“What?”
She shifted her eyes toward me.“Hearing you call me that.”
“It’s who you are to me.”
“Thank you.”
She peered at me for a protracted beat, something unspoken simmering between us.Then she turned back to the window, a smile still playing on her mouth.
The rest of the drive passed in comfortable silence, and soon the Atlanta skyline swallowed us in a wall of glass and noise.
After navigating through the typical Friday afternoon traffic in downtown, I turned into the garage beneath my building and punched in my code.The gate lifted and I steered toward my reserved spot.
With our bags in hand, I led Ariana toward the private elevator tucked behind a steel security door and keyed in the code before pressing my thumb to the scanner.
“A bit of overkill for an apartment building, don’t you think?”she teased at the doors slid open.
“This isn’t an apartment building,” I replied.
“Oh?”
“It’smybuilding.As in I own it.My firm’s headquarters are here.”
“So…we’re at your office?”
“Yes.”
“Do you sleep in your office here, too?”
“Not exactly.I have an apartment on the top floor.Makes for a much quicker commute.”
“Workaholic.”She rolled her eyes.“You do know there’s more to life than work, right?”
I narrowed my gaze at her as the doors closed.“I’m starting to realize that.”
The elevator began its rapid descent, the hum of the motor filling the silence.I was grateful for the speed because being in this small space with her — so close I could feel her warmth, see each subtle breath — was testing the limits of my restraint.
She looked at me like she saw something I didn’t even know I was showing.Like she’d already peeled away the armor and found what was underneath.
She always had that effect on me.
When the doors opened again, I guided her into a small foyer, keyed another code into the security panel, and pressed my thumb against the next scanner.
“So much security,” she murmured.
“I needed to know you’d be safe here.”
She darted her eyes to mine.“Did you have all of this put in…for me?”
I gave a noncommittal shrug.“I’m trying a new thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Compromise.”
“Compromise,” she repeated like she’d never heard the word before.
“You’ve obviously been restless.And while I want you to feel like you’re free to go wherever you want, that’s not possible quite yet, so I had additional security measures installed in my apartment here so I could be assured of your safety.I know it’s not ideal, but?—”
