Page 92

“Have you sent the data?”

“Already in your email.” She gave me a sunny smile. “That’s why you pay me the big bucks.”

* * *

A dinner meetingwith several acquaintances had kept me tied up most of Friday evening. I would have canceled if I hadn’t been the one arranging the gathering a month ago.

Of course, back then, Tina wasn’t in my life.

I’d be seeing her on Saturday. I could wait a fucking day.

I thought about that when I fell into bed after midnight, taking in the Houston skyline just beyond the windows of my hotel suite. I had opted to stay in the city, even though I was closer to Tina here.

My actual home felt empty without her, as if I’d chosen it, knowing one day she’d help fill the silent halls.

I didn’t have the same problem with the penthouse suite at my hotel. It was impersonal, devoid of anything that made it homely, since I’d only planned for this as a place to sleep after long days.

But when I closed my eyes, I could almost smell the scent of her hair and skin on the sheets and pillows.

* * *

When Tina opened the door,my brain went blank.

Shimmering, brilliant sapphire blue wrapped around her curves, the color picking up the deeper cerulean of her eyes and making them glow as she offered me a smile I couldn’t return. Not yet. First, I had to pick up my jaw off the floor.

The thin straps revealed Tina’s toned arms and shoulders, displaying her strength rather than softening it, while the low neckline plunged in a vee over her plump breasts. The fabric gathered around her waist, giving the impression that it wrapped around her. My sanity might be at risk if I learned it did.

My eyes caught a sparkling rose set into the dress, either a decoration or perhaps as a closing mechanism. I wanted to reach for it and discover for myself which one it was.

But if I did, we’d never leave the house.

Letting my gaze continue the tour of her body, I sucked in a hard breath at the seductive details of the dress—Zoey had outdone herself.

Inches below the rose, the dress’s material parted in a split high on Tina’s left thigh, baring her leg, revealing the sleek, sexy length down to her strappy heels with sparkling bands over her instep, alternating in red, white, and blue.

“We need to go,” I said bluntly. “Lock the door and come out now, or I’ll have to pin you against the wall, push up that skirt and be inside of you in under fifteen seconds.”

Her lips slicked a rich, bold red, curved. “Oh, well, now you’re tempting me.”

“Tina…”

She grinned but turned and grabbed something from inside the door, then shut it. I heard thechirp-chirpof her house alarm activate, then watched as she slid her keys into her small purse. Once she started down the steps, I offered my hand.

“Are you wearing panties?” I asked, as she accepted my hand.

“If you want to call them that.” Amusement and heat filled her eyes. “You probably already guessed that I’m not wearing a bra. Just little stickers that give support.”

I had to force myself to walk back to my car.

“You’re trying to make me nuts.”

“How am I doing?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

I opened the door, and she slid inside before answering. “The way that dress hangs, it’s easy to nudge it out of the way, pull your thong aside and push my cock into you. I just have to find a private spot at the event. Think about that while I consider your barely-there panties.”

* * *

“Interior design….”Althea Rigby, the CEO of the charity’s main sponsor, studied Tina with sharp hazel eyes. “Have you worked on anything I might have seen?”