Page 34 of Dangerous

I laughed out loud at her flustered sputtering. It turned into a full belly laugh when she seemingly gave up on winning the argument and turned around on her heel to flee down the stairs.

“Hey, wait up, what were you going to tell me?” I called after her. “Is dinner ready, or what?”

No reply came from downstairs, apart from some loud banging of pots from the kitchen.

I was tempted to follow her down without putting my pants on, but figured it might not be the best idea if I ever wanted her to cook for me again. Besides, my cock was already uncomfortably hard. Seeing her all flustered and trying desperately not to look at it while we were in the room most of my fantasies about her played out in would likely torture me more than it would her.

Sighing, I walked to my closet to find some clothes.

When I came downthe stairs, Mira sat at the dining table, already eating what looked like tomato soup. She’d set a plate out for me as well, and a bottle of wine.

“Smells lovely,” I offered as I sauntered in to take my place.

Mira didn’t look at me, but I could see her cheeks turning a delicious pink again.

I grinned. “Oh, come now, love. I’ve put pants on—it’s all safe.”

She made a huffy little sound, but finally raised her head to level me with a glare. “I really didn’t need to see that.”

“Oh, on the contrary—I think you did.” I winked at her and grabbed a chunk of bread to dip into the soup. “Gotta give you a bit of material for those late night self-loving sessions. I am your husband, after all.”

Her cheeks went from light pink to a tomato red that rivaled the soup in seconds. “Thanks, I’ll manage!” It came out as a hiss, but her flaming face spoke its own truth.

My grin widened. So she did, in fact, use me as her source material to get off? Hmm. I popped the bread into my mouth while I enjoyed her squirming in her seat, no doubt regretting that she didn’t just eat in her room. As much as I wanted to continue needling her, just to see how far I could take it before she snapped, I reined myself in. I did need to talk to her, and I’d rather not do it with a faceful of wine.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you—how often are you right when you assess people like you did Gerald?”

Mira’s eyebrows shut up, probably in surprise at the change of subject. “Most of the time. Body language is pretty universal and hard to control. Why?”

“Because I’ve got a…” Best make it sound optional to avoid resistance. “...business proposition for you.”

Her mouth flattened into a disapproving line. “I’m not going to come with you to poker games, if that’s what you’ve got in mind.”

“Always think the worst, huh? It’s got nothing to do with gambling. I simply want you to come along for my business meetings. As an adviser. You can sit in while I meet with potential business partners, and give me your opinion of them after. It would be a good way for you to get out of the house. Since you’d be with me, you’d be safe.”

Mira frowned, a somewhat conflicted look passing across her pretty face. “I… I don’t want anything to do with illicit affairs, Blaine. If the day ever comes where I need to explain to the police how much I knew about your activities, I don’t want to have to lie to tell them I had no involvement.”

I nodded. That was fair enough, given how she’d tried her best to get away from this world. “It’ll only be above-board dealings. You won’t be privy to anything less than kosher.”

“And after these meetings, we’ll go somewhere else for a little bit?”

I raised an eyebrow at the excitement she was clearly trying—and failing—to hide while she attempted to negotiate with me. I might not be as skilled at reading body language as she was, but I knew I had this one in the bag. She was way too desperate to not be cooped up in this house to turn me down. However, I didn’t see the harm in letting her think she had some pull.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe just… browsing a few stores, some window shopping… stopping for an ice cream if we fancy. Normal things that normal people do. A museum visit once in a while, perhaps?”

I grimaced. “How about we skip the museum and catch a movie instead?”

“Can it be French?”

“No.”

Mira sighed. “Fine. But no explosion-y action flicks, either.”

I laughed and reached my hand across the table. She sure did drive a hard bargain. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Tentatively, she reached out her own hand and put it in mine. It was small and soft, and the touch of her palm sent a pang to my needy cock. “Deal.”

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