Page 17

Tina
I was behind my desk––myheart still pounding from a call with Hattie’s Place––when the office door opened.
Jerking upright, I forced a smile on my face. “Hello, welcome to…oh...Hi.”
James Maximus cocked a golden eyebrow at me, a faint smile tugging his lips up at the corners. “Ouch. There goes my ego.”
“I don’t think your ego is in any danger.” My arms crossed as I rose from behind my desk and leaned against it. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
Instead of answering immediately, he walked to the wall above my workstation, studying the framed portfolio pictures. “Are these your finished projects?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t going to delude myself into thinking he was here for anything related to business. People with the money he possessed went to top-line interior design firms, not small-time individuals like me.
“You’re very good,” he murmured after he’d walked the entire wall, taking time to look at each picture.
“Yes, I am. And thank you.”
He turned to look at me, this time with a wide grin instead of his normal half-smile. “You’re also confident. I like that you know your value.”
“If I’m not aware of it, I can’t expect anybody else to be.” I shrugged. “False modesty doesn’t get me anything. But you’re not here to discuss my interior design skills. So…why are you here?”
He walked toward me, tapping an off-white envelope against his leg.
“Have you heard about Asylum?”
I blinked. “Asylum?”
“Yes.”
Oh, hell.
“Are you referring to the new murder mystery dinner theater you can only attend after completing the escape room? And to get into the escape room, you must first navigate a laser-tag maze?” I paused to both suck in a breath and to give him a chance to respond.
The sexy half-smile on his face not only told me the answer, but made me wonder how good he was at kissing...among other things. “Yes.” I lifted my chin, forcing my face to stay carefully blank. “I might be…vaguely familiar with it.”
Asylum was a new, upcoming hi-tech entertainment destination in Sugar Land. The monstrous venue occupied an entire building, and entry was by invitation only.
“Would you be interested in joining me? I have two tickets.”
Of course he did.
I felt my defenses crumbling. “You should probably know, I’m a killer shot, and I take no prisoners.” I stared at the envelope before meeting his gaze. “Some guys, especially here in Texas, have a problem with that.”
“I don’t mind celebrating a woman’s win.” He eased closer, moving slowly to give me time to pull back.
I didn’t, though my heart and stomach were doing a silly little dance inside my body.
“Something tells me I’ll find it insanely sexy watching you win,” he murmured, dipping his head, so the words came directly into my ear. “Are you...good at it, Tina?”
He lifted his head a bit, just enough to look at me. He was so close that his scent filled my head as I stared into the dark and endless depths of his eyes.
I shouldn’t ask. This guy was dangerous, but I couldn’t keep the question trapped inside. “Good at…?”
“Winning.”
I grinned at him despite the near-palpable sexual tension rising between us. “Yeah, I’m good at it.”
“I can’t wait to watch you win, then.” He reached up slowly and brushed a strand of hair back.