Her eyes widened as if what I’d said was somehow shocking.

I paused. Had I misread her? To me she was pretty clearly at least a little exhibitionist, and more than a lot fascinated with the thrill of being seen. “You know I enjoy looking at nude photos of you. I know you enjoy public sex. Where have I misunderstood what we’re doing here?”

“It’s just hearing it out loud that surprised me.” Turning away, she walked around the room, looking at each mirror she passed. “I guess I always assumed other people liked this kind of thing, not me. I realize that sounds ridiculous.”

“Just because what you had before was different doesn’t mean it’s what you like.”

“I don’t think I fully understand what I like,” she said, turning to face me. “At least, I don’t feel like I’ve done enough in my life to really know.”

“Well, here you are in a warehouse, with nothing but a velvet chaise in the middle of the room and mirrors all around. I’m happy to help you try to figure that out.”

She laughed, walking back over to me. “This building isn’t yours.”

“More checking up on me, I see.”

She set her bag against the wall and took a seat on the chaise, crossing her legs. “I needed to know something outside of the gossip columns. Make sure we wouldn’t be re-creating a scene from Leatherface.”

I shook my head, laughing, surprised at how relieved I was she hadn’t just shown up blindly. “It belongs to a client of mine.”

“A client with a fetish for mirrors?”

“I don’t know how much you found in your digging,” I said. “But I have two partners, and each of us has his own area of expertise: Will Sumner specializes in biotech, James Marshall in technology. I focus more on the arts: galleries and—”

“Antiques?” she said, motioning around the room.

“Yes.”

“Which brings us to why we’re here,” she said.

“Done with the twenty questions?”

“For now.”

“Satisfied?”

“Hmmm, not yet.”

I crossed the room, bending to kneel in front of her. “You’re okay with this?”

“With you taking me in a warehouse full of mirrors?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged, in a wildly innocent gesture. “Surprisingly, yes.”

I moved my hand to the back of her neck. “I’ve been thinking about this all day. How you’d look sitting here.” Her skin was so soft, and I let my fingers trail down along her throat, along her collarbone. I pressed a kiss over her pulse, feeling the beat of it against my tongue. She whispered my name, her legs falling open as she brought me closer.

“I want you naked,” I said, wasting no time and pulling down the front of her dress. “I want you naked and wet and begging for me to fuck you.” I moved to her breast, sucking, before I bit down on her nipple through the delicate lace of her bra. “I want you to be so loud that the people at the bus stop across the street know my name.”