“Jude, I—”
“Shh,” he insisted, lifting a finger, his eyes still trained on the vision before him.
From where he stood, he couldn’t see her face. Nonetheless, he assumed a woman with as fine a physic as she possessed, coupled with her apparent fashion sense, could be nothing short of the complete package.
But I’ve been wrong before, he reminded himself.
With that in mind, he wasn’t ready for Logan to break the woman’s concentration. He wasn’t ready to risk shattering the illusion of perfection as she stood mere feet away from him.
“Did you just shush me because you’re checking her out?” Logan hissed.
Judah held up his finger a second time, not bothering with a spoken answer. Whoever the woman was, she was transfixed. He appreciated the way in which she admired the art in front of her, and he intended to respect at least that as his eyes continued to roam over her body.
“Excuse me, can I help you?”
At the sound of another man’s voice, the woman spun around in surprise. Her big, round, bright brown eyes grew wide at the sight of Judah; and her full, sweetheart lips parted open. Her face was covered in the lightest brown freckles, and he found her to be stunning. Absolutely stunning. As he gazed upon her, he decided she looked elegant—like her face alone was meant to exude grace. And when his eyes locked in on her pink lips, his pants grew tight at his groin.
“Logan,” Judah managed to say, still not looking at his companion. “Tell the man what we’re looking for.”
He ignored the introductions exchanged behind him as he made his way toward the redhead. The opportunity to seduce her was one he could not deny himself. Except, it wasn’t long before his advances were shot down. Before he could convince her otherwise, she was walking away from him.
He watched her leave, his mind stubbornly trying to think of his next move. The desire that flooded his veins was indisputable. There was something about her. Something soft and innocent. She was shy. He could tell it wasn’t an act, and there was nothing contrived in their exchange. Teddy had not played with him, and that made him want her all the more.
Upon first seeing her, he thought her breakable, but she changed his mind. He now saw her as far more delicate than he anticipated, and he wanted to experience the pleasure of shattering her. He wanted to find her wild and unleash it. He wanted to spark a fire in her pretty hazel-brown eyes and stoke the fire into flames as he watched her come. He wanted to hear his name on her lips, her scream bursting free of her shy demeanor.
He imagined there was a fiery woman locked inside of her, and the challenge of unearthing her was one which excited him.
He thought back on their short exchange and saw the truth. While she rejected his invitation with her words, her body told a different story. The blush that suffused her cheeks, the cadence of her shallow breaths, and her wide-eyed stare when he touched her—even the memory was enough to send another rush of blood to his crotch.
Judah cleared his throat and shifted his focus onto the painting Teddy had been admiring. He needed to think of something else, to regain control of his bodily desires. It took him a couple of minutes, but when he reigned in his thoughts, he turned on his heel and went in search of Logan.
As he approached her, she glanced away from Geoffrey and scowled at him. It happened in a second, and then she was smiling at the art dealer. “Thank you. It was nice meeting you.” She held up his card as she assured him, “We’ll be in touch.” Then, with not a backwards glance, she headed for the exit.
Judah offered a slight nod to Geoffrey and went after Logan. He caught up with her as they arrived at his Porsche. When he reached for the handle of the passenger side door, she waved him away with a scoff.
“No need to be a gentleman now, Judah. I’m fine.”
He frowned at her but then caught the handle anyway. As he opened the door, she stared at him, one of her eyebrows arched high in an expression he could not interpret.
“What did you say to that woman?” she demanded to know.
Judah hesitated a moment, caught off guard by her question. Recovering, he then shrugged and replied, “I don’t see why that’s any of your concern.”
She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. She then folded her arms across her chest and said, “I’m not stupid. There’s only one reason a woman would walk away from you like that. I have walked away from you like that. What did you say?”
“If I tell you, will you get in the car?” he clipped impatiently.
He did not like to be reminded of all the ways she, herself, had rejected him. However far in the past such memories resided, it was still a loss he regretted.
Logan lifted her chin defiantly, and Judah took this as her answer.
“I told her I’d like to take her to dinner.”
Her expression shifted once more, her whole face giving voice to her disbelief.
“Logan—”
“No bullshit, Judah. What did you say to her?”
Judah squinted his eyes at her and muttered, “Is this us being friends?”
She grinned triumphantly. “Yup. Now spill.”
“I offered her full disclosure. Dinner. My company. No strings.”
Logan rolled her eyes and freed an exasperated huff before she finally folded herself into the car. Judah closed her in, sure his vehicle would somehow not be large enough for the both of them in that moment. Just as soon as he was seated behind the wheel, his suspicions were proven correct.
She turned toward him and insisted, “You’re going to apologize to her.”
“Excuse me?” he muttered in reply, genuinely confused.
“I’m sorry. You’re going to say those words. Or write them. Send her flowers or something.”
Judah shook his head minutely as he backed out of his parking space and started for the office. He did not relish the thought of continuing Logan’s choice of conversation. However, he could not hold back his next declaration.
“I have nothing to apologize for. I simply asked the woman to dinner.”
“I don’t know exactly what you said, but I know you offended her. No woman walks that fast in heels that high from a man who looks like you unless she’s pissed. Considering you spoke with her for all of five minutes before she stormed off, I’d say you do have something to apologize for.”
She took only a second for breath and then went on to say, “And you know what else? There’s no such thing as no strings. There are always strings—especially if you’re having sex. Sometimes, I swear, our whole world is in denial.
“Sex is extremely intimate. You can trick your brain into thinking otherwise, but our bodies are more than our brains. And for you to approach her and suggest your company with no strings—I mean, did you even stop to think before you said that? Maybe she’s worth strings. In fact, I know she is; so maybe you and all of your asshole glory can’t comprehend how the idea of casual sex with you could be offensive, but not all women are interested in the idea of offering you their bodies with the promised illusion of no strings.”
Judah let a moment of silence settle between them. Finally, upon easing to a stop at a red light, he looked at Logan and asked, “Are you done?”
“Just apologize to her, Jude. That’s all I’m saying.” In what he considered dramatic fashion, she then turned away from him. When the light changed to green and they continued on their way, she murmured, “I’m sorry for calling you an asshole. As your friend, I mean it. As your employee, I recognize it was unprofessional.”