup and stepped out into the hall. She intercepted Jeremy Glass, the X Enterprises founder and CEO, just before he made it into his corner office.

  “Jeremy, do you have a quick second? I had a new PR opportunity I wanted to run by you.” Avery clutched her coffee cup, grateful for the steadying warmth of the ceramic. She’d always liked Jeremy, but between his power and his good looks, he could be kind of intimidating at times.

  Jeremy’s handsome face brightened, and he raked a hand through his dark blond locks. “Actually, I’m glad you stopped me. I have something I wanted to discuss with you as well.” He glanced at his wristwatch, an expensive-looking hunk of platinum. “I’ve got about twenty minutes now, as long as you don’t mind me making a quick phone call first.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Jeremy waved her into his office and gestured for her to sit in one of the executive chairs across the desk from him.

  Avery perched on the edge of the chair and set her cup down on the wide, wood surface of his desk while he reached for his phone.

  “Vanessa? Any chance you can join me and Avery in my office?” Jeremy grinned. “Yes. About that thing.”

  Avery’s stomach knotted. Vanessa, Jeremy’s fiancée, was the head of the charity contributions committee, but Avery couldn’t imagine what the two of them would need to talk to her about together.

  Jeremy returned the phone to its cradle and smiled at her. “While we’re waiting for Vanessa, tell me what you have.”

  Avery cleared her throat, her heart thumping. “Right. Well, I ran into an old friend this weekend, and he happens to be the personality behind How to Hook a Hottie. It’s a podcast for men in our target demographic, and the show is all about giving the audience tips and tricks for improving your love life. My friend invited me to be on the show as an industry expert, and I suggested we discuss the ways that using sex toys with a partner can benefit your relationship.”

  Jeremy nodded, a smile on his face. “I like where you’re going with this, Avery. I think it’s a great idea.”

  “You do?” She sat back in her chair, caught between excitement that she’d impressed Jeremy and a little dread. She’d secretly been hoping that Jeremy would say no and let her off the hook. Because getting on the air with Geoff could be a recipe for disaster, given that she could barely think straight around him, let alone talk.

  But now she was in it.

  “I do.”

  Goody.

  “Great,” she said, her voice weak. “But are you sure it shouldn’t be Everett? He’s awesome at promoting user experiences.”

  Jeremy shook his head. “No, it should be you. You’re the one with the connection. That camaraderie will be great.” He rapped his knuckles on the edge of his desk. “I’ll even have Vanessa wrangle up a bunch of toys for you to bring along.”

  “What am I bringing?” a teasing voice asked from the doorway.

  Avery turned in her chair as Vanessa Reese entered the office and closed the door behind her. Petite and dark-haired with kind eyes, Vanessa was a powerhouse of a woman—one apparently strong enough to bring even Jeremy Glass to his knees. The diamond ring he’d given her last January sparkled on her finger, a reminder that happily ever after was possible, even with an against-the-rules office romance.

  Jeremy smiled at his fiancée. “Avery just pitched me a podcast opportunity where she’ll go on air to promote some of our toys. If you can find a bunch of couple-friendly ones, that would be great.”

  Vanessa nodded and sank into the chair next to Avery. “I’m on it.” She turned to Avery. “You’ve really been kicking butt on the whole marketing thing, and Jeremy and I wanted to say thank you.”

  Avery’s mouth flopped open. “Yeah, of course. I love my job.”

  Vanessa grinned. “Good, because we were hoping you might be able to help out on another assignment.”

  “Oh?” Avery sat forward in her seat. “Do we have a new announcement for the charity contributions branch? Or a new product to unveil?”

  Vanessa and Jeremy exchanged a glance, and Jeremy cleared his throat. “Actually, it’s something a little more personal.” He rubbed a thumb over his lower lip, and a crease formed between his eyes. “I’m not sure how much you were aware of it, but when word of our engagement was announced, it became something of a media firestorm.”

  Avery winced. She’d seen the magazine headlines—X Enterprises CEO to wed employee. And some of the less forgiving ones—Can this sweet social worker tame the infamous sex toy CEO? Let’s hope this marriage doesn’t crash and burn.

  Media firestorm was a nice way to put it. Avery would have said shit show.

  “I saw a few things,” she hedged.

  Jeremy nodded. “We’d like to do things a little differently when we announce the wedding.”

  Vanessa laughed lightly. “We didn’t q
uite anticipate how many people would care about our engagement. We’re hoping you can help us draft an announcement that will satisfy the press but let us maintain a little privacy as well.”

  Avery nodded, her chest light. “I can do that. Are you going to announce a wedding date?”

  “No.” Vanessa shook her head. “We’ll send the announcement to the press the day before, but that’s it. Nothing so far in advance that we’ll get too much attention. We want to do a fairly quiet ceremony and reception where our friends and family can enjoy each other without worrying about a media circus.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Avery smiled at Jeremy and Vanessa. “I’ll run everything by you, but I’d be happy to help.”

  “Thank you.” Vanessa’s face softened. “And Avery, the invites aren’t out yet, but we’d love it if you’d come. As far as guests from the office go, it’ll be mostly managers, but you’d have a big part in this day.”

  Avery couldn’t help the way her smile grew. “Really?” Hell yes, sign her up for a fancy wedding. There was nothing like a solid party to make her feel like all was right in the world. Vanessa nodded, and Avery pressed a hand to her chest. “I’d be honored.”

  They wrapped up a few details, and Vanessa promised to bring a few toys to Avery for Geoff’s show. Then Avery slipped back to her desk, her stride confident as she made her way through the glass hallways. Her job really was the best, and days like today made her feel like she could take on the world.

  Avery dropped into her chair, and her phone buzzed with an incoming text message. She reached for it, and her pulse quickened when she saw Geoff’s name appear on the screen. Despite the fact that she’d known him for ten years, their relationship had always been a periphery one. She’d met Sophie freshman year of high school when Geoff was already a senior, but she was Sophie’s best friend. Geoff may have been Sophie’s brother, but Avery and Geoff had never exchanged contact information until this past weekend.

  Avery’s fingers had burned when she’d handed Geoff her phone to enter in his phone number and email address, and her face had heated when he slipped on that lazy, confident grin.

  Hey, Cheese Girl, I was just working on my content calendar, he sent now. Any luck running things by your boss?

  Still Cheese Girl? she texted back.

  Should I call you Vibrator Girl instead?

  She groaned. You could try Avery.

  That’s got a nice ring to it. She could picture Geoff’s grin, and her stomach fluttered. So, Avery? he wrote. Any luck?

  She blew out a deep breath. Actually, yes. You have perfect timing. I got the thumb’s up, and we’re on.

  Great. I usually record on Wednesdays. Can you carve out some time for me this week?

  Avery swallowed a spike of panic. She was so much better at writing press releases than doing on-air interviews. Writing was easy. On paper, you got do-overs. In real life, not so much. In real life, when you told a guy you were thirsty, he didn’t think you wanted a drink of water, he thought you were desperate for his junk.

  Avery sighed and typed her reply. I’ll make it happen. She had to. Jeremy had insisted.

  Chapter 4

  The doorbell rang, and Geoff forced himself to wait an extra minute before answering it, trying to hide the fact that he’d been sweating and staring at the door for the last ten minutes. Seeing Avery again shouldn’t have made him so agitated, but he was. Maybe because Avery now was somehow so different from Avery back in high school. But also kind of the same in all the best ways.

  He swung open his apartment door and smiled. “Avery, you made it. Cheese Girl strikes again.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Careful, Rock. Call me that again, and Cheese Girl might strike with her hands and not just her mouth.”

  He grinned. “I wouldn’t mind if you struck with your mouth.”

  She groaned, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. “And to think, there are girls who fall for this.”

  “It’s nice to see you too, Ave.” Geoff leaned around the giant box she was carrying to hug her, and his body sparked at the touch. She was soft and warm against his skin, and when he bent closer to whisper in her ear, her shampoo smelled like strawberries. “But you’ve been spending too much time around my sister.”

  Avery stepped back, the blush of her cheeks ever so slightly warmer in color than her makeup. Making her squirm was just as much fun as he remembered.

  Avery cleared her throat and tightened her grip on the box. “Don’t worry—I like to form my own opinions. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt if you behave.”

  “I appreciate that, Cheese Girl.”

  “Cheese Girl again? I’m not taking the bait.” She shook her head with a smile. “So, what’s the game plan, Rock?”

  “You should probably show me what’s in the box, and then we’ll dive right in.” Geoff cocked his head at her, surveying her form-fitting gray dress and high heels. She looked good. Professional but sexy as hell. “You’re still okay with the fact that we live-stream the video feed at the same time that we record the audio, right?”

  Avery nodded. “I appreciate the head’s up on that. Wouldn’t have wanted to show up in my old college sweatshirt.”

  “Go, Travelers.”

  She brightened. “You remembered I went to USC?”

  “How could I not? I was jealous of all that sunshine.” He’d never admit it to her, but Geoff had thought about Avery in California a lot in the years he’d lived on the East Coast, especially on days when New York was covered in enough snow to make him question why the hell he’d ended up there. She seemed like the only smart one among them, escaping to adventures in warm, sunny places, although now they were both back in the Seattle gloom, so there was that.

  Avery grinned at him, and he took the box from her hands. “Let’s go get started,” he said.

  Geoff led Avery through his apartment, and behind him, she let out a low whistle.

  “Nice place.”

  He glanced around the apartment. “I’ve only been here for a few weeks, so I’m not totally unpacked yet. But thanks. It’s got two bedrooms. One for me, one for my studio.”

  “Wow. Looks like you’re really moving up in life.”

  He caught her eye and smiled. “Yeah, well, after my shoebox of an apartment in New York, anything would be an improvement.”

  He cracked open the studio door and set Avery’s box of sex toys on the desk that took over the far wall of the room. He’d angled the desk to face out the window so he’d have the benefit of natural lighting for the video portion of his podcast. The view from his Capitol Hill apartment never got old—from here he could see not only the leafy, tree-lined streets of his neighborhood but all the way to downtown Seattle, where huge, glistening buildings stretched into the sky. At night the panorama glittered, and when he added in the fact that he could walk to everything from bars and restaurants to the grocery store, it just sweetened the deal.

  Geoff pulled out a chair for Avery, and she sat down, smoothing the skirt of her dress. “Okay, Mrs. Claus, what did you bring me?” he asked.

  She grinned and reached into her box. She pulled out a few silicone vibrators, and the sight of her holding a bunch of sex toys made his lips part. Definitely not his little sister’s best friend. She was so much more.

  “We’ve got a few toys for couples—a remote-controlled vibrator for fun out on the town, an insertable vibrator that a woman can wear during intercourse, and of course a cock ring or two.”

  Geoff licked his lips, his throat dry. “Of course.” He shrugged like it was an everyday thing to have a beautiful woman giving him the run-down on adult products.

  He rolled out the desk chair next to Avery’s and sat down, waking his computer. While his recording program loaded on the screen, he grabbed a pair of recording headphones and moved back toward Avery.

  “May I?”

  She nodded, and he lowered the headphones onto her ears. He caught the way she sucked in a quick breath, and he smiled
to himself.

  “Are we good?” Geoff held up a thumb’s up sign and grinned as she flashed the okay back at him.

  He pulled on his own headphones and sat down next to her. Then he turned on the preview window to see what the video feed would display.

  “Normally my guests are remote,” he explained, “so I tend to do most of the video over Skype. But since you’re here, let’s see if we can fit in the same frame.”

  He pulled his chair closer to hers, and her slim shoulders—exposed in her sleeveless dress—brushed against his.

  A wave of heat ran through him.

  This would do.

  Geoff adjusted the camera until the screen showed both of them, side by side. He and Avery looked good together, her brown eyes and delicate features a compliment to his dark coloring, her feminine curves a contrast to the muscle he’d earned through years of Crossfit workouts.

  “You ready?”

  She sucked in a breath and smiled. “Let’s do it. This. Let’s do this. The podcast.” She slapped a hand over her mouth and blushed.

  This was going to be fun.

  Geoff cued the intro music, and it piped through their headphones. As it faded out, he began speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen, friends near and far, welcome back to How to Hook a Hottie. This week I’m joined by special guest, Avery Beech—” He caught himself about to use her Cheese Girl name, and she bit back a grin. He cleared his throat. “Miss Avery Beeker. She’s the PR guru over at X Enterprises, one of the hottest adult products manufacturers in the country.”

  “In the world, actually,” she said with a wink for the camera.

  He swallowed his surprise. “I stand corrected. In the world. Today Avery’s going to talk with us about how and when to introduce sex toys in your relationship. Avery, can you tell us a little about who you are and how you got to where you are today?”

  She smiled. “First of all, thanks for having me on the show. As you mentioned, I’m the PR specialist for X Enterprises. I’ve been with the company ever since I got out of college, and it’s been incredible to be a part of growing the awareness about the use of sex toys. I think a lot of people tend to put them into the category of things they don’t talk about, but using sex toys and other adult products is a normal, healthy way to explore your sexuality, whether on your own or with a partner. The more pleasure you experience, the more you also get to take advantage of the side effects, like lowered heart rate and blood pressure, and reduced stress.”