The guy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Um, well, I’m not sure…”
The door opened and Mia emerged wearing a low-cut black dress and high heels that showed off her fit body and defined calf muscles. Michael popped to his feet immediately, pulling Jason with him. “Stand when a lady enters,” he whispered under his breath. “Mia is a lady, Jason. My lady.” He knew it was the verbal equivalent of pissing on a tree to mark his territory, but with a guy like Jason, sometimes pissing on a tree was the best tactic.
“You look amazing as always,” Michael said approaching her. The only thing that revealed she was on edge was the widening of her eyes as he got closer. “Truly amazing.” And with that, he pulled her into his arms, mindful to angle their position properly for their stunned audience, and took her mouth in a deep, overtly sensual kiss.
…
A yummy noise from deep in Michael’s throat pulled Mia out of her lust haze. Holy crap the man could kiss. And she’d kissed him way too long. She’d totally forgotten everything once Michael’s tongue met hers, exploring, dancing, demanding. Time, place, even awareness of who she was had flown out the window. She pulled back, keenly aware of his hardness pressed against her. Slowly, she took a deep breath, unwound her fingers from his shirt, and moved out of his embrace.
Jason cleared his throat and Mia grinned. In addition to being a great kisser, Michael was a genius. Jason would never tell her that no man would put up with her again. Not after seeing her kiss this man with his perfect features, clothes, and manners.
“Shall we?” Michael said, gesturing for the door. “I invited your good friend, Jason, to join us for drinks. I hope that’s okay.”
Uh oh. How long would Jason buy this act? How long could she carry it off? “Sure.”
Michael twined his fingers through hers as if they were lovers and hadn’t met yesterday under less-than-ideal circumstances, and they strolled to his apartment, Jason following behind looking as confused as Mia felt.
She couldn’t help but wonder why Michael would do such a thing. Honestly, she had no idea what would motivate him to pretend to be her boyfriend other than just to teach Jason a lesson, but he’d accomplished that with the kiss. Why the prolonged show?
She fought back a gasp when she entered Michael’s apartment. It was perfect, like a magazine spread for an architectural periodical. Chrome, glass, steel, and black leather. All perfectly placed and displayed.
“Scotch, Jason?” he asked as he slipped behind the bar. “Mia prefers wine if you’d rather have that.”
“Actually, her favorite drink is tequila,” Jason said with a grin. “Tequila does great things for Mia.”
“I do great things for Mia, Jason,” Michael responded coolly, pouring red wine in a crystal goblet.
Whoa. He was taking this whole playing-the-boyfriend thing seriously. She wondered what he’d be like as a real boyfriend. Actually, the word “boyfriend” wasn’t sufficient for a man like him. So in control and calm. What would he be like, she wondered, if he ever dropped that calm fa?ade?
“So what do you do?”
Jason sat up straighter. “Oh, I work on Wall Street.”
“For whom? I’ve never heard of you.” He handed Mia the wine and kissed her hand as she reached for it, causing a whole passel of butterflies to launch into flight in her belly, fluttering so wildly that she felt a little queasy.
“Well, I’ve only recently started work there. I’m a runner right now, but I’m working my way up.” His voice trailed off slightly as Michael sat next to Mia, scanning her from head to toe as if he could eat her up and as if no one else were in the room. Jason cleared his throat. “What do you do, Michael?”
“I dabble in a lot of things.” He ran his finger up the outside of Mia’s knee and she sucked in a breath. His fingers were cool from handling the drinks, but the chills skittering up her spine had nothing to do with temperature. “Beautiful things.”
Holy crap. Maybe Gladys had the right of it. Maybe she needed to pay a visit to Mr. Anderson’s fun house herself. Her body was in countdown mode on the launch pad. Ten…nine…eight… No! Houston, we have a problem, she warned herself. It’s all a show. She angled away from his fingers.
He stood and pulled a card out of his wallet. “Here’s what I do, Jason. Feel free to give my office a call. Maybe we can meet for lunch.” His phone rang, and he pulled it out and grimaced. “If you two will excuse me for a moment, please. I need to take this call from the security desk. I’m expecting the groomer any minute.”
“Oh, did you take Clancy to the groomer I told you about?”
He winked. “Of course I did. I always take your suggestions, sweetheart.” And then he was gone. Leaving her alone with her ex.
Staring at the card in his hands, Jason whistled. “Holy fuck. Do you know who that is?”