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“They includes you.” And me. While I didn’t believe romance was truly that straightforward, there were a lot of days I wished it was. I’d love a checklist, telling me exactly what to do, say, and look for, so I’d know if I was spending time with the right person. Then again, Do you work for him? would have a big fat 1 next to it, telling me to back off.
Luke shook his head. “I wasn’t born a geek. I’m not one of them.”
“One of us.”
“Not you. You’re different.”
My breath caught from the way he looked at me, holding me with that deep, seductive gaze. I shook the lust aside... mostly. “Because I have tits?”
“Because you don’t think the way they do. You know we’ve got people on the team who won’t be able to process this new storyline. Linear is great for programming from specs, but sometimes sucks for troubleshooting, and it definitely doesn’t work for falling in love.”
The game had a twist. A bigger one than we ever included. Fewer than ten of us had been told how all the pieces fit together. “That would explain the blue screen of death when The X finally takes off his mask for the first time.”
Luke put one hand over his heart, took my hand with the other, and held my gaze. “Art”—his voice dropped an octave and addressed me with the one of the game character’s names—“I have to tell you something. I... I...” He stopped, eyes wide and expression frozen.
“I know. I’ve always—” I struggled to stay in character and not smile, as I waved my hand in front of his face. “Are you listening?”
Luke didn’t move.
He didn’t so much as blink.
I snapped my fingers. “Hello?”
He finally focused on me. “Give me a plasma rifle in the 40-watt range,” he said in a near-perfect Schwarzenegger-as-The-Terminator voice.
And now I was giggling again. I wouldn’t let it get out of control. I wouldn’t.
I managed to stop laughing long enough to talk. “All right, Romeo. If the problem is us geeks don’t know how to write romance, how are you going to woo your in-game love interest?”
“Not Romeo. Gomez. As in Adams.”
Seriously? I raised my eyebrows. “And that’s going to work for you?”
“Oh, cara mia.” Luke brushed a thumb over my knuckles.
A gasp rose in my throat. It was just a touch. Nothing special. Nothing more significant than he’d been doing all night.
“How long has it been since we waltzed?” As always, his accent was dead on. He tugged me from my spot at the end of his desk, spun us in a fluid circle, and dipped me.
Fucking dipped me, without dropping me. My giggle died when I saw the intensity in his gaze.
“I would die for you. I would kill for you. Either way, what bliss.” He pressed his lips to mine.
The rest of the world vanished. Whimper.
Did I do that out loud?
I kissed him back. His lips were soft, but his mouth was hard and demanding, and crushed into mine while he straightened us.
He tightened his arm around my waist, and my body molded to his like they were meant to fit together. Each nibble across my lips and hungry swipe of his tongue made my pulse pound harder in my ears. Had I ever been kissed like this?
It didn’t matter. At this moment, nothing else existed. I dragged my nails up his back, wanting to feel everything. His groan when he pressed into me, his erection digging into my hip, was as intoxicating as fine whiskey.
He pulled away and put some distance between us. “I’m sorry.”
My heart skipped, tripped, and landed flat on its face. “For what? Kissing me?” There was no way to keep from sounding hurt. I didn’t just read a kiss wrong, did I?
“No. Definitely not.” Luke reached for me but dropped his hand. “But I’m your boss. That’s it. I quit.”
