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“Protecting the bikes and other vehicles will definitely be a plus.”
I add those in while we both eat, and I work.
“What’s the damage, Pixie?”
I blow out a breath. This is always the hardest part of working with an individual because of the sticker shock. More often than not, I’m forced back to the drawing board, slicing and dicing my original plans to fit the needs of my client while still keeping their wallets happy.
I turn my computer to show him the expense report with the full total at the very bottom. Maceo reads through it and takes a bite of his omelet before nodding. “Looks good to me. When do we start?”
I blink. There’s no way I heard him correctly. I quoted him for damn near five million dollars and he didn’t bat an eye. In a designer’s world, this is a dream come true. “Maceo, you did see the total, correct?”
He lowers his dark eyes to mine. “Yes, and after all the shit I made you add, it’s still under the number I had in the back of my head. Where do I sign?”
Holy fuck. I did it.I landed my first multimillion-dollar project, and I didn’t need to fight with my client to design it the way I wanted. I pull up the electronic contract, and he signs away his life on the dotted line.
He winks at me. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for the next few months.”
I’m giddy to the point I could kiss him. As if my body agrees with my subconscious, I catch myself leaning in. Maceo’s coal eyes go wide, and he wraps his arm around me, pulling me flush against him and meeting me halfway to seal the deal with his lips.
God, his kiss is like water in a desert, and I can’t stop drinking him in. His tongue skims across mine, and my libido jumps to new heights when his firm calloused hands are painfully perfect on my soft body. The musky scent of sex on his skin doesn’t cover up the woodsy scent underneath, and it all acts like kindling to the fire burning low inside of me.
How is it possible I’ve missed his soft lips against mine when they were on me an hour ago? Once again, he has me moaning, and he’s taking full advantage of my open mouth by dancing his tongue with mine.
I’m too caught up in the moment. It’s not until the diner erupts in claps and whistles from the other MC members that I recognize my mistake, and I violently pull away from him, pushing myself up and out of the circular booth.
Flustered, I grab my purse and laptop, before I remember I’m a damn professional. “I’ll email you the final details and your copy of the contract later today. If my contractor can get on board and have our crew lined up, we will be breaking ground next week. Start to finish should take four months, weather permitting.”
I spin on my heels and haul ass out the door. I’ve got my car door open and I’m throwing my shit into the passenger side when I’m spun around by my waist. Maceo slams my car door, pinning me up against it.
“Nu-uh, Pixie. You can’t run away this time,” Maceo says, pushing his chest against my small breasts, caging me in.
“I’m sorry. It was a mistake to kiss you back there,” I say, breathless.
Maceo runs his nose along the side of my neck, making my nipples go rock-hard and poke through my shirt. “A mistake,” he echoes. “We need to make more mistakes if they turn out like this morning.”
I gulp. “I don’t get involved with clients. I never have and never will. This morning at the preserve, I didn’t know who you were. But I agree the kiss in the diner was entirely my fault, and I take full responsibility. I apologize if I misled you, but I will not jeopardize this business deal. Therefore, I cannot be involved with you. Plus, I’m not interested.”
Maceo’s dark chuckle against my ear is his only response, and he pulls his face back to look in my eyes. My mind goes blank and I lean in. He covers the distance in a nanosecond and presses his lips against mine. More than anything, I want to continue this kiss, but this is wrong. I turn my head as I’m about to give in to him.
“Stop fighting this, Josephine,” he growls with a smoldering glare. “And don’t give me the ‘no client dating’ bullshit when you’re the one initiating everything with me.”
I balk. “I have not!”
“You made the first move on the trail, you kicked it off again when you leaned into me in the diner, and you just did it again here by your car. For someone who says she’s not interested, your actions say otherwise,” he counters, smug, ripping a hole through my delusion instantly.
Shit. He’s right. I am the one who started all of this.
I’m desperate now. I know my will is disintegrating the longer I’m connected to him, and I simply can’t allow it. My one and only relationship was a shitshow and my career is at risk. I cannot gamble on a high-risk relationship with a former Navy SEAL biker club president.
“I have another appointment,” I lie. He’s the only client I have right now.
Maceo’s eyes narrow at me suspiciously. He has no way of knowing if I’m lying or not, but the way his eyes are scrutinizing me, I’m not entirely sure he can’t tell.
I try a new approach. “Hades has a date with the groomers.” Not an appointment with a client, but one for my dog, which is totally true. He’s well overdue for a bath and nail trimming.
Maceo gives me a pointed look, like he’s calling me out on my bullshit, but he takes a step back from our embrace and opens the car door for me. I slide into the seat, jumping when he leans across me to buckle me in. The gesture is totally sweet, but completely inappropriate for the ‘no client relationship’ rule.
Before I can object, he breathes me in and presses his lips to my temple—fuck me if it doesn’t make me want to pull him into the car and have my way with him.
