"Are you telling me how to run Gem Haven now?" He blew more rings up into the air.

Her nipples hardened, and she shivered. She caught his gaze dropping to the front of her shirt, catching her reaction to him.

"No." She shrugged. "But it's my fault Lori's working the kitchen by herself. Even the waitresses can't lend a hand when it gets busy."

His boots hit the floor with athunkas he straightened in the chair. She jumped at the sudden movement.

"Come here." He motioned her around the desk with the cigar.

Her legs quivered. This was Zane's domain. She was out of her element in the clubhouse. The things said and done inside the building were a mystery to her.

When she stood beside him, he put the cigar in his mouth, grabbed her by the waist, and sat her on the desk's surface.

She grasped the edge of the desk. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting here enjoying a cigar I got from Bank—you know him, right?" He waited for her nod. "His wife had a baby boy last night." He held the cigar between his fingers. "He passed these around to everyone when he stopped to share the good news."

He blew rings up in the air, looking for her reaction. She dug her fingernails into the wood.

"How do you do that?" she whispered.

His eyes warmed. "Do what?"

"Blow rings of smoke."

He puffed on the cigar and performed for her again. She leaned forward and collected one with her hand, watching the smoke vanish.

She laughed. "I want to do it."

"Have you ever smoked before?"

She shook her head.

"Well, you're not going to smoke this either." He handed her the cigar. "Draw on it and hold the smoke in your mouth."

"Draw?"

His gaze intensified. "Suck."

Oh. Her thoughts went somewhere else.

"Soft sucks." The corner of his mouth tilted. "Put your tongue back and close off your throat. After a couple of puffs, hold the smoke in your mouth. Don't let it go down your throat."

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, brought the cigar to his mouth, took a couple of puffs, and demonstrated what he wanted her to do. She caught her lip between her teeth, watching his mouth soften and part, and then a ring of smoke escaped his lips.

"Your turn," he said.

She snapped out of the haze he created in the room. It was all too much.

He put her hand up toward her mouth and guided the cigar she held between her lips. "That's it, sweetheart," he whispered.

She watched his eyes heat up and sucked—smoke hit the back of her throat, and she coughed.

Zane chuckled, rubbing her leg. Wanting to save face, she lifted the cigar to her lips, repeated the puffs, and then pressed her lips together.

He cupped her cheeks, using his thumbs to caress her lips. "Soften them."

She relaxed as much as she could while holding her breath and trying not to choke on the smoke.