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Nita scowled, but she couldn't help the fluttering feeling in her stomach that Ryder's smile gave her. Or his big, muscled body so close to hers. She swallowed the fluttering down, hopefully without it being too obvious.
“I’m being serious when I say I don’t want to work with a misogynist,” she stated.
“Whoa, there. I don’t hate women,” Ryder defended, his tone softening. “Do you seriously think that after last night?”
“Sex and hating women aren’t mutually exclusive,” she said, the memory of Luke creeping into her brain.
She knew firsthand how easy it was to be distracted by sex while some toxic deviant got their hooks into you. And she’d always been addicted to bad boys. The badder the better. The memory of her huge mistake with Luke had made the tattoo on her right breast burn.
“Look, I think women are amazing. Not that there aren’t some bad ones, just like there are bad men. But you. Well, what I know about you so far is pretty cool,” he said, and gave her a generic smile that had her eyes narrowing.
“Why do I smell bullshit in every word?” she asked, leaning away even as he angled toward her.
“It’s just that remembering last night has me thinking about how we could find a good footing to work together,” he explained.
“Oh, really?” she mocked.
“What if we, you know, get it out of our system before I have to start this job? I know I’m wondering what it feels like to be inside you, and you must be—”
Nita's eyes widened in what she hoped was a realistically shocked expression. “Are you serious?”
“Completely,” Ryder said with a grin. “Think about it. We're obviously attracted to each other. I’m already thinking about laying you down in this cart and peeling that dress off you. I’m just going to keep having thoughts like that, and it will probably get in the way of the job I have to do.”
Even though she was ninety percent sure he was joking, her mouth went dry. She couldn’t deny that the idea of having sex with him again was tempting, sooooo tempting. But it would break one of her firm rules of never having sex with someone she knew. And her newer rule of avoiding guys who were totally her bad-boy type.
“Not gonna happen,” she replied, having to press a hand against his shoulder when he kept hovering closer. The muscle under his jacket was hard as rock. “I keep sex separate from my personal life.”
“Sure, keep it separate from your personal life. But why keep sex separate from work? I mean, you work at a sex club. Having sex should be a requirement,” he cajoled.
The smell of his body under his cologne was making it hard to decipher if his persistence was serious or not. Because she was hoping he was being serious.
As if sensing her confusion, he leaned harder against her hand.
“Come on, Nita,” Ryder said, his voice dropping to a seductive murmur. The joking light in his eyes shifted to something more intense. “It'll be our little secret. No one has to know.”
Nita felt her resolve weakening. He was so fucking hot, and she couldn't deny the way her panties were dampening.
She pushed with both hands on his shoulders, sliding out of the cart and grabbing her bulky purse before it could hit the ground.
“We should go inside,” she muttered, shouldering her bag and walking up to the door. She swiped her bracelet against the sensor and pulled on the handle when she heard the motorized click.
“By all means,” he agreed, sounding disappointed.
She held the door for him, letting it slam closed once he was inside.
Overhead, lights flickered on, illuminating a stony, barren lobby. The walls had been carved out of the rock and the cement floor gleamed, polished to a high gloss.
She walked over to the black metal desk, the only barrier between them and the elevator at the back. Her heels rang, filling the room with echoing punches like a hammer driving a spike.
Setting her bag down, she turned to face Ryder, who was on a trajectory to the elevator.
“Were you bullshitting me or do you want to fuck?” she asked, pleased when her words stopped him cold.
9
It took Ryder a minute to realize she was serious. That was the minute it took her to undo the bow at her neck and unzip her dress from behind.
“Are you sure this is private?” he asked, looking into the corners of the room and seeing a camera in one. He didn’t see a light on it, though.
