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How the hell am I going to concentrate after this?
I glance down at his fingers, squeezing his leg a little harder. “We should get some air,” I say after a moment. I am going to combust if we don’t.
He nods, finishing up his coffee. “Just give me a moment,” he says.
I know he’s turned on, too, and can’t walk out of here sporting an enormous bulge in his pants. So, I prattle on about the house I’m going to be bidding on while we contain ourselves. I figure talking about work is a good distraction to take the heat away from our hot little hands all over each other at the table.
When we get up to leave, he takes my hand and leads me back out into the Miami heat. It’s a beautiful day. Too nice to sit indoors… or for working.
I feel the jolt of excitement from his touch, and from the fact we barely know each other, but we’re acting like we’ve known each other forever. This is how it feels around him. I can’t explain it.
We walk down the alleyway between the cafe and the next row of shops, knowing I need to get him alone, but I don’t know where to go.
“There’s a bench over there we could sit at,” I say to him, pointing to the small park opposite the auction house, as he rubs his thumbs over my knuckles. I feel the tenderness of his touch all over me just from that. “Not that it’s very private.”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
He squeezes my hand and guides me straight across to the auction house, even though there’s a while to go before the auction starts. We mount the steps, and we walk right inside.
“What are you doing?” I ask quizzically.
“You’ll see.”
We walk up to the receptionist, who is clearly an ice hockey fan, as her eyes light up when she sees Ashton.
“Good morning,” she breathes, not even looking at me.
I want to laugh out loud.
“Hi,”—Ashton looks down at her name badge— “Emma… I’m here for the auction with my realtor, Maddison.” He nods down at me, and I smile like an imbecile, wondering what the hell he’s even doing. “We’re a bit early, but I need to make a couple of calls. Is there a private conference room we could use?”
Holy shit. They’re never going to agree to that, even if he is Ashton Rivers.
My eyes nearly bug out of my head when she agrees. “Of course, no problem at all. I thought you looked familiar,” she gushes.
Ashton grins an award-winning smile. “I play a little hockey here and there.”
She laughs. I laugh. We all laugh.
“I thought as much. Follow me,” she says, leading us left down a long corridor.
There’s a room on either side. I know the auction room is in the other direction right at the end of the building.
“That’s brilliant, Emma. Thank you for that,” Ashton says as we walk.
There’s no way they’d be letting anyone in here before the auction normally. I mean, would they? I guess we’ll never know.
“No problem, Mr. Rivers, isn’t it?” She finally looks at me. I can’t blame the girl. I have my eyes all over him as well.
“Call me Ashton,” he says with a smile.
CHAPTER 10
Ashton
The minute I see her, I’m gung-ho. I need to be alone with her. And not even to get into her panties; I just don’t want to share her with the world right now.
It also turns me on that we’re inside the auction house where her big day is about to unfold. I don’t want her hanging around the outskirts; she needs to be in and amongst the action. I’m not trying to whisk her away and have my way with her, though that would be nice; I can see she’s nervous about today, so I don’t want to add any further pressure. Her mind is probably already working overtime.
