Claimed for the Master's Pleasure (Guilty Pleasures #5)(38)
A couple of young men began unpacking the new equipment as soon as it was in position. She called across to them, “Keep up the good work, guys. Only another twenty to go.”
One of the young men spoke. “After installing fifteen rowing machines yesterday, and now these, I know I’ll be counting treadmills in my sleep.” He laughed.
Lia smiled, as she walked toward to the bank of elevators. Jake had a guy coming to install CCTV later that day, and she needed to ask him where the cameras would be sited.
“Hi, Brady,” she said to a waiter crossing the lobby area. “How’s tricks?”
“Hi, Ms. Constantine,” he replied. “Things are just fine with me.” Lia could tell he was surprised that she knew his name.
“And how are Jackie and the kids?”
“They’re real good, too. Thanks for asking.”
Jake had instilled in her over the past few months that by remembering people’s names, you made them feel special and needed. It was the key to his success, and one she aimed to emulate. She knew the names of many of his employees at Arabian Nights now. Although she would have to remember another two thousand, if she were to have a memory as good as Jake’s.
Lia entered the elevator and pressed the button. Jake’s office was on the tenth floor. When the elevator jerked to a stop and the doors parted, she saw Madeline seated behind her desk in the reception area. A cloud of strawberry-blonde curls bobbed as she looked up from her keyboard.
“Hi, Madeline.”
She smiled. “You’ve just missed him, Lia.”
“Damn. Do you know where he’s gone?”
Madeline, immaculately dressed as always in a plum trouser suit, pointed skywards. “To the penthouse. He said he was taking the afternoon off, and I wasn’t to disturb him. Not unless it was real urgent.”
“I hope he’s not in a bad mood, Madeline. I want to discuss the finishing touches to my fitness center with him.”
“Honey, since you’ve been on the scene, the boss is a changed man. He’s a really lovely guy again. Just like he was in the old days, before Hannah died. You’ve made him live again, Lia. Before you and he got together, he was like a bear with a sore head. Boy, did that man need a lesson in manners. Now it’s like he’s been tapped with the happy stick. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. It’s certainly working, honey.”
Lia felt secretly pleased that Jake had blossomed since he’d known her. The man she loved more than life itself obviously wanted their relationship to continue.
She walked across the elegant and tastefully decorated reception area and, using the personal passkey that Jake had given her, summoned the private elevator. “Guess I’ll go up to the penthouse, and see what he’s up to. Bye, Madeline.”
“See you, honey.”
When the elevator doors slid open on the fiftieth floor, she called out, “Where are you, Jake?”
A muffled reply sounded from down the hallway. “I’m in here, princess.”
Lia made her way to his private gym. Jake wouldn’t be using the Constantine Fitness Center. There was no need. Not when he had a comprehensive selection of exercise equipment installed in the privacy of his own penthouse. He was lying on his back, bench-pressing a heavy weighted bar. Masculine sweat dripped down the sides of his face. She guessed by the number of weights, the bar was carrying around four hundred pounds. Naked from the waist up, the muscles of his chest and stomach flexed as he repeatedly raised the barbell, before lowering it to his chest again. She saw his biceps and triceps straining as he pumped the flexing bar several times before finally securing it safely to the stand.
Jake always did this to her. She’d been with him for six months now, but just the sight of his masculine body turned her legs to Jell-O. Lia leaned back against the doorway and moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. If Jake were a meal she’d want to gobble him up whole. Everything about him turned her on, from his dreamy, crystal-blue eyes, to his long fingers and big hands. He could turn her to putty at a moment’s notice. Their relationship had developed into a deep understanding, and they were barely apart. They brought life to each other’s fantasies. They confided in each other. They loved each other.
Jake grabbed a towel and began wiping the sweat from his chest and arms. His eyes held hers and a knowing smile drifted to his lips. “What’s the matter, princess? You’ve seen me work out before.” His deep voice brushed like soft velvet across her skin, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Her * tightened and throbbed with desire at the look he gave her. “I know it makes your * wet.”
Feeling mischievous and more than a little naughty, she answered, “Huh, call that a workout. A ten-year-old boy could lift more weight than you.”
Jake smiled at her deliberate jibe. Sometimes she acted like a brat just to get his attention—and boy, did it work.
Her breathing accelerated as he looked at her. “Is that so, princess?” A wicked grin spread on his lips as he rose from the bench and moved toward her. Lia pressed her back against the wall, and closed her eyes. She adored and craved his attention.
“So what would you suggest I do to turn me into a real man?”
A girlish squeal left her lips as he suddenly grabbed her wrists and held them high above her head. His still-sweaty body pressed along the length of hers—hot and exciting.