Page 24 of High-Rise Heat

I pull back and glare at him pointedly, to which he just shrugs. “Hey, can’t fight your nature,” he explains, releasing me. “And bonus, now I know exactly how you sound when you come.” He nods to my room, where Dom is sleeping, and a hot flush heats my cheeks.

“You could hear—”

Isaac shakes his head with faux innocence. “Yeah, quiet is not really your forte.”

“Oh jeez! I can’t believe—I’m so embarrassed!”

Only, Isaac smiles sweetly, as if this is just another tiny thing he and I get to share.

“Like I said, Dom’s a lucky bastard,” he says.

Our eyes connect and there’s a comfort between us, but there’s also a charge under it. It’s as if we both know how close we came to happening, so the only way for us to deal with it is for him to point out every awkward thing in the most overtly sexual way he can.

“You are a trouble maker,” I say, and he lifts his hands.

“Guilty as charged.” He smiles, laughing, before leaning in to kiss my cheek. He hovers over my skin longer than he should, that tiny spark of attraction still flaring, but somehow less charged. It’s as if we’re tied together by something else, by how close this came to being a disaster for both of us. “And uh …” he says cheekily, breaking the moment. “Now I have some dirty audio to remember you by.”

I slap his shoulder as he pulls back laughing. “Don’tevertell that to Dom!”

He nods and smiles.

There’s a sparkle in his eye as he steps back to pick up his luggage. He walks past me and I watch him open the suite door and walk out into the main corridor. He turns back before the door shuts and looks at me one more time.

“It’s been a pleasure, Ilsa,” he says. “And, I want to make sure you understand. Dom’s my friend. I know it doesn’t seem that way with how I acted, but the truth is he’s one of the best guys in the world. And I’m really glad you’re the one who’s going to make him realize just how great he is.”

I’m stunned to hear him say that and he nods like I better remember it. I step forward to tell him there’s someone out there waiting for him, someone perfect, but he winks and shuts the door before I can say anything. I stare at the closed door and know he’s not the kind of man who needs to hear something like that. I have no doubt Isaac will walk fearlessly into his life ready for the adventure, and there’s a woman out there somewhere—someone far more adventurous than me—who will brave that wildness with him.

My adventure is lying naked in the next room. He comes in business formal, with a briefcase and a brilliant mind, and the ability to leave my skin bruised with the smell of him.

And tomorrow, my adventure will take me home.