Free Tempted in the City by Jo Leigh Page B

walls were white, the floor-to-ceiling drapes were white and gray, and both offset the dark wood floors.
    She walked over to the farthest window and stared at the view for several moments. Without disturbing her too much, he took her jacket, purse and the bakery box and put them on his big dining table. He stood by her again, quietly letting her look around while he watched her.
    She looked beautiful in a demure black dress that hit her midknee. It had some lace up at the top, which was nice, too, but what he liked the most were her fire-engine-red heels.
    Damn, he wanted her to like what she saw. He was proud of the place. The work he’d put into it had been significant, and thankfully, Angie had been fine about him keeping it. Maybe if they’d had kids, it would have been different, but this had been his pet project before they’d decided to get married.
    â€œI’m sorry, this is the rudest question I’ve ever asked. But, your business is this good?”
    â€œIt’s very good, but this building is owned by my family. Has been for generations. I did a lot of the renovations myself.”
    â€œIt’s fantastic.”
    â€œThank you. Now, if you don’t have any objections, I’d like to kiss you. The anticipation is getting out of hand.”
    She turned right into his arms, her smile almost as welcoming as her sparkling eyes.
    He meant to approach her with a slow burn that would last through dinner, but the moment she parted her lips for him, he abandoned his plan. Her response was better than he’d hoped for. Their tongues touched and tangled. She met him stroke for stroke as he explored her mouth, sampling her sweetness. As he ran his hands over her, he felt a tremor run all the way down her spine. She pulled him tighter against her body, and now he could feel the vibration through his clothes and hers.
    Jesus. She’d just gotten here. The urge to pick her up and take her straight to his bed was strong, but he dialed it down about twenty degrees because that wasn’t all he wanted from her. He hadn’t been a teenager for a long time, although it felt as if he’d suddenly reverted to seventeen.
    It was everything he could do to gently disengage from the bonfire he’d started. He didn’t want this to be a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am event. She was worth more than that to him.
    â€œWine?” he said.
    She licked her lips, which didn’t help him cool down at all. “Yes, please.”
    â€œI hope you like Syrah.”
    â€œI do. Very much.”
    She walked next to him into the kitchen. “It smells wonderful in here.”
    â€œYou hungry?”
    Her nod wasn’t all that convincing. But maybe that had to do with the fact that she couldn’t stop staring at him. Of course, he stared right back. He was normally a patient man, but if he didn’t do something soon...
    Wine.
    He still needed to pour her some. Maybe drink some himself. Talk to the woman. Put her at ease.
    She brought her glass up for a toast. “To new adventures.”
    He couldn’t argue with that. They clicked and sipped.
    â€œVery nice wine.”
    â€œI’m glad you like it. So, about what you do?”
    â€œAh. I’m primarily a terminologist. Although I worked for several years as a translator. And I’ve also studied kinesics, interpretations of body language, so sometimes I’m called in to help with that. ”
    â€œI’ve heard of everything but being a terminologist.”
    â€œIt’s not a common career. I read a lot of newspapers from around the world, watch current television programming and films from different countries, read novels by international authors and try to keep abreast of all the changes in words, tone and nuance. My colleagues and I do our best to standardize the six languages approved by the UN, but any new information about words and their meanings can help everyone and the process in