Her smirk was hot and knowing and sure. “Oh yes. You are.”
A zing of holy-shit zapped his spine and spread fire through his groin. This wasn’t the Mia he knew. And this wasn’t the kind of relationship they had. This was a puck bunny scheming him into bed. And if this were any other woman even half as gorgeous as Mia, he’d already be upstairs with his head under her skirt, eating her out while she writhed and moaned.
His mind instantly put Mia in that position, and desire flashed through him, buckling his knees. He put one hand against the wall and pressed his other to her shoulder to keep him on his feet.
“What the hell…” He gripped her biceps and swung her out of the path of the elevator. When she didn’t seem the least bit fazed, he gave her a little shake. “What’s going on, Mia?”
She laughed, the sound hot and lazy. The elevator doors slid closed, and Mia reached out again, hitting the button.
His heart pounded like a goddamned jackhammer. Darting another look around, he bent his head and lowered his voice. “Where is this coming from?”
She got that gleam in her eyes again. The one that made his stomach squeeze and flip. The one that made heat collect between his legs. She reached into her purse and lifted her phone.
“Right here,” she said.
He glanced at the phone but shook his head, growing frustrated. “I don’t understand.”
Mia tapped her screen, entered her password, and turned the phone toward him, showing their text messages.
You’ll owe me, she’d told him.
Fine. Anything you want. I’m dying here.
Anything I want?
Yes.
You’re sure?
Mia. ANYTHING.
His stomach somersaulted, then dropped to his feet. His blood turned to ice one second, then melted in a firestorm the next.
“I didn’t think I’d need to explain,” she said, “but obviously, I do. My anything is you, me, upstairs, now. Is that clear enough for you?”
A fireball burst in Rafe’s gut. His mouth dropped open. He was dreaming. He had to be. It was so like one of his dreams to do this. To taunt him with the idea of being with her only to wake him before he’d so much as kissed her, leaving him in a moody funk for a week.
But, he didn’t wake. This was no dream.
“What the hell?” His words came out too loud and too pissed. A family of four standing near the elevators looked over, clearly concerned.
Mia raised her brows at him in the most goddamned adorable little smirk. “Be careful,” she sang. “You don’t want this to turn up on the news, do you?”
His mind shot to Tate. Then Joe. And Rafe’s blood ran cold again.
He reached out and stabbed a finger against the Up button. “I’ll go up to talk about this. But that’s it.”
Holding on to that smirk, Mia looked down at her phone. To clear his head, Rafe watched the numbers on the elevator and strategized how he planned on keeping the woman he’d wanted for years at arm’s length. A woman who looked good enough to fuck a dozen different ways every day for a week straight without coming up for air.
“Look at that,” she said, pulling his gaze from the numbers. But Mia was still looking at her phone. “Dictionary.com defines ‘anything’ as ‘in any degree; in any way; to any extent.’” She met his eyes and smiled—a wicked hot little smile. “That’s my anything. You—to any degree, in any way, to any extent I want.”
Rafe was on fire. He rubbed his hand over his mouth and found sweat collecting on his brow. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“In fact, my head is clearer than it’s ever been. And since the agreement was anything I want, talking isn’t included.” She lifted one slim shoulder in a careless shrug. “Unless you want to throw in some dirty talk. Bet you’re good at it. That might be hot.” She slipped one arm around his waist and lifted her chin. “Give it a try. Talk dirty to me, Rafe.”
His heart seized. He slapped a hand over his eyes. “Jesus Christ.”
Ding.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the elevator, then found himself hoping someone else came on, suddenly rattled at the thought of being trapped in this box alone with her.
She pressed the number for the top floor, and the doors closed without another passenger. Rafe went into offensive mode. “Let’s get real, Mia. You’re just getting back at me for not talking to you. I’m not stupid enough to think you’re serious, so you can drop the act already.”
Before he’d finished the last sentence, Mia was pressed up against him, her hands roaming his chest, wrapping around his torso underneath his blazer. Her gorgeous green eyes stayed focused on his.