over you—” His gaze shot to hers. She lifted a hand and added, “Okay, bad choice of words. Let me rephrase. If you want the best results and the smoothest flow to this whole project, let me in on your decisions first.”
He chuckled as he backed out of the drive. “Fine. We’ll try it your way.”
He drove back to his hotel. When he turned off the engine, he said, “Come inside for minute. I have the file on the Napa guests ready for you.”
“Sure.”
Carly hopped out but when she glanced back at Quint she saw that he’d glued his gaze to her backside and that a smile had started taking hold of his lips.
“You’d better not be thinking about that thong you shredded.”
He lifted his gaze to her. “Oh, I’m thinking about more than that poor little scrap of ruined lace.”
The rumbling sound of his deep resonant voice sent a shiver through her. Her mouth popped open just so she could breathe.
He walked past her and slid the card-key into the slot.
He opened the door and held it wide, “Come in,” he said in that friendly way of his, just like the spider to the fly.
Chapter Five
Quint narrowed his gaze as Carly crossed the threshold. He breathed in and caught her flowery ocean scent, one of her red canyon surprises. He knew Sedona had been submerged four times in ancient seas. He’d learned that on her tour. He’d like to be submerged in her four times right now.
He almost dipped down just to get his face against her neck, to catch all that heady scent.
He smiled down at her instead, but she sidled away from him, a beautiful brown-eyed doe all too aware of a predator nearby.
His brain skimmed low, diving beneath his rational processes. The hum of his desire for her buzzed in his ears. He tried to look away, but couldn’t.
Entering his suite, he’d had a game plan, but right now his body kept calling out new scrimmage plays. He needed to keep Carly on a slow burn. He knew that. Yet all he could think as he tracked her movements was how much he wanted to maneuver her into the bedroom.
How much better if he hadn’t slept with her that first night. Everything would be so different right now. He wouldn’t have her taste in his mouth or know the feel of her lips on his neck or what her body felt like when he thrust into her. All this information kept short-circuiting his brain. His lips parted and damn but he struggled to draw breath.
She moved in a circle taking in his office set-up, which made use of half the living room. He and electronics had been pals from the beginning. He always upgraded. He liked large screens, webcams and more than one of each. He always traveled with two laptops and a backup. He had a good-sized printer-copier-scanner-fax machine and a load of white paper. He had a stack of post-its. He had a large day-planner open on his desk.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked, turning to him, her brows cresting high on her creamy kissable forehead. “Launching satellites?”
“I believe in technology and my IT guy can wire anything.”
“So this is how you manage an empire from a hotel room. You even have a row of clocks for time zones.”
“Of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
He liked that she had stilled in the center of his room. Carly had a restless kind of energy and when she stopped like that, something had her attention.
He wanted her attention. Now. All over him.
As she turned toward him, he reminded himself of his original purpose, to keep this seduction on a slow steady course so that when she came back to his bed, she’d stay put. He knew the precise point he wanted this initial encounter to climb to, but for some reason all his well-developed cognitive functions shut down.
He closed the distance between them and slid a hand around the nape of her neck. He ignored the orchestrated seduction he’d planned, tilted her back and said, “It’s damn good to see you again, Carly.” When her lips parted either because she wanted to throw a series of
He chuckled as he backed out of the drive. “Fine. We’ll try it your way.”
He drove back to his hotel. When he turned off the engine, he said, “Come inside for minute. I have the file on the Napa guests ready for you.”
“Sure.”
Carly hopped out but when she glanced back at Quint she saw that he’d glued his gaze to her backside and that a smile had started taking hold of his lips.
“You’d better not be thinking about that thong you shredded.”
He lifted his gaze to her. “Oh, I’m thinking about more than that poor little scrap of ruined lace.”
The rumbling sound of his deep resonant voice sent a shiver through her. Her mouth popped open just so she could breathe.
He walked past her and slid the card-key into the slot.
He opened the door and held it wide, “Come in,” he said in that friendly way of his, just like the spider to the fly.
Chapter Five
Quint narrowed his gaze as Carly crossed the threshold. He breathed in and caught her flowery ocean scent, one of her red canyon surprises. He knew Sedona had been submerged four times in ancient seas. He’d learned that on her tour. He’d like to be submerged in her four times right now.
He almost dipped down just to get his face against her neck, to catch all that heady scent.
He smiled down at her instead, but she sidled away from him, a beautiful brown-eyed doe all too aware of a predator nearby.
His brain skimmed low, diving beneath his rational processes. The hum of his desire for her buzzed in his ears. He tried to look away, but couldn’t.
Entering his suite, he’d had a game plan, but right now his body kept calling out new scrimmage plays. He needed to keep Carly on a slow burn. He knew that. Yet all he could think as he tracked her movements was how much he wanted to maneuver her into the bedroom.
How much better if he hadn’t slept with her that first night. Everything would be so different right now. He wouldn’t have her taste in his mouth or know the feel of her lips on his neck or what her body felt like when he thrust into her. All this information kept short-circuiting his brain. His lips parted and damn but he struggled to draw breath.
She moved in a circle taking in his office set-up, which made use of half the living room. He and electronics had been pals from the beginning. He always upgraded. He liked large screens, webcams and more than one of each. He always traveled with two laptops and a backup. He had a good-sized printer-copier-scanner-fax machine and a load of white paper. He had a stack of post-its. He had a large day-planner open on his desk.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked, turning to him, her brows cresting high on her creamy kissable forehead. “Launching satellites?”
“I believe in technology and my IT guy can wire anything.”
“So this is how you manage an empire from a hotel room. You even have a row of clocks for time zones.”
“Of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
He liked that she had stilled in the center of his room. Carly had a restless kind of energy and when she stopped like that, something had her attention.
He wanted her attention. Now. All over him.
As she turned toward him, he reminded himself of his original purpose, to keep this seduction on a slow steady course so that when she came back to his bed, she’d stay put. He knew the precise point he wanted this initial encounter to climb to, but for some reason all his well-developed cognitive functions shut down.
He closed the distance between them and slid a hand around the nape of her neck. He ignored the orchestrated seduction he’d planned, tilted her back and said, “It’s damn good to see you again, Carly.” When her lips parted either because she wanted to throw a series of
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