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Rambling about muffins didn’t change the subject on my mind, and my heartbeat tapped out an electrified rhythm. Even Raph glanced away. The quiescence of the confined space in the car only built the tension further.
Raph’s warmth and draw filled the small cabin, which didn’t seem possible since I’d been on high alert from the moment he was near. I couldn’t afford to analyze it. It had to be his excitement for the project, not for me. Even if I dared to dream otherwise here and there.
Raphael pulled up to the side of the building at last. We walked up the steps to the front doors, pretty dark wood, albeit nondescript. No generic metal and glass, a good sign.
The front windows were blacked out like a two-way mirror, lending the interior a calm seclusion and dimness. It would also give passersby the silhouettes of the patrons within, having fun, eating, socializing. Appreciating the experience. It would be a temptation as well as a note of exclusiveness, beckoning them in. Very cool.
I jotted a note about the feeling the windows evoked; selectiveness and upscale class separation. I wanted to replicate that feeling in the interior choices I went with. The bar was set high. I intended to deliver on every single point.
The inside was bare bones. No walls, only supports. No updated flooring cluttering up the sub-floor, the stairs were only temp stairs, scratched and tan. This was a designer’s dream. I would be able to implement whatever I wanted to, whatever fit theme, feeling, and space.
“I love the first impression. The doors and the front windows lend the space elegance and mystery. And the unique industrial facade works well with your concept. How perfect that they had added the storefront windows,” I said, taking in my surroundings with genuine awe.
“I’m glad you’re impressed. We worked hard to find a location like this.”
“What are my limitations? What’s the work budget and contingency? Do you have it broken down into categories? Is the kitchen back there?” I motioned to the back left corner of the wide, dim work-light lit room.
“Yeah, that’s the kitchen. The appliances are scheduled to arrive two in two days. I have a crew who will be here to do the labor. I know it’s a tight timeline for your design, but you have most of it done, yes?”
Raph wandered away from me, living in the vision he had for the blank space around him.
“Er, right? Sort of. I have what you saw and what we talked about.”
“Did you send a copy?”
“You’ll have it as soon as Derrick gives the green light.”
Raph scowled, but said nothing. Had I upset him?
I wanted to unlock what was in his mind and throw it all over this room. Give him everything he wanted. Working face-to-face with clients was something I hadn’t done since my college internship at a sign-making shop. I was pretty sure that watching a sexy man’s muscles bunch and flex under his shirt wasn’t part of design… but was it ever distracting.
“So with the kitchen on the left, you’ll have smooth flow from left-to-right. Seating all across here,” I said with a grand sweep of my arms. “Then they’ll break up a little more, cluster a little more, with crescent seating around tables for meetings or other intimate gatherings. Then, as we move further right, we get into entertainment. We’ll have a small stage, with the option to expand it. That way you can have single singers or two pieces, or you can bring in a whole swing band, dancers, and the whole shebang. The mood and feeling of the room will match the stage, lighting, and ambiance.”
Losing myself in the thrill of design was easy. Raph did it a moment ago, and I was swept under. My passion bubbled as the two of us walked through the naked space.
Relief washed over me when I realized I could, in fact, focus on the task even when alongside such a gorgeous man. It was my dream job, and I was good at it. I fell into a groove and set my mind free. Derrick never gave me that chance, and flexing my creative muscles was liberating. That liberation could carry me through all the checkpoints. Probably.
The sound of the original hardwood flooring on the second floor and the echo of our footsteps, the dimly lit atmosphere, the potential to create this exclusive lounge full of indulgence and class… the vision was piecing together. What Raph threw into motion, I added finer details to and fleshed out further. We were proving to be a good team.
The up-and-coming town of Shoreview had become my home only because Design Everything was there, and that was the job I scored out of college. If I hadn’t gotten in, I would have stayed at the sign shop making awful money since there was no way I could go back home to my mother. Shoreview wasn’t perfect, but definitely had its perks. Especially now.
I had told myself that if I was close to New York City, I would visit. That didn’t happen, but this week was full of lots of new things. And hey, maybe Shell would want to go up to the city with me and scope out Experience’s flagship location. I could get a lot of ideas that way for the final presentation.
All the fine details for this project needed to be included in my presentation, including a rough material cost checklist. What better way to know for sure what I should include than to see it in person? I made a mental note to ask Shell as soon as I could.
I was lost in thought and didn’t notice Raph approach. His earthy masculine scent gave him away. It was like standing by a waterfall deep in the woods, away from everyone and everything. Earthy, woody, fresh, and closely intimate. I turned toward him, and his eyes darkened as our gazes locked. My breath caught in my throat. Raph moved into my personal space. I could feel his hot breath on my cheeks.
“I…” I tried to spit out the words, to tell him we shouldn’t do whatever we were about to. I tried, but Raph’s mouth came down hard, fast, devouring. His tongue tangled with mine while his hands held the side of my face, preventing me from pulling back, not that I would dare.
I didn’t challenge the advance; I couldn’t even try. I knew I should have protested, but wasn’t strong enough. Raph was the living, breathing representation of Mystery Guy, and there wasn’t enough willpower in the world to keep me from succumbing to his potent allure.
Every sexual fantasy I had ever dreamt up starred this man, and I was unable to turn away my deepest darkest fantasies; I was only human. Raph swept me closer and tipped my head back, demanding access to the sensitive column of my neck. He laid a line of kisses from my ear to my collarbone that set me on fire and tore a strangled mewl from my throat.
The longer we carried on, the more the heat built between us. I wanted so badly to feel this man surround me, take me. I reached my hand between us and brushed my fingers over the erection he was fostering none-too-subtly. The guttural noise that strained its way out of him let me know everything I needed to.
“I think we’re done here for today,” Raph ground out, his mouth less than an inch from mine.
Chapter Ten
