At Any Price(40)
He barked a laugh. “Shit, if I was worried about who was talking trash about me, I’d have quit this business a long time ago.”
“So, how often do you play? Do you group up with other players?”
“Once a week and of course. You know you can’t get any of the good stuff done without a large group.”
“Why?” I puzzled. “Why would you want to play when you know all the secrets—all of the quest chains, all of the back story? Wouldn’t that be boring?”
He shrugged. “I playtest my own product. It’s being thorough. I’m always very thorough.”
He seemed to be saying something to me, a weighted double entendre, but I didn’t get it. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” he said suddenly.
“Character?”
“Yeah, but you can’t rat me out on your blog.”
I shook my head. “Of course not. I’m under an NDA, am I not? With no expiration date. If you want to know so badly, couldn’t you just look me up under my account information? My real name is on that.”
“I could. I’d rather you told me.”
“Her name is Eloisa.”
He nodded. “Okay. Maybe I’ll add you to my friends list.”
“And you are…?” I raised my brows at him.
He looked at me and hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Magnus.”
Of course. Magnificent. And parts of him truly were magnificent. And other parts seemed dark, shrouded, and brooding. I never knew what Adam I was going to get from one moment to the next.
During the latter part of the flight, he’d managed to take a nap and I watched him sleep, utterly fascinated. But it wasn’t until we’d landed that I remembered the cell phone he’d given me in Amsterdam. I reached into my jacket pocket and handed it to him.
“Here’s your phone back.”
“Actually, that’s yours. I have my own…an irritating one that tends to ring at the most inopportune times,” he said with a grimace.
“But—”
“You said yours wasn’t working. I want to be able to get a hold of you, so I arranged for that one and I don’t need it. Keep it and keep it charged. I want to be able to reach you.”
“Ah, I see. Is this part of that whole thing? You’re keeping tabs on me until this transaction is complete?”
He shrugged. “If you want to think of it that way.”
I glared at him, tempted to cram the damn thing down his throat until he spoke again. “Besides, you can use the web feature to respond to comments on your blog from wherever you are.”
Now that I liked. “Hmm. Well, I can keep it until we are…through with each other. But then I’m giving it back.”
The expression on his face was enigmatic. “If you must.”
When he dropped me off from the airport, he walked me to my door, insisting on carrying my ratty bag. We stood at the door staring at each other for a long, awkward moment.
“So, I guess I’ll see you this Friday?” I said.
“Yes. I’ll text you.”
“Not sure my old car is allowed on the road in Newport Beach amongst all the glittering Bentleys and Beemers. I might get pulled over the minute I cross the city limit.”
He laughed. “I’ll arrange for a car to come get you.”
“Fancy. Don’t suppose I can persuade you to turn off your phone that night.”
“I might be very tempted.” He grinned that boyish grin that made my heart flip.
“Remember, the early dinner will be before. I’ve invited some friends, so bring your best manners.”
I crinkled up my mouth. “I’ll try to find some by then.”
He took a step closer to me, reached up to brush the hair away from my face. I looked up into his eyes and a jolt of heat shot through me, remembering the feel of his mouth, his hands on my body that brief night in Amsterdam.
Now the magic had followed us home, and swirled around us as we stood on the tattered, rubber mat on my doorstep, likely with my landlady watching through her vertical blinds.
“Until Friday, Emilia,” and he dipped his head to drop a chaste kiss on my lips before pulling away, turning to walk down the steps and back to the town car. I watched him the entire way, my mouth slack in surprise. I was at least hoping to get a little tongue.
It was Sunday afternoon and I was exhausted, of course, but I knew I had to call Heath right away—on his strict orders—and let him know how the whole weekend had unrolled. “What?” he shrieked when I got to the part about the phone call, but for a minute I couldn’t tell whether it was his concern over the near-crisis with the game patch or that he couldn’t believe Adam had delayed the entire thing on account of business.