Page 68 of Show Me How
“If it’s natural, it will come to you. You don’t need to force anything. We’ll get you one just in case.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
He focuses on the design again, his eyes tightening at the corners. “Can you refine this? Clean it up a bit for me?”
“Um, sure. Yeah, I can.”
“I’ve been wanting a new logo for the studio for a couple of years now but just never found the time to get one commissioned. I want to use yours. I’ll pay for it, of course. If you get me a second draft and upload it to the computer, I’d like to see a few different mock-ups.”
“You want to use it for this place? Shade?—”
He shakes his head and sets the pad down on the desk before tugging me out from beneath the desk. My chair is rolled back as I blink at him, swallowing the rest of my argument. Shade grips the edge of the desk and leans over me, his body creating a thick bubble around us.
“It’s fucking great, Millie. Shake those doubts from your head—I can see them running wild in there. I’m not in the habit of using my business to give pity to people.”
I want to accept his offer and the kindness that comes with it. He’s been nothing but honest with me from the start, so it shouldbe easy. Yet there’s still that wiggle of uncertainty. Like maybe he’ll pull the rug out from me the moment I do as he’s asked.
“Get me the second draft, and we’ll ask Bryce. She’ll rip it to shreds if she doesn’t like it. You can’t argue with that,” he adds.
“That’s true.”
“Just say yes. There’s no harm in giving it a shot. You can make some extra cash too.”
“I could use it to get some perfume. I haven’t had any since I left home,” I blurt before I can stop myself. My entire body burns from embarrassment as I add, “Or obviously pay Shelly for the cabin. Duh.”
If I could discreetly smack myself in the face for saying something so random and weird, I’d do it right now. It would be like a scene from a cartoon.
“You smell pretty good to me, princess. Today and last night,” he murmurs, his tongue tracing his bottom lip.
That forgotten pulse between my legs comes back with a fury. This time, I can’t simply wish it away. It lingers, growing stronger with every second he holds my gaze, his lips quirking like he knows exactly what’s happening to me.
My throat strains as I speak. “If you say so.”
“It’s true.”
“Do you like teasing me?”
“More than I should, probably.”
“Why?”
He sneaks a look over his shoulder to where the woman was earlier but isn’t anymore. When he finds my eyes again, he leans further into my space and strokes his knuckles down the side of my throat, pausing with them pressed to my pulse.
His smirk stretches into a dirty grin. “You excite me.”
It’s almost a joke how easily he says it. As if I’m not excited in a completely different way.
“Well, that’s new.”
“You don’t think you excite other people?” he asks, his touch sliding around to the front of my throat, a palm warm against it. “Other men?”
I swallow, and he holds my throat as it strains, locking it in his hold. “I wouldn’t know.”
“You should. I assume it would be obvious.”
“Where’s your client?” I ask, fighting the urge to look for her myself.
“Out back, taking a smoke break. We’ve got an hour left, and my shoulder was cramping. Bryce is on lunch.”
