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back at her neck, but one little strand had escaped and was beginning to curl. Her cheeks were flushed, and she chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at her cell phone.
    “Riley?”
    Her head snapped up and her eyes grew wide. “Charlie? What are you doing here?”
    He wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but the pink in her cheeks deepened. “I—” Hell. What could he say? He wanted to see her let loose a little. Calling her out as soon as she started to let go was hardly going to help. He smiled. “Can I take you to breakfast?”
    She laughed. “It’s almost four in the afternoon.”
    Shit. Right. Suits like her had been up for hours now. “Right. Lunch then?”
    “I already ate. Four hours ago.” She wrinkled her nose, and he thought, So damn sweet . “What’s this about?”
    “It’s—” He looked at her phone. Okay, so she didn’t want to talk about it. “I just want to take you to lunch...or dinner, or whatever.”
    Her eyes drifted down his body and to his crotch where his jeans were fitting a little tighter than they should, thanks to their texts.
    He grinned. “Let me take you out, Riley. I need to get away from the usual suspects.”
    She stood in a fluid motion of grace and long limbs. “I have dance in half an hour.” She slung her purse over one shoulder and clutched her phone in her hand.
    “Let me walk you out,” he said.
    She nodded, smiling at him as he held the door for her. “Are you enjoying your stay at Grand Escape?”
    He watched her hips sway as she led the way down the hall. She had one of those bodies with a tiny waist and splayed hips. The kind that made a man want to run his hands from waist to hip and test the breadth.
    He was imagining those bare hips flaring under the leather corset when she tossed a glance over her shoulder. “Has there been a problem?”
    “No.” He caught up with her in three long strides. “Your hotel is lovely, as always.”
    He slowed when they got to the elevators, but she kept walking. “ Ry ?”
    “What?” She stopped and he motioned to the elevator. “Oh, no. No. I’m...” She shook her head. “I take the stairs. It’s good exercise.”
    He narrowed his gaze. “You walk down twenty-two flights of stairs every day? For the exercise?”
    “And up,” she said softly. “It’s not a big deal.”
    That did a lot to explain her fantastic ass. “Treat yourself today,” he said. “Come on. Live dangerously.”
    She turned, but he saw her swallow hard before her face was out of his line of sight. “I’ll pass,” she said before slipping into the stairwell.
    Charlie smelled bullshit and followed her. “Why don’t you just put your office on the first floor?” he asked when he’d caught up with her.
    “Because my father likes the office with the best view, so I’d have to walk up for meetings all day long anyway.”
    Charlie smirked. Right. She did it for exercise. “Are you afraid of elevators, Riley?”
    She stopped on the landing and looked at her feet. “Not afraid, exactly. I choose not to use them.”
    He tipped her chin up and ran his thumb along her jaw. “Why?”
    Her eyes dropped to his lips. “Why what?”
    What had he been saying? He had no idea. Because those green eyes were on his mouth and all his blood had left his brain and headed south.
    She shook her head, breaking the thick tension between them, and looked at her phone again. What? Did she think he was going to send her a text when he was standing right here? He wasn’t above it if that’s what it took.
    “Come out with me tonight. I’ll pick you up after your dance class. I want to talk to you about—” He scrambled for a good excuse. “—an idea I had for Lacey’s birthday.”
    She frowned. Maybe she was afraid he was going to hold her to her little suggestion about the handcuffs.
    He held up both hands. “Completely platonic. I promise I won’t come onto you.” Then, because he couldn’t help himself, he added, “Unless you want me