Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7) by Mallory Crowe Page A

later?”
    The fire roared to life, the flickering glow licking over the large room. “Or, you know, later. Hold on.” Rourke stood. “I’ll be right back.” He ran out to his truck and pulled his emergency blanket out of the spot behind the driver’s seat before he ran back inside, where Cali was looking out at the water again. “There’s no furniture, but at least this way you can sit on the floor without worrying about a stray nail or anything. Construction isn’t the cleanest process.”
    “Well, aren’t you romantic.” Even so, once he set the blanket on the ground, she tugged on the corners closest to her to make it as straight as possible. “This is sounding more and more like a real date by the second.”
    “Can’t remember the last time I said no to someone this much on a date.”
    Cali bent down to take off her shoes before she sat on the blanket, wincing as she sat. “Not the most comfortable.”
    Rourke sat next to her on the blanket over the original hardwood in the house. “No complaining about the floors. These are one of the saving graces of the house.”
    “Not the view?”
    “That and the view.” He held out his arm to her. “Come here.” He half expected her to say no or move away, but instead she scooched closer and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked at the fire.
    Not that she was completely complacent. “Would be nice if it was wood-burning.”
    “I’m not replacing the fireplace.” Even though he agreed with her, the cost benefit of the renovation just didn’t make it worth it. Having a fireplace increased the value of homes by thousands of dollars, but switching from one type to another made almost no difference in price.
    “What are we doing here?” she asked quietly even as she snuggled closer.
    He leaned in and took a deep inhale, the smell of her shampoo somehow being the sexiest thing imaginable to him at the moment. “We are...” He trailed off. He didn’t know what to tell her. “Hanging out,” he finally supplied.
    She let out a snort. “My college boyfriend and I used to ‘hang out.’ Don’t think I don’t know what that means.”
    “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.”
    “I see through your nefarious plan. Take me out to a romantic spot on the most uncomfortable seat in town to get me buttered up. Very smooth, Devereaux.”
    “We can leave if you want.”
    “Now I didn’t say that, did I?” she said softly.
    “Why didn’t you?” He didn’t know what he was doing, but she’d seemed pretty damn sure of herself from the second she’d pounded on his door. Why wasn’t she slapping him in the face and demanding he take her home?
    “I don’t know,” she said carefully. “I suppose because you feel good and I’m trying to take a bit of a mental vacation?”
    “That sounds like a bad reason.”
    “Do you think I should leave?”
    “Haven’t I been telling you that since you showed up in town?”
    “I mean right now. Do you think I should leave?”
    “I think...if you stay, I’ll show you a good time.”
    “A good time? How can a girl pass that up?” Even though the words sounded joking, she said it in a serious, almost somber tone.
    “There’s something between us,” said Rourke.
    “That doesn’t mean we need to be stupid about this. I mean—”
    But Cali never finished the thought. Because then Rourke was kissing her.

CHAPTER TEN
     
     
    Cali tilted her head back and let Rourke kiss her. Thousands of thoughts rushed into her mind. Namely, the thousands of reasons she should stop this kiss and order him to take her back.
    But damn it, he felt good. He felt warm and secure and safe. But was safe a good enough reason to risk her entire reason for coming here? Just because she knew he wasn’t an asshole was no reason to climb into bed with someone. Or onto the floor with them, in this case.
    He tilted his head and kissed her deeper. Roughly.
    No. This wasn’t just about safety. She sure as hell