Free Sheik Down by Mia Watts Page A

house?”
    “And far more confidential than anything you’ve ever created for anyone.”
    “Now how would you know that, Raid. I’ve never discussed any of my outside jobs with you,” Lucas teased lightly.
    Raid wasn’t smiling.
    Lucas mirrored him. This time really was different. “Okay. Let’s go to your office and see what you want done. I’ll find the most discreet men to pull the project together.”
    “No, Lucas. Only you.”
    Lucas’s cock filled. The way those words spilled across Raid’s lips in his dark voice rose goose bumps on Lucas’s arms and made him think all kinds of dirty thoughts. None of them were job related.
    “Right.” It was the only word that fit through Lucas’s constricted throat as he fought the lust clawing its way through him.
    Raid didn’t lead him to the well-appointed office. He led him toward the back of the mansion, and through several lesser hallways. At the end, he opened an ordinary white door.
    “This door will have to be soundproofed,” he began.
    Lucas relaxed instantly. Of course a guy like Raid would want a private media room. He probably wanted stadium seating too. Why it had to be confidential was anyone’s guess. Maybe he’d use it for brainstorming sessions with his board, complete with visual aid work-ups. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. Lucas would give him everything he asked for and more. Just like always.
    “Soundproofing won’t be a problem. I can think of a dozen fantastic places where I can get solid doors that will match the existing one here, so that nobody will know this door is different from any of the others in the hall.”
    “Excellent. And locks. I want a key-coded entry lock,” Raid told him.
    “A little harder to hide, but doable. I can imbed it in the wall. I can put it behind that picture there.” Lucas pointed to a painting several feet away. “Using an existing piece means it won’t stand out to anyone. The door can open on a three-second delay to give you time to approach.”
    “Follow me.”
    Lucas followed.
    “Motion sensitive lights that are programmable as to intensity,” Raid said.
    Lucas moved with him down stone-laid steps to the bottom landing. A large room stretched out before him. The poured concrete floors were professionally stained. The walls resembled the gray, bland textures of a warehouse. Lucas had already known this room existed from the house plans he had on file.
    Raid prowled closer, as though there were a hundred people in the same space and he didn’t want to be overheard by any of them. “You’ll build special furniture for me here. Later, once I’m satisfied by the unique work I’m requesting, a secret passage with two opening points. One will enter my bedroom. The other, my office. They’ll lead here and be unnoticeable to anyone but me. Can you do that?”
    “I’ll have to steal space from the two rooms and some of the adjoining ones. I’ll study the blueprints, but anything is possible,” Lucas answered, trying not to get lost in the other man’s charisma.
    “The furniture comes before anything else.” Raid must’ve seen his surprise, because he smiled. “A carpenter’s special of solid beams and metal accents. I have sketches for you to follow to exact specifications. I will also hang items from the ceiling. The ceiling will need to be shored up.”
    The way Raid looked at him—speculatively and a bit like he was testing Lucas’s fortitude—tightened Lucas’s jeans a little more.
    “How much weight do you want the beams to support?” Lucas asked.
    Raid’s smile turned feral. “How much do you weigh, Lucas?”
    “Excuse me?”
    Raid’s smile smoothed and mellowed. “Enough to hold the weight of a grown man and then add another hundred, just in case.”
    “Capacity of three hundred to three hundred and fifty then. What are you making, a ceiling-mounted bowling ball shelf?’
    “Suspended balls are definitely on my agenda,” Raid answered.
    He said it so calmly that