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So much for being mysterious. "Forget I said that." I smirk as I pull out her chair.
"Yeah, right," she murmurs.
I sit opposite her, gesturing to the wide windows. "It rotates completely every eighty minutes. If you look closely, you can see it drifting. It offers a view of the entire area. Look at all those lights, Sparkplug."
She gazes out at the sparkling lights of Vegas and beyond, a wide smile spreading across her face.
"Champagne?" I ask. "Or something lighter this time?"
"Something lighter," she says, nodding.
"Then I'll be good too," I reply. "Plus, I need to stay sharp for work."
We order sparkling water, and the waiter leaves us with the food menu. When I take out my phone, Sera looks offended... until she reads the text I've sent.
Luke: I want to dirty talk to you so badly. Tell you how I want to tear down that dress and feast on your perfect body. But I can't risk anybody hearing, because the thought of anyone else thinking of you like that drives me crazy.
She bites her lip as she reads it, then types quickly.
Sera: What if I want to touch you? Rub you? Make you hard like I did on the elevator? What if I want to grind my plump ass against you, huh?
Luke: I'm getting hard just thinking about it. FUCK. You're so hot.
She smiles, rolling her eyes. "So, how was work?"
We're playing a game now: half civilized, half savage.
"You don't want to hear about work," I tell her.
"Something bad must be happening if you worked all night."
I sigh. "Are you sure you want to open this can of worms?" I type out a reply.
Luke: I'd much rather climb under the table, tear off your underwear with my teeth, then push my mouth against you. I'd suck your clit and lick your entrance to taste your sweetness.
I love how easily I can read the desire in her features. "This is better than my novels," she mutters. "But yeah, you better talk to me about work... Because everything else seems to leadthere."
By 'there,' she means the land of pure, hot desire.
"Our self-driving car has gone rogue like HAL in 2001:A Space Odyssey," I say. "Somebody sabotaged the code, waited until we were in Vegas, then activated it, I assume."
Her pale green eyes widen. "I am so dumb."
"Don't say that," I snap. "You're incredibly intelligent."
"You'reLuke Cross."
"That's my name, yeah."
"Luke freaking Cross. As in, NeuroDrive Luke Cross. As in, the owner of the biggest electronic and self-driving car company in the world."
"I'm the CEO, yes," I tell her. "But I work with a large and talented team; everything we do is a group effort."
"My department wrote some of your code," she murmurs. "I work at TechGuard, specializing in AI guardrails. I can't believe I'm only now putting this together. You're giving the keynote speech, aren't you? I'm sure the CEO of NeuroDrive is."
"Yup, I am," I tell her, nodding.
"Woah," she mouths, her eyes wide with surprise