Free Unbuttoning the CEO by Mia Sosa Page B

whoop-ass.”
    Nic threw his head back and laughed. A deep, guttural laugh that made her toes curl. The streetlights flickered in the cab, casting spotlights on his features. Right now, the delicious column of his throat took center stage. Gracie leaned over and kissed him there. Nic stopped laughing. When she raised her head, she looked into his eyes. The more they stared at each other, the warmer the temperature in the cab seemed to get.
    “I’m not hungry,” she said. “We could skip the restaurant and order take-out later.”
    “Ah, Gracie. You’ve just made me a very happy man.”
    Nic leaned forward to speak to the driver. “Change of plans, my friend. We’re headed to West End. Take Canal Road.”
    The driver peered through the rearview mirror. “You got it,” he said.
    Gracie slid down along the backseat and covered her face. Yep. She and Nic knew they were going to have sex, and now the driver knew, too. But she was less concerned about the driver’s impression of her than she was about Nic’s. She was not a vixen by any means. And she imagined Nic would pick up on that fact within seconds.
    Maybe this was a mistake.
    No, no, no. What would be the point of second-guessing herself now? She resolved to enjoy her time with Nic for what it was. Casual. Fun. Playful. He’d claimed he was cocky, right? Time to find out if he was telling the truth.
    *  *  *
    When they reached his building, Gracie had tied and untied her scarf more than a hundred times. After the change in dinner plans, they hadn’t engaged in any more conversation in the taxi. Nic surveyed the city streets outside his window while she tied and untied her scarf. But she didn’t miss the deep breaths he took, or the way he clenched and unclenched his fists as he gazed at the passing streets.
    Even now, as Nic pulled her through the building’s entrance, they didn’t exchange a single word. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to. Strung tight like a newly tuned violin, she worried she’d snap if he so much as breathed in her direction. Was that the reason for Nic’s silence, too? She glanced at him and noticed what could only be described as raw determination in his stony face. And like any self-respecting woman who hadn’t had sex for months, visions of fantastic orgasms danced in her head.
    The clack of her heels against the polished marble floors prompted her to scan the lobby and take notice of her surroundings. Vintage chairs, and sofas with plush cushions, dotted one side of the space, grouped together to encourage conversation. Museum-quality artwork, reminiscent of the art she’d spent hours appreciating in New York, hung on the walls. And soft music floated in the air, its source undetectable to the human eye. She’d entered another universe. She slowed and tugged on Nic’s hand. “You live here?”
    He stopped and surveyed the lobby, the crease between his brows suggesting he was trying to see the space from her perspective. “I bought this condo from a friend, at a deeply discounted price, believe me. I wouldn’t have purchased it otherwise. All this opulence makes me itchy.”
    “That’s a very nice friend.” She tugged him close and pressed her chest against his. “Man or woman?”
    She was teasing him, but she couldn’t help wondering if she’d overstepped her bounds. What did it matter whether the friend was a man or a woman? She had no right to ask. Then again, if he freaked out about it, she’d know not to ask these kinds of questions, teasing or not.
    He didn’t hesitate to respond. “Man, definitely. It’s a bachelor pad through and through. When we get to my condo, you’ll see what I mean.”
    “The guided tour can wait, don’t you think?”
    His eyes bored into hers. “God, I’m so glad you agree. If you’d wanted a tour first, I would have given you whiplash rushing you though the place.”
    She caressed his cheek, and he squeezed his eyes shut. It was a heady experience, witnessing his