Page 67 of Player For Hire

“Bah.” Iona got up. “I need consolation pizza.”

Colder straightened, then he crooked his finger at me. “Time to pay up.”

My belly jittered. “Now?”

“Now.” He backed up, then he headed for the left-hand side of the lobby desk. I’d never been on that side of the building. It was for the higher end loft apartments as well as the penthouse where the owner of the building resided.

I glanced over my shoulder. Iona was too busy talking to Amberly and Dahlia to pay attention to what I was doing. I rose and hurried over to meet my fate.

Colder was waiting for me in the shadows of the hallway, making my heart race.

“We aren’t supposed to be over here,” I whispered as I caught up with him.

“Nope.” His dangerous smile sent a shiver through me. “We sure aren’t. Welcome to your next lesson.”

CHAPTER 19

NAOMI

I glanced over my shoulder. Laughter and the hum of conversation drifted after me. Colder walked backwards down the hallway and I followed. It was similar to our side of the building, but there was a touch more opulence.

The art deco flavor was heightened with dark wallpaper that drew in the light, leaving a matte finish with a slight sheen in a feather pattern. The sconces were smaller, and the light refracted along the pattern, adding to the illicit nature of sneaking away.

My overactive imagination activated as my heart throbbed like a drumbeat in my head.

He paused at the storage door and flashed his key fob at the scanner.

I glanced back down the hall again.

“Naomi.”

I jumped when his hand firmed on my hip.

“Lesson of my choice, remember?”

I swallowed. “Yes, I remember. Even if you cheated.”

His lips twitched in the low light. “I can’t help it if you get distracted by me. It’s only fair since you’ve been distracting me since the day we met.”

That couldn’t be true.

But then he drew me into the storage room and left the door wide open.

Dear God, I could still hear all the people in the lobby. Anyone could come down here. Could come down and see what we were doing.

I didn’t have time to ask a question or to even think about what kind of lesson we were indulging in. There was only his mouth on mine.

Hard and fast, the liquid lust flooded my system like a drug.

He pushed me up against one of the steel shelves and the jangle of something like bells—maybe Christmas decorations—dented the haze, but then his big hand was on my breast.

No easing in.

He lifted me onto my toes and nudged my thighs apart with his knee. He wrapped one hand around my wrist and pinned it above my head, stretching me out farther. His other hand raced over my breast and then down between my thighs.

“Still wet for me from the elevator, sweet Naomi?”

“No.”