Plugging It In(2)
Her hair could stay the way it was. When your hair was glossy deep sable, straight as a die, thicker than molasses, and shaved on the left side above and behind your ear, you could get away with it looking a little wild.
The unmistakable aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled her nose as she strode into her apartment's living room.
Coffee? She hadn't made …
Her Doctor Who travel mug sat on the kitchen counter, waiting for her.
A warm flurry of happiness washed over her. She squashed it. Making coffee for her? That wasn't what an emotionally detached fuck-buddy did. What was he trying to do? Make her like him or something?
"Bastard." She picked up the warm mug from the counter and walked for the door. She was going to make him pay for that thoughtful kindness tonight.
She was driving her car out of her apartment building's underground garage when it dawned on her what she'd done.
Mentally put him back in her bed that night.
Damn it. What the hell did she do now?
*
Nerves gnawed at Brannum West, a disconcerting, unfamiliar emotion.
He hadn't become CEO of the country's most successful electronic entertainment distribution company by being nervous. Clients-no matter how big, no matter how golden-never made him nervous. He held the cards, as it were. The manufacturers of products needed his company, his business acumen, to see their games and merchandise on the shelves of stores and in the homes of the buyers. He wielded the power in the relationship, and wielded it to perfection.
But this next meeting … This next client …
Rosemary Bailey, or as her assistant insisted he call her, RG, fell into a completely different category of client, however.
The introductory meeting about to take place as soon as she arrived had nothing to do with the nerves taking massive bites out of his calm and poise. When it came to business transactions and dealings, Bran was icy calm and collected control.
RG Bailey, however, and the online-game empire worth millions she'd created with Hell's Harbour, was a different matter.
For starters, today's meeting was about his company becoming the sole worldwide distributor of Hell's Harbour 2, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the original game.
For another thing, he and RG had been circling each other sexually for a while now, although not in the traditional sense. They'd never met personally, but in Hell's Harbour, they'd shared more than one sexually charged moment. A lot more than one.
Thank Christ she was clueless to that. One of the attractions of online role-playing games-your real-life identity was always a secret.
Now if only he could get these nerves under-
The door to his office swung open and his personal assistant sashayed into the room. "Ms. Bailey from Elemental Games to see you, Mr. West."
Bran drew a deep breath and nodded. Here we go. "Send her in, Jacinta."
Jacinta pivoted on her heel-how the hell did she walk in stilettoes that high?-and strutted out of his office.
Bran held back a grunt. Jacinta was good at her job, but damn, did she have attitude. More than one client had commented how intimidating she was. It worked for Bran, but he hoped that intimidation didn't put RG off.
Jesus, West. Get ahold of the nerves.
His door opened again and RG Bailey strode into the room, making Jacinta's attitude look ham-fisted.
Rising to his feet, he watched her approach his desk, his heart thumping fast.
RG was famous in the gaming world for her appearance and today he could see why. Her warrior-woman hair with its shaved side stirred in him something hungry. The black eyeliner-so thick it made her blue eyes almost hypnotic-did the same. Screw socially accepted ideals of being normal, her eyes said.
He swallowed. Even the way the lights of his office glinted off the multitude of piercings in her ears unnerved him.
Game creators never failed to be unique and unconventional. As CEO of Virt.Real Distributors, he was used to their eccentricities, but the sheer presence of RG knocked him sideways.
Supreme confidence radiated from her in undeniable waves, and threaded through that, an even greater natural sensuality. Her body moved with natural rhythm in the thoroughly sexy, unabashedly geeky attire she wore. Every fiber in his body responded to her on a level he'd long believed dormant.
Jesus. He was in trouble here.
"Mr. West." She reached his desk, her stare holding his own with direct poise.
Jesus, what the hell were his balls and cock doing? Getting hard? Swollen? Not the way they normally behaved during a business meeting with a client. "Rosemary."
Those ice-blue eyes of hers flashed and she gave him an unreadable smile. "Sure about that?"
Damn it. Wrong name. Wrong name.
"RG." He held out his hand in the universally accepted professional business greeting.
She removed the messenger bag slung over her shoulder and dropped it at her feet before taking his offered hand and giving it a firm, assured pump.
"There you go." She raked her gaze over him before ending the handshake with a grin. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Hard. Damn appropriate word right now.
He let out a wobbly chuckle. "No, but it wasn't quite how I saw this starting out."
"Never is." The unreadable smile played with her lips again. "That's what makes it fun."
He studied her. How did he respond? For the first time in his professional life-no, change that, his adult life-he didn't know.
The warning from various business associates that RG Bailey was unlike anything he'd experienced before was not an exaggeration. No warning had been given, however, about the fact she was like concentrated sexual energy on two long legs.
"So … " RG dropped herself into the seat opposite his desk, draped her elbow over its back and fixed him with another one of those enigmatic, mesmerizing stares. "Sell yourself to me, Brannum West. Why am I agreeing to let Virt.Real Distributors be solely responsible for getting Hell's Harbour 2 out into the world?"
Damn, he liked the way she said his name. It reminded him of someone else from his past. Someone-
Shut that thought down now.
"One word." Undoing the button on his suit jacket, he lowered himself into his own seat. RG Bailey did not need to see the growing bulge in his trousers. "E3."
"Other distributors can get HH2 to E3, Brannum." She flicked another glance over him. "Alliance Distributors promised me that very thing a month ago. And the day before yesterday. And five minutes ago as I was driving here. They're doing their best to convince me to backflip on our relationship and sign with them. So tell me … why do you think I decided to go with you?"
Bran chuckled. She was testing him. He liked it.
A lot. And on a level that made his groin tighten.
Leaning forward in his seat, he placed his elbows on his desk and threaded his fingers. "Two reasons. You went with me because Virt.Real Distributors follows the same moral code you yourself follow in business: don't treat people like shit, don't disrespect those who make your life better, don't dismiss the ideas of those who have only begun their journey."
Something intriguing flared in RG's eyes. Something … hungry.
"Not just in business." He could have been mistaken, but her voice sounded huskier than it had before. "And the other reason?"
"You're a firm believer in keeping things local. In supporting local companies and businesses. In keeping the dollars in this country as much as you can. And as you no doubt know, Virt.Real Distributors is one-hundred percent Australian owned and run."
"I do know that. And you're right. Those are pretty much the reasons I signed with you. But there is another."
Bran raised his eyebrows, sitting back in his chair once again. Okay, he hadn't expected this. "Which is?"
"Because you've … played with me more than once."
He stared at her. Swallowed.
It was her turn to lean forward and rest her elbows on his desk. Her lips curled. Her eyes glinted. "Because you're the mage warrior West Wind on Hell's Harbour and you have been flirting with me outrageously in the supposedly inaccessible zones for some time now."
"I … " He stopped. She knew. Fuck, she knew. What did he do? What did he say?
"What you're going to tell me now is," she went on, "how you came by the knowledge of the very secret, very restricted downloadable expansion packs of the game … "
Bran swallowed. Again. And there goes my career.
RG's smile turned to a grin, one that said quite clearly she knew she had him thoroughly by the short and curlies and was enjoying every minute of it.
She settled into her chair, draped her elbow over its back again, crossed those sublime legs of hers, and arched an eyebrow. The eyebrow-he noticed-pierced with a tiny blood-red stone. "Well?"
He dragged in a slow breath. Rick. Damn it, I'm going to kill the bastard when I see him next.
An image of his ex sheared through him, and he sucked in another breath.
"Well?"
"I'm a huge fan of Hell's Harbour." Time to be brutally honest. Something about RG told him her bullshit meter was second to none. "A work associate introduced me to it a year ago. He was the one who showed me the DLC."
Unmistakable interest flared in RG's eyes. Along with something Bran couldn't decipher. Anger? Disappointment? She regarded him from opposite his desk for a long moment, silent.