Talking Dirty with the CEO(26)

“The one on dating.”

“The one on—” She stopped and her head jerked up, gaze locked with his

“Yes,” he said, keeping it casual. “The one where you went out with a guy called Studman500.”

“How did you know?”

“When I saw you in the crowd, I asked one of my staff to see if they could find out who you were. And they did. They also brought me the latest issue of Total Tech.”

“Oh.” The word was soft. “So I guess you know that our date was research? At least, that’s what it was supposed to be.”

“Research, huh?”

A sigh escaped her. “Yeah.”

After a moment she put her phone on the table. Then turned to him, a grimly determined look on her face. “I owe you an apology. I should have told you right from the start.” Her throat moved as she swallowed. “And I totally didn’t intend to have sex with you when I asked you for the date, okay? That was…kind of unexpected.”

Her honesty took him by surprise. The women he dated tended to be game-players. They pretended they weren’t into his money or his looks, when of course the opposite was true. Not that he cared. He didn’t give a toss about their opinions.

But there was something about Christie’s openness that touched him. “Jumping a woman in my bathroom isn’t something I normally do, either,” he admitted. And, because he wanted to see her smile, “I’m usually way more slick than that.”

His reward was the way her luscious mouth relaxed into a small curve. “I have to say, you don’t look like the type of guy who plays Zombie Force Online.”

“I’m not. And I have another confession for you. I’m not really Studman500.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was in a meeting with one of my employees. Who apparently plays a lot of online games when he should be working. He got up to answer a phone call and while he was on the phone, your chat window popped up on his computer.” Joseph grinned. “I liked the Ugg boot and garter belt combo.”

Christie’s smile deepened. “I did wonder. We were talking about gaming gear and what we wore when we were online. He mentioned something about a Master Chief helmet with built-in microphone. I thought Ugg boots were better.”

“Way better. But I can give him your number if you’d prefer to talk to him.”

“God no. Studman was such a lame handle.”

He laughed. Karl would be gutted. “You’re right. It’s very lame. I would have chosen something much more classy. Like Big Boy. Or Love Machine.”

Christie ducked her head, but not before he caught the brilliance of that smile again. “I like Love Machine. You should keep it.”

“I will.” He waited a moment. “So? Are you going to tell me what made you run out on me?”

“Oh. That.” Christie’s smile faded. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’m sorry, too. I thought I’d hurt you.”

“No. Honestly, you didn’t. I think I just got overwhelmed. I…” She stopped, looking embarrassed. “Well, I don’t normally sleep with guys I’ve only just met and I guess I freaked out.”

Something in him, a small hard knot, abruptly unraveled. He couldn’t stop himself—he reached out, touched the soft skin of her cheek, and cupped her jaw in his palm. “That was some freak-out.”

She didn’t move. “Actually…I…I thought you might regret it.”

“Why on earth would you think that? Did I say something that—”

“No. No, you didn’t. I just…” She faltered, glancing away. “I didn’t want to stick around in case you did regret it.”

The fragile note in her voice made an unfamiliar protectiveness gather inside him. “The only thing I regret,” he said gently, “is your leaving.”

Her gaze came back to his and for a second they just looked at each other.

Then her lashes fell and she pulled away from him. “Sorry, I have to do this interview, remember?”

The wary, guarded look was back in her eyes again, and he decided he didn’t like it.

“You don’t like me touching you?”

“The interview, Joseph.”

He wanted to growl. Why did this woman, this frustrating, surprising woman, have to be so different? Why couldn’t she cling just a bit? Or be all over him like other women seemed to want to do? He wouldn’t mind, not with her.

“Ouch,” he said.

Christie gave him a wary look. “What do you mean, ouch?”

“I’ve never been rejected before. It hurts.”

“But I’m not…not rejecting you.”