Page 22 of The Chase
“I meant when I leave later.”
He spilled a trickle of orange juice onto his hand and licked the tip of his finger; a curl of his sensual mouth, a flash of tongue.
He threw me a mischievous grin. And I almost melted on the spot.
Being in the same space with him addled my thoughts, and I had to force myself to pull back on my imagination, which was teasing how wonderful his gorgeous body would feel against mine. A fantasy that felt impossible.
“Thank you for driving all the way out here,” he said.
“It’s my pleasure. I’m glad to be of help. Do you rent the property when you’re in town?”
“I own it.”
Of course he did, and it felt like such a silly question now.
He peered out the long window. “I’m not too popular amongst the neighbors. Whoever submitted the schematics for the height of the fences got their metric system muddled with the foot units and measured it all wrong.”
I had noted how tall the gates were as I’d driven through his property.
“Turns out,” Tobias continued, “fox hunters can’t jump the gates during a hunt.” He uncorked the bottle of champagne. “And their hounds are too big to fit through. So those foxes use my land as a sort of sanctuary. Naughty foxes.”
I caught his cheeky grin.
“Well, that’s quite wonderful,” I said.
“In the winter I like to stand right where you are now and look out and watch them play in the snow.”
With a tilt of champagne and a dash of orange juice he’d prepared two mimosas. My gaze roamed over him in awe.
He caught me staring and straightened his back. “Perhaps now is a good time for us to go over my expectations.”
I stepped forward, eager to hear. “Of course.”
“Now that you work for me—”
“Technically I work for Huntly Pierre.”
“Who have officially loaned you to me.” He caught me with his glare. “Let’s toast to a successful evening.” He raised a glass and offered it to me.
I took it. “Cheers.”
“We were discussing the ground rules.”
“I’d be happy to hear your expectations.”
He took a sip. “I expect confidentiality—”
“That goes without saying.”
“Unquestioning loyalty—”
“Of course.”
“I expect you not to interrupt when I’m speaking—”
“I was merely—”
He arched a brow.
