It only takes my corrupted mind a few seconds to strip Evelyn bare and place her supple curves and graceful limbs into each erotic outfit. A private modeling session that I would give anything to witness in person. I banish the bad idea from my head on a stifled groan. My cock, unfortunately, is going to require more convincing.
Mirrored alcoves reflect my scowling, uncomfortable image back at me in dozens of replications as I move through the sea of feminine underthings.
I see Evelyn in the glass too. She’s several paces behind me as I pull out my phone and take a few photos of optimal mount locations for surveillance cameras in the high-ceilinged, window-fronted sales room.
“So, do you always go out to personally check Baine properties in the middle of the night?”
“I do now.” I slip my phone back into my jacket pocket and turn to face her. “As of today, I’m corporate security chief. That means I’m managing the teams and overseeing the security systems at all of Baine International’s New York locations.”
She steps closer. “Sounds like a promotion.”
I nod. “It’s a hell of an opportunity.”
“Congratulations, Gabe.” It’s the first time she’s said my name—or, rather, said it without any trace of disdain in her tone. And that knockout smile is back again, this time with a wry twist to it. “So, does this mean you’ll be coming around asking to see my ID at my shop now?”
I smirk, despite the fact that looking at her like this is making the tightness below my belt strain toward unbearable. “I admit, I wasn’t in my best form yesterday. I had to go do something I wasn’t exactly looking forward to, and you caught the brunt of my bad attitude. I apologize.”
“Ah,” she says. “That’s right, you were on your way out of the Baine Building as I was going in—trying to go in, that is. What nasty business did you have to do? Some kind of super soldier stuff?”
“Nope.” I shake my head. “Family thing. One of my brothers just made commander at his precinct.”
Her lips tilt. “No wonder you act like a cop. Runs in your family, I take it?”
I chuckle. “You could say that. At least, it did until Icame along. The Nobles have all the cops they need. Besides, I never would’ve measured up for the old man, anyway.”
I’m not sure why I let the admission roll out of my mouth, but it’s out there now. I wait for Evelyn to bust my balls about it, since that seems to come naturally to her and I just gave her an easy target to hit. But she doesn’t make light of the pathetic blurt.
Instead, those soft green eyes study me in silence—almost longer than I can take.
“You don’t get along with your dad?”
“We get along fine. So long as we don’t have to see or speak to each other.”
An apology lingers in her gaze, unspoken. And thank fuck for that. Last thing I want or need is someone feeling sorry for me. Especially her.
“I adore my dad,” she says softly. “Andrew and I had different moms. His mother divorced our father, then Dad married my mom a couple of years later. She died when I was eight. Drunk driver hit her while she was in a crosswalk.”
“That’s rough,” I murmur, avoiding the apology I’m tempted to give because I’m not sure if she’d welcome my sympathy either.
She lets out a sigh. “I grew up protected by two strong men. I can’t convince either one to stop worrying about me all the time.”
“Don’t expect them to. If I had a sister, I’d worry about her too. Knowing your brother, I think it’d kill him if anything happened to you.”
“I know.” She glances down and goes quiet for a long moment, leaving me to wonder where her thoughts have drifted. Somewhere dark, if the haunted look in hereyes when her gaze returns to mine is any indication. Wherever she went, it clings to her. “Do you, ah . . . do you need to see anything else while you’re here?”
Her distant tone erases all of my untoward thoughts and impulses. Or most of them. Either way, I chalk it up as a good thing.
“You want to show me where the electrical equipment is? Can’t hurt to check it out.”
She nods and starts walking away from me. I fall in line behind her, doing my best to ignore the fluid sway of her hips inside the body-hugging black pencil skirt that ends just above her knees. Her rounded backside and bare legs are firm and strong, but I can practically feel how soft she’d yield under my hands, under my mouth. Under my thrusting hips as I spread her open and push inside.
She pivots her head to look over her shoulder at me. “The circuit breakers are in here.”
Shit. Fucking busted. I can’t even hope to lift my gaze in time to pretend I’m not a complete barbarian. So, I glance up slowly and meet her astonished look. “All right. Thanks.”
She stays outside the small closet of a room that houses the circuit and cable boxes, electrical equipment, and sundry supplies. I get right to work checking things out, basically doing anything to avoid looking at her now that she’s caught me drooling.
“After the lights went out, I checked the fuses,” she tells me from the relative safety of the open doorway. “I didn’t see anything wrong, but this isn’t really my area.”
