Page 7 of Turning Up the Heat

Gemma snorted over her glass. “You’re such a jerk.”

He laughed but then sobered. “For real, though, you really are impressive,” he told her. “I’m intrigued by you. I like you.”

“Do you really?”

“Yeah. You’re smart, talented, beautiful.”

“I’m also a Rexford.”

“You are. And I’m a Cain. I feel like you’ll make me regret ever talking to you in the first place.”

Her laugh was sultry, and the sound went right to his dick. “You might be right about that one.”

“I mean, if your brothers don’t make me regret it first.”

“Why are you so worried about my brothers?”

“Because they hate me, and I saw the way they stared daggers at me just for talking to you.”

She casually waved off his concern. “I’m not worried about them. I don’t really care what they think about who I talk to or what I do.”

“What is it that you want to do with me?” he asked, enjoying how easy she was to talk to.

“I don’t know yet. Maybe we’ll see where the day takes us.”

“What if the day took us up to my room?” he asked. “We can finish what we started last night in that storage closet.”

She sipped her drink but didn’t respond. He knew how to read women, and he knew from the way Gemma faced him openly, her eyelashes batting at him from over the rim of her glass, that she wanted him, too.

“You know, I was kind of disappointed that you didn’t come find me last night.”

She put down her glass and leaned an arm on the bar. “I considered it,” she told him. “Briefly.”

“So, why didn’t you?” He trailed one finger slowly down her bare arm. His touch raised small bumps on her smooth skin.

She shivered. “I realized what a terrible idea it would have been.”

“Why terrible? I know it would have been a great night, and so do you.” If touching her in a storage room had been any indication, getting her in bed would blow his mind.

“You don’t have to convince me,” she said. “It would have been amazing. I didn’t because I know how complicated it would have been. You’re one of our biggest rivals. And you know as well as I do that there’s some seriously bad blood between our families.”

He knew that would be her answer. And he couldn’t blame her. His father and Carolina had done some major unforgivable damage to the Rexfords, and he should consider himself lucky that she was even talking to him now. “Is that all you’re worried about? Carolina and my father?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“What happened there was terrible, not to mention embarrassing.” He’d worked hard to keep the drama to a minimum, keep the rumors out of the rum community. “But I’m not my family. No more than you are yours.”

Gemma watched him for a bit. Her eyes were sharp, and he could tell she was trying to work something out in her head. “It can’t be that simple. We can’t just get a room and forget everything that happened, can we?”

“Why not? I want you.” He dropped his hand to her thigh and walked his fingers up slowly. “And you want me too, don’t you?”

She was quiet for a moment, as she watched his fingers. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I do.”

Gemma pushed up from the table and took a few steps away. She looked at Tom over her shoulder. He was still sitting, a curious, surprised look on his face. “Are you coming or not? Or were you just bluffing?”

In an instant, he stood. She noticed the way he covertly pulled the front of his sport coat over his groin, and she kept walking, preceding him to the elevator, knowing he wasn’t far behind.

She looked straight ahead, pushing the up button as he came to stand next to her. Conscious of anyone who might have seen them leave together, they both stared straight ahead, neither acknowledging the other’s presence. The doors parted, and they both quickly walked inside. He pushed the button for the fourteenth floor—the same one that her room was located on. When the doors closed, she was surprised that he didn’t make his move. They stood half a foot apart, and if he didn’t touch her soon, she might explode in a ball of need. The elevator stopped on the next floor, and people entered to fill the car, forcing Gemma and Tom to the back, pushing them together.

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