Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Warmth stole through me from head to toe, and my heart was bursting with emotion. “I love you, too.”
His phone beeped again, and he sighed as he closed my legs and smoothed down my skirt. Then he stood, taking me with him and setting me on my feet with his steadying hands on my hips. “Come with me,” he purred as he dragged his lips up my neck.
“I just did,” I teased.
His blue eyes were still hungry when they met my gaze in the mirror while zipping his pants back up. “And you’ll be coming a fuck of a lot more as soon as I deal with the security issue. Now move your sweet ass.” He patted my butt, and I pretended to glare at him, even though fire sparked in my center. Grabbing my hand, he laced our fingers together and led me out of the dressing room.
When we arrived at the security offices, I saw Anna, our newest marketing hire, pacing in front of Knox’s desk. She’d been helping me with designs for new posters and ads, so we had become good friends in the month she’d been here.
She greeted me with a smile, but it seemed forced, and her green eyes had a frantic quality to them. I cocked my head to the side as I studied her, curious about the flush on her pale skin. I couldn’t imagine why she would be blushing, and I wondered if a man had put her in this agitated state.
Knox led me to the couch directly across from his desk that he’d had brought in just for me. Then he kissed my forehead before striding over to his chair and taking a seat. “What’s the problem, Anna?” he inquired, the wild man from my dressing room suddenly replaced by the calm, almost scary (to everyone but me) head of security.
“Julian Storm!” she snapped, halting in her pacing and facing my husband with her hands fisted on her hips. “You need to do something about that, that…jerk face!” I covered my mouth so I wouldn’t laugh at her choice of insult for the sexy magician.
“Calm down, Anna,” Knox said patiently. “What did he do that has you so worked up?”
She started pacing again, giving me a view of her screwed-up expression. “I’m not worked up,” she protested. When her blush intensified, I suspected her definition of “worked up” was different than Knox’s. Then she snapped, “He doesn’t have any effect on me,” and I had to stifle another laugh at her clear denial.
“Okay,” Knox agreed. “What did he do to upset you?”
“He kidnapped me!” she shouted. Knox’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. We knew Julian pretty well, and it was hard to believe that he would…she broke my train of thought when she continued. “He was supposed to make me disappear for the show, but then the box was moving, and when it opened up, I was locked with him in his dressing room!” Her cheeks were bright red now, and she started to fan her face with one hand. I was convinced there was more to that story but stayed silent, deciding there would be a better time to drag it all out of her. Besides, I’d seen the way Julian watched Anna whenever she was near him. It reminded me of how Knox looked at me.
Knox’s face was impassive, but the slight crinkling around his eyes betrayed the fact that he was amused. I buried my face in a pillow, trying to keep from bursting into laughter.
“While I can understand why you’re upset, I’m afraid this isn’t a security issue,” he drawled as he leaned back in his chair and tapped the fingers of one hand on his desk. “Therefore, not my problem.”
Anna faced him again and stomped her foot. “Of course, it’s a security issue!” she argued, her voice pitched high. “He can’t just go kidnapping women from the audience. Someone is going to call the police…and…and”—she seemed to be grasping for more to say—“it’s a publicity nightmare!”
I snorted, and they both swung their heads in my direction. “I disagree,” I chirped happily. “I think it’s marketing gold.”
“Pardon?” Anna asked incredulously.
I nodded and grinned. “If word got out that the incredibly sexy and talented Julian Storm was kidnapping women and locking them in with himself, the audience would be sold out every freaking night.”
Knox growled, and I glanced over to see him scowling adorably at me. I winked at him and put an innocent expression on my face. “What?” He narrowed his baby blues on me, and I barely kept from squirming at the warning in them. “Seriously, he’s gorgeous, and women fall all over him. We should capitalize on that.” Knox’s glare held a wealth of dark promise, making me shiver in anticipation. I was going to pay for this later, and if I’d been wearing panties, they would have been drenched from the thought of my punishment. Why was his jealousy so damn sexy?