Chapter One
Jonah stared up at the dazzling building, checking he’d got the address correct for what had to be the tenth time that morning.
His heart was pounding behind his ribs. He couldn’t believe he was here!
It had been a week since the CEO ofSensual Playthings, Ezekiel Tompkins, had sent him an email, inviting him to their headquarters to take a look around... and potentially get his hands on some samples to play with.
The tour alone was enough of a draw, especially considering that, for all his sudden rise to the top of a fairly competitive industry, Tompkins was circumspect about his own life. Jonah didn’t even think there was a picture of him on the web.
Andhewas going to meet him?
Jonah checked his phone again. He was ten minutes early, but there was no point in standing out here and letting his nerves get the better of him. He bounded up the white steps that led to the door of what had once been a townhouse, eyes sweeping over the discreet sign labelling the business, and pressed the buzzer.
Nothing. Jonah pressed it again.
“Can I help you?” The woman’s voice was young. Professional.
“Yeah, uh, I’m Jonah Stanfield. I’m supposed to be meeting with Mr Tompkins this morning.”
Silence. Jonah chewed the inside of his cheek, resisting the urge to run his hands through his dark hair and mess it up. He’d spentagesgetting ready this morning.
“Please come in, Mr Stanfield.” There was a buzz, and Jonah pushed the door open, stepping inside.
The hallway was long and narrow, with two doors on either side and a staircase almost at the very end. A woman opened one of the doors and smiled at him. “Mr Tompkins is just upstairs,” she said. “Second door on the left. You’ll see his nameplate on it.”
Jonah nodded. “R– Right.”
If he hadn’t been nervous before, he was now, as she disappeared behind the door again. Still, he was here, wasn’t he?
Jonah had never known that this was the direction his life would take him. He’d started reviewing sex toys a few years before. It just made sense – there were so many out there, and so many people, especially guys, who didn’t know what to look for.
Reviewing had led to... Well, videos, though he kept his face off-camera for those. Part of him wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he hid the videos, and they made up a decent chunk of his income.
It was why he was excited to be here.Sensual Playthingswas the hot new company in the sex toy industry, and they’d had ameteoric ride to the top. Jonah had almost everything in their collection so far.
He made his way over to the stairs and walked up them slowly.
Apparently, Ezekiel Tompkins had a hand in every product his company produced. If he did, the man was some kind of genius. Or knew some kind of sex magic.
Jonah snorted and paused when he reached the top of the stairs. The first door on the left was blank; the second had a sleek brass plate high up, and Jonah took another deep breath before he knocked.
“Come in.”
The man’s voice was clear as a bell, even through the heavy wood. Jonah pushed open the door and stepped inside.
He froze mid-movement as the man behind the desk, who could only be Ezekiel Tompkins, turned his attention to him.
Even seeing pictures of Mr Tompkins on his website or in publicity shots did nothing to prepare Jonah for the reality of being in the same room as him. He wasridiculouslyhandsome, dark skin flawless, just a twitch at the edge of his smile that Jonah knew, if he wasn’t thinking of sex already, would have veered his thoughts right there.
Jonah closed his mouth, swallowed. Ezekiel Tompkins’s smile widened.
“You must be Jonah!” He stood and rounded his desk, holding out a hand. A jolt went through Jonah when he shook it. Every nerve was alight. He did his best to keep his eyes frontand centre, even as he wanted to take his time and look the man over.
“Yeah, I – You’re Mr Tompkins.”
“Please, call me Ez. I’m so glad you could make it.”
He seemed it, too, which Jonah thought was odd, but then what about this situation wasn’t? He wasn’t anywhere near the top in his field in terms of followers or anything like that. Sure, he managed to make it work full-time, but still...
