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“If we’re going to work together, then you need to know I take my job very seriously,” she says. The muscles in her throat work as she swallows, an intoxicating mix of sincerity, ferocity and lust swirling in her eyes. “This is my dream, Rowan. And not to make a terrible pun, but thisisn’ta game to me.”
“You think this is for me?” I sweep my hand in front of me to indicate the gallery. “Here’s a hard truth—plenty of art galleries don’t make a substantial amount of money. The fact that Dom and I have turned this into a lucrative business is testament to how seriously we take this. This isn’t a game for us, either.”
Okay, so that came out a little more intense than I wanted it to. Emery blinks, but I see the exact moment the penny drops.
“You do it for your mum,” she says, telling rather than asking.
“I do it for my family. I know Dom and Glen want to adopt a kid one day and my dad is getting older, so he won’t be able to do metalwork forever.” I shrug. “My sales ability is important for this family. It’s how I contribute.”
Even as I say the words, there’s a sour taste in my mouth. It’s ironic that my greatest skill isn’t one I wanted to nurture as a kid. I was the artistic one—always toting around charcoals and sketching pencils and my art books. I went into my fine arts degree with bright eyes and dreams of following in my father’s footsteps.
But all those dreams have been slowly choked to death.
“Okay, deal.” Emery sticks her hand out and I clasp it with mine. The shock that ripples through me is far stronger than I anticipate. There’s something about this woman—this prickly, distrusting, skittish woman—that turns my body molten hot. “We can bebusinesspartners.”
“What’s with the emphasis on business? Don’t you trust me to keep my hands to myself?”
Emery’s eyes drop to where I’m still holding her hand in mine. “I’m not sure how to answer that.”
I catch her gaze hard and she doesn’t look away. “I don’t put my hands on a woman unless she wants them there, period. But I have a feeling your hesitation is more about the second part of that equation.”
“I don’t want it.” She yanks her hand back and tips her nose up at me. “I’m sure that must come as a shock to someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” I try to stifle the smirk, I really do. But Emery’s cheeks flush so quickly I can’t help but relish having the upper hand—again, no pun intended.
“A consummate salesman.”
“I don’t have to sell a damn thing. The goods sell themselves, as you’rewellaware.”
“Let’s get one thing straight,” she says, jabbing me in the chest.Oh, she’s fiery now!“I’m here because I see the business opportunity, and my business is my life. Secondly, if I’d thought for onesecondthat you were the guy in the Batman costume, I wouldn’t have even considered...”
Watching her squirm is possibly the best thing in the world.
“Considered what?” I ask, offering her a falsely innocent smile.
“Doing stuff.”
“Like what?”
She huffs. “You know what we did.”
“Oooh, that.” I rub a hand over my jaw. “You mean, you getting down on your knees and sucking my cock.”
Emery looks like her head is about to explode. Okay, sure, it’s probablynotthe best approach to completely taunt the person I want to do business with. But I can’t help it—(a) it’s too much fun and (b) I know I’ve already got her hook, line and sinker.
“You’re an asshole.” She folds her arms across her chest.
“And you’re the one who’s turning it into a bigger deal than it needs to be. We almost got busy. Who the hell cares?” I shrug. “People fuck every day. We both wanted it at the time, and it’s not like either one of us knew who the other was going in...”
I’m so tempted to add athat’s what she saidto the end of that sentence, but I am seriously worried Emery might actually explode and turn my office into a bad rendition of a Jackson Pollock painting.
“The fact that you’re so uncomfortable about it is more telling than the act itself,” I point out.
Her mouth hangs open. “What’sthatsupposed to mean?”
“You’re uncomfortable with sex. It’s the same thing that drove you to come pounding on my door when you heard a little grunting.”
“I’mnotuncomfortable with sex.” She shakes her head. “I am totally fine with sex.”
