“Stems, I know what banging is supposed to feel like. Trust me, no other woman has ever turned me inside out the way you do. You’re my Kryptonite, but you complete me so perfectly that I don’t even care. That’s why I’m laughing. At every turn, you find a way to make the ordinary extraordinary, and that surprises the hell out of me.” With her clothes back in place, he rose to kiss her until the hunger began to stir once more. “Guess it’s a good thing I’ve got a surprise waiting at home for you. Turnabout’s fair play.”
Her brows rose as he pulled her to her feet. “What surprise?”
“Let me put it this way. It’s a surprise that’s going to knock your socks off. And hopefully that thong.”
Chapter Sixteen
Shellshocked. Considering the explosive sex Alice just experienced with Loki, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised to find herself feeling shellshocked.
She’d been too embarrassed to look at anyone as they left House Of Payne, but she had zero regrets about sexing it up while on the clock. Come to find out, three orgasms bought a lot of mental justification when it came to having sex in the workplace.
Except…
It wasn’t just sex.
And after what he’d said earlier, he didn’t feel it was just sex, either. They were in the same boat, obviously. But what kind of boat was it?
A surge of warmth and mind-spinning happiness ballooned in her chest when she realized that at least they were together when it came to this weird madness.
“There’s our kitchen table.” As they entered his kitchen through the garage, she patted the Formica tabletop while he hung up his keys. “Is it weird that every time I see it now, I get turned on?”
He chuckled and caught her hand in his. “Guess what’s going to happen every time you walk into that little office now?”
“Oh, God, I’m doomed.” But she laughed along with him as he took her through the open-plan living space toward his bedroom. “Maybe it’s a good thing Luke said I’ve got a job waiting for me at Private Security International.”
That had him swiveling his head around to look at her with raised brows. “What?”
“He’s such a weird guy, that Luke Keyes,” she muttered as Loki turned on the bedroom light and headed for what she now thought of as his side of the bed. “Get this—that dude knew I was leaving House Of Payne at the end of my probation before I ever said anything out loud about it. How does he do that?”
“Like you said, he’s weird.” With a shake of his head, he stopped and turned to pull her into his arms. “Are you really going to leave House Of Payne?”
“Probably. Though I have to admit Scout and Payne have done a complete turnaround on my working there. And with the raise I just got, it’s going to be hard to leave.” She searched his face. “How do you feel about it?”
“I love having you there, but I’m not going to lie. Ever since that Womack chick lost her shit, all I can think about is whether or not you’re keeping yourself safe. Thanks to those stupid protocols Scout and Payne put on you, I’m worried you’re going to hesitate again, and next time you won’t be so lucky.”
“Scout assured me those protocols are a thing of the past, but…I don’t know.” She grimaced as the doubt ate away at her. “It still feels like they’re there, waiting to fall down on me like a guillotine the moment another incident occurs. It’s hard for me to believe they trust me to be professional while still doing my best to protect myself and their clientele.”
“I’ve worked with Scout and Payne a while now, so I trust them as much as I trust anyone, but building that trust took time. Time is a luxury you don’t have. Some kook could walk in tomorrow, and you’d freeze up all over again. And in that moment, you could get blown away.”
She nodded, grateful he understood. “Of course, the likelihood of that happening is almost zero.”
“You can’t afford to think that way, not with your kind of job. And you can’t have a lack of trust in the position you hold and still keep yourself safe.”
She sighed. “The problem’s not so much Scout and Payne as it is with me. I’m just not the easily trusting sort, I guess.”
“No, the problem is they made this whole situation impossible right from the beginning. I think they get that, now that it’s too late.”
“I’m just sorry I’ve become a distraction for you, when that’s the last thing an artist needs,” she added after a moment, going on tiptoe to nuzzle her lips against his. “After all, there are so many good ways to distract you—like showing you a little leg, or giving you an eyeful of some epic, just-for-you cleavage. But having you worry about me? Ugh. That’s definitely not on my list of ways to distract you.”
“A list, huh?” The scowl faded as she’d hoped it would, and a hot smile took its place. “What else is on your list?”
How good of him to ask. “You’re a tough guy, so I know you’re not going to be so weak as to fall for just any little thing I throw at you.” As she spoke, she twined her arms around his neck. That made it easier to plaster her body against his until they touched in one long line of heat. “If I’m going to capture your attention, I can’t be subtle about it. I’ve got to bring out the big guns right away. That’s what all-over body rubs are for.” Smiling into his eyes, she slowly rose up on her tiptoes, then lowered herself back down, letting the friction between their bodies hammer her point home. “Then, of course, there’s the eye sex.”
His arms had come to clamp her to him so tightly she felt his rumble of laughter before she heard it. “Eye sex?”
“Eye sex is a big deal, pal, so don’t knock it.” Still looking right at him, she once against rose onto her tiptoes. “It’s all about showing your lover how you feel with your eyes alone. For instance, I like to lock my eyes onto my man and show him nothing can take my attention away from him…because it’s true. Then I like to hit him with a sultry glance—” she lowered her lashes, just a coy little flutter, before giving him the full impact of what she hoped was a smoldering look. “This promises him that all sorts of sensual delights are coming his way…because it’s true. And with a good session of eye sex, I show him with a look who I am. I am his.”
“Because it’s true.” He brought her up to meet the descent of his mouth, kissing her long and deep before finally letting her come up for air. “I’m thinking I like your eye sex.”
Yay. “Good.”
“I’m also thinking I do things a different way.” With his hungry gaze moving over her until her skin tingled, he gently pushed her back to the edge of the bed. “I like showing you that you’ve got my attention, and that sexy things are about to happen, and that you belong to me in a way that’s sure to make you smile. I like to do it by giving you the most unexpected surprises.”
Yay! “I love surprises.”
“Luckily you don’t even have to dress for the occasion. Get naked, Alice. Then you’ll get your surprise.”