She looked back at him. “Did you spend all your money on the house and can’t afford any furniture?” she asked gently.
Mitch looked at her gentle, concerned expression and burst out laughing. “Claire, you’re incredible,” he said. “I’m guessing you either already know, or will find out my complete net worth tomorrow. But it’s very sweet of you to be concerned about my finances.” He sat down in the black leather chair that was positioned in front of a large glass desk complete with three very large monitors. The only other chair was another leather chair, not as large, but still very comfortable. She sat down in it as she looked around the room, noting the large fireplace that she could probably stand up inside of, the two balconies that looked out to the den from the second story floors and the lovely view, all reflected in the highly polished wood floors. Just like his master, Duke was sprawled out on the wood floor gnawing at a raw hide bone, apparently unconcerned about the lack of creature comforts.
“So why haven’t you done anything with this room? Or any of the others for that matter?”
Mitch shrugged and looked around. “When I bought the house, I spoke to several interior decorators but nothing they sent me really struck a chord with me as being right for the rooms. At the time, I guess I sort of gave up and time has just slipped by.”
“Don’t you entertain?”
“Sure. That’s a necessity for any business owner. But I do it at restaurants or other facilities.”
“Do you not want people in your house?”
“Would that stop you?” he asked, a slight, knowing grin on his handsome face.
She smiled at his teasing tone and the laughter in his grey eyes. “Not really. There’s your promise to teach me something I want to learn if I succeed.”
“And the consequences if you fail.”
She waved that away. “You won’t hurt me.”
He took a sip of wine and the doorbell chimed. “I’ll get the pizza.”
She sat there while he went to the front door, Duke following in his wake, always on the alert for potential danger.
The pizza was steaming hot and gooey with loads of cheese. The olives were a problem, but Claire just picked them off with a fork and put them on Mitch’s next piece, sneaking Duke several pieces of pepperoni when Mitch went to get another bottle of wine. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow when he picked up a slice with double the olives, just dug into the meal with the same gusto as his first piece.
Claire continued to ask him questions about the house, why he bought it and what he planned to do with it, what his vision of the room had been when he’d bought it. She loved the room so much and offered suggestions. He didn’t really accept or reject any of them, but she kept on going.
“Tell me about this guy you’re so faithful to and are willing to risk imprisonment for,” he said as he poured her another glass of wine. “What’s he like? Where did you meet him?”
Claire stared back at him blankly for a long moment. “Gary?”
“Is that his name?”
She sank back in the chair, loving the way it wrapped around her and snuggled her into the leather. “Yes. He’s a very nice gentleman.”
“What does he do?”
Since he had answered all of her curious questions about his gorgeous house, and she’d broken into his home to find out information about the man, she figured she owed him an explanation as to why she’d done that. Besides, she wanted him to understand why she pushed him back when he pushed her towards a sexual relationship. Something she couldn’t do while dating another man. Or even after, she thought with a grimace. As she explained her relationship to Gary, his courtesy and his genuine interest in her, she gauged his face for any kind of reaction. But he simply kept asking questions, where he worked, why she thought he worked for Titus Securities, how old he was. Question after question and Claire answered them as honestly as she could, even though it was growing late and her body was responding to the over-stimulation from her attempted break in as well as his touch earlier tonight.
When her eye lids started to droop, Mitch realized that it was past midnight. “I’ll drive you home,” he said as he stood up, stretching from sitting for so many hours.
Claire looked around, doe eyed and confused. “Home?” She glanced at her watch and was startled. “Goodness! I can’t believe how late it is,” she said and stood up, rushing into the kitchen to rinse her wine glass. “I’m so sorry! You must be extremely tired. I know you work very hard.”
He followed her with his own wine glass, shaking his head as he listened to her chatter. Trapping her against the sink, he looked down into her guilty eyes. “Claire, you work just as hard as I do,” he countered.
Claire started to squirm against him, but the friction of their bodies only made her more aware of him, of his muscles and height. And her lack of both. “I…uh…don’t run a huge company like you do. I’m sure your hours are longer and the issues you face much more challenging.”
He was silent as he watched her squirm, enjoying both the movement and the blush that crept up her neck and cheeks. “And your never ending energy doesn’t wipe you out at the end of each day?”
She didn’t like the sound of that at all. “I’m not like that!”
He sighed and took both of her hands in his, placing them against his chest and keeping them there while she tried to pull them away. “You are. And I like it,” he said, despite the frown that followed his comment. “I also like the sexy outfits you wear to rebel against your traditional job within the company. I like it when you wear jeans,” he said as he slid his hands down her back to cup her bottom, inhaling the gasp with his mouth covering hers as he nibbled the side of her mouth. “I like the fact that you are stupidly loyal to a man you haven’t seen in several weeks and I like the anticipation of getting you into my bed,” he said before he covered her mouth so she couldn’t protest again.
The kiss was fast and hard, and over much too quickly. Just as she was about to beg for more, he stepped back and took her hand. “I’ll drive you to your car over on that private street you hid it on earlier tonight.”
As they drove through the night, Claire wanted desperately to ask him how he knew where she’d parked, but instead, ended up telling him more about her ideas for the project he’d assigned her to. He told her he was impressed with the possibilities and asked her several more questions about furthering the code, and Claire was just as intrigued with the direction he wanted to take the project.