Page 132 of The Fixer

He let his arm drop. “Uh, sure. Any particular reason why?”

“Because you call everyone ‘sweetheart’?”

He sipped his whiskey, hoping to chase away the overabundance of awkward that had suddenly sprouted between them. “So no ‘sweetheart.’ What about ‘princess’? I will point out I don’t call anyone else that.” She shook her head. “I take it ‘Joy’ is still okay. What about ‘baby’?”

She set down her wineglass and faced him, running her hands up his chest. “Yes, especially when we’re, you know.” Her moist pink lips twitched with a crafty smile that sent a jolt straight to his dick.

He lifted her hand and nipped a finger. “No, I don’t know. Why don’t you explain it to me?”

She laughed, though it didn’t reach her eyes. She was on edge, probably nervous like he was, which didn’t make sense, considering how down and dirty they’d been mere hours ago. Maybe shehadn’tenjoyed him mauling her in her office. Yeah, not exactly a good look for a high-powered professional. A tendril of guilt snaked its way through him.

Deciding on a different tactic, he backed away. “Tell me about your week. How was it coming back?”

She started talking, her posture easing as she did so. During a lull in the conversation, he retrieved her wine and topped off her glass.

She raised it to him. “Thank you. Now what about you? How’s everyone doing? How’s the project coming? You said you had news that had to be delivered in person?”

He took her rapid-fire questions one at a time, filling her in while skirting around the topic of the Haven. He would drop that news on her tomorrow, and who knew? Maybe Shane would have a name for him by then.

When he finished telling her about the Silver Summit meeting, she flew at him and hugged him tight. He drew in that almond-flower fragrance he had missed so much and remained still, simply breathing her in.

Still in his arms, she leaned back. “Oh. My. God! Reviving aspur? Brilliant! Iknewyou would find a way to dazzle them.”

“Well, that makes one of us. Seriously, though, thank you.”

She dipped her head. “You’re welcome.”

They lingered, talking and drinking, and Charlie’s muscles loosened. A glance at the microwave clock told him it was almost midnight. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Nope, I’m all yours. I thought we could play tourist. There’s so much I want to show you. The Riverwalk, Wrigley Field, Willis Tower. Oh! And there’s this walking tour of buildings from the Golden Age. You know,historicbuildings?” She wiggled her eyebrows obscenely, and he burst out with a laugh.

“There’s other stuff I’d rather see.” He matched her eyebrow waggle. “Right now.”

She rested her empty wineglass on the counter, and it wobbled. “Someone’s sounding kind of bossy.” Her twinkling eyes held a challenge.

Her body language signaled they were back on track to some much-needed intimacy.

“Oh, you haven’t begun to see bossy, sweet—uh, prin—um, baby.” Yeah,thatsounded smooth as hell. Any minute now, she’d be tearing off her clothes for him because she was so turned on.Not.

Hitting his internal reset button, he leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest, roaming his gaze from her bare toes to the lustrous locks on top of her head. “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”

A knowing smile curved her full mouth. She moved in, arched an eyebrow, and popped the button of her jeans.

“Not that. Well, okay, that. But I had something else in mind.”

Her hands left her fly to perch on her hips. She shot him a quizzical look.

Fuck, just thinking about what he was about to ask for made his dick swell to granite hardness. “I want you to pick your favorite sex scene—whether it’s in one of your journals or in one of the books you’ve already published—and I want us to act it out together.”

Her eyes popped wide.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I want that.” Arms still locked in place, he leaned forward and licked a trail from one side of her exposed chest to the other, darting his tongue into the valley between her breasts. He straightened and offered up a dauntless smile. “And you’re going to give it to me.”

“Am I, now?”

“Oh yeah.”

“You do realize that’s just made-up stuff, right?”

---