The view was magnificent, but the living room itself took her breath away. Curved couches in black leather surrounded a sunken fire pit ringed in slate. A round, burnished metal flue hung over the center of the fire grates to draw up the smoke. On the wall beside the stairs, a long wet bar featured every kind of alcohol imaginable and every shape of glass, from tumblers to martini glasses to champagne flutes. A stocked wine refrigerator stood floor to ceiling.
With three different chair groupings, it was a room for entertaining. Double sliding glass doors opened to flagstone steps leading down to the pool deck. In the summer, with the doors wide, the party could flow easily from inside to outdoors.
She’d been thinking about wild sex with an incredibly hot guy. She’d thought she’d already come to terms with his wealth. But this was something more. Will was an incredibly hot super rich guy. Of course she already knew that he was a billionaire, but the fact kept hitting her over and over again.
Caviar worth thousands that he gave away to a friend.
A Maserati kit car he conjured up with a snap of his fingers.
A golf course in his backyard.
A fire pit in his sunken living room.
“He needs a Ping-Pong table,” Jeremy said matter-of-factly.
She slung her arm around his shoulders and laughed, glad that her brother could always pull her from her spinning thoughts. Thoughts about just how far out of her depth she was with Will. “He probably has a game room somewhere.”
Will’s voice carried across the immense room. “Indeed I do. And it’s right under here.” He tapped the floor with his foot.
His newly washed hair was so dark it gleamed with blue highlights in the late sun falling through the tall windows. He was delicious in black jeans and a dark blue shirt, its sleeves rolled up his forearms. So delicious that the sight of him sent another flush of heat rushing over her skin.
“There’s a pool table and some pinball machines down there as well,” he told Jeremy. “You can get to it from the pool patio. Or there’s a set of stairs from up here.” He pointed behind the first staircase leading to the second level. “The media room is down there, too.”
“A media room?” Harper echoed, even though at this point she shouldn’t be surprised by anything in this magnificent house.
“It’s got a projection TV. Like a small movie screen.”
“Cool,” Jeremy said, and then he kissed Harper on the cheek, yelled “’Bye!” and raced down the stairs to check it all out.
As soon as her brother was out of sight, Will moved close. He put his hand on Harper’s arm and skimmed his fingers down until he clasped her hand in his. His thumb stroked a slow rhythm against her skin.
“Feel like a drive to Pacifica for dinner? There’s a great place right on the ocean.”
God, yes. She’d go anywhere with him tonight. Absolutely anywhere.
Smiling up at him, she let her inner vixen shine through. “Sounds good, especially if you can get us there fast.”
As the word fast registered, his eyes dilated nearly to black as he understood that she was up for another wild ride—in every sense of the phrase. For one breathless moment, Harper wasn’t sure they’d even make it out of his house. Especially when he leaned in close and said, “I’ll take you as fast, and as wild, as you want.” His mouth was close enough that she could almost taste him as he added, “As many times as you want.”
But then, instead of kissing her, he drew out the tease by merely putting his hand on the small of her back. And as they headed for the door, Harper realized that a person really could go weak in the knees.
Because she just had.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Throughout dinner, Will barely tasted the food, though he assumed it was good. He didn’t care about what he ate or the view from the restaurant’s tall windows overlooking the ocean. He cared only about watching Harper. Touching Harper. He’d kept her close beside him in the booth, her thigh against his, the friction of their bodies like jolts of electricity.
She seemed excited tonight—which he understood, because he felt exactly the same way—and he was glad to see that she wasn’t trying to hide her innate sensuality anymore. But at the same time, she seemed a little nervous. As if she couldn’t quite believe she was wearing that super-sexy dress while out on a date with him.
Now, as they got back into his car, he asked her, “Do you want the top up or down?”
It was cool out, and her dress didn’t have sleeves. But she surprised him by saying, “Top down. Heater up.”
They flew down the coast road. The mesh deflector behind the seats reduced the noise and wind. Despite the stick shift between them, he kept her close with a hand over hers. She’d half-turned toward him, her head resting on the seat back, one knee bent, the hem of the dress rising higher. The night sky above was bright with stars and moonlight, everything reflected in her eyes. Her hair blew around her face in lazy tendrils. He didn’t want to scare her away, but he needed to touch her, so he moved his hand to her knee and stroked her bare skin in small circles.