Her Secret Thrill Read Free

letting her get a room for him, and hope that by then Liza and Con would have screwed themselves into unconsciousness—and she could crawl into her bed and sleep till noon.
    Galvanized by the plan, she walked over to the elevator and punched the only button on it. Jake stepped out into the hall, Liza’s shouted “Yes, right there! ” following him through the open doorway.
    They both stepped into the elevator, careful not tolook at each other. Or at the door to the penthouse.
    Natalie punched the lobby button.
    â€œGoing down,” intoned a deep recorded voice.
    They both glanced at each other. Jake snickered first. Natalie snorted. Then they collapsed in laughter that continued for the entire eighty-eight floors.

2
    N ATALIE WAS SLIGHTLY overdressed in a gold-colored tunic—Liza’s—over tight black silk pants. Also Liza’s. She’d only caved to Liza’s pleading and worn the slinky attire because she knew she’d be in the penthouse all night and not out in public. Well, she was out in public now. But after what she’d just been through upstairs, wearing pants that clung to her fanny and outlined her thighs like a second skin, along with a top that could only be worn with no bra, seemed like a cakewalk in terms of public discomfort.
    They were in an all-night café several doors down from The Maxi. Jake motioned past the counter to a small booth. Thankful, she took him up on the offer. Not as much of her would show if she was tucked into a booth.
    His hand brushed the bare skin of her back ever so slightly as she moved in front of him to slide into her seat. For whatever reason, that brief touch was like a hot jolt of electricity. Flustered and caught off guard by the heat of her reaction, she instantly opened the small menu in front of her, even though she had no intentionof ordering more than one quick cup of coffee. She just didn’t want him to notice the fact that her nipples had become little heat-seeking missiles.
    Surely it was the atmosphere she’d just left that was making her body react that way. Mortifying as it had been, there was also no denying it had been just a little bit…well, arousing.
    â€œBlack, please,” she mumbled to the waitress. What was she doing here again? Now that she’d escaped the sex-o-rama upstairs, she was having second thoughts.
    â€œI’ll have the same, please. But with cream.” Jake smiled at the tired waitress. “Real cream if you have it.”
    The waitress actually smiled. “Sure thing, hon.”
    Natalie’s eyebrows lifted. “I didn’t think waitresses were allowed to smile in New York City. Isn’t that a code violation or something?”
    Jake grinned and shrugged out of his jacket. “Guess it’s that Wyoming charm my mom pounded into me.”
    And damn if he didn’t have it. In spades. She could keep on telling herself that it was the late hour and her obvious fatigue, but her life had stepped so far outside its neat little box in the past fifteen or so minutes, she decided to just say the hell with it and go with the flow. Tomorrow, life would resume. And boy, were she and Liza going to have a little talk.
    But for now, she was drinking coffee at a quarter-to-four in the morning with a good-looking guy in the city that didn’t sleep. Might as well enjoy the rare adventure.
    â€œSo, how long have you known Liza?”
    Small talk. Small talk was safe enough. “Since lawschool.” She smiled over his obvious surprise. “Liza dropped out. I didn’t.”
    â€œWhat kind of law do you practice?”
    â€œCorporate. Boring stuff.” She loved her job but didn’t want to talk about herself. She wanted to talk about him. He was the adventure, after all. “What do you do back in Wyoming?” Then she remembered. He was one of Con’s followers. Oh well, she wouldn’t let that dampen her newfound spirit of adventure. She