Sweet Obsession: Windy City Kink, Book 1 Read Online Free

very popular in Chicago and presented unique challenges and amazing creative opportunities. She’d gotten a bit of a reputation for her rooftop gardens, and she’d tried to capitalize on that and promote herself as being a specialist in that small category of jobs. She loved designing them.
    “Yes. Would you like to see?”
    She didn’t move. Her feet felt stuck to the floor and her legs trembled a little. She wanted to press a hand to her banging heart, but that would be a definite tell. If she was playing poker. But in a way, this felt like a game, and the stakes felt high even though she had no idea what was going on.
    A job? Really?
    “Sasha?”
    She met his eyes and she shouldn’t have, because his gaze drew her in, snaring her, rendering her helpless. Her body went soft and warm, her breathing shallow. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’d like to see it.”
    She managed to take a step forward, and then another. Sunlight filled the entire room through all the windows, illuminating the shiny wood floor, and he led her to a set of French doors on the left. He opened one and then stepped back so she could precede him out onto the roof.
    Wisps of clouds feathered the blue sky above Lake Michigan on one side of the patio, and on the other, downtown skyscrapers created a jagged, gleaming vista that was beautiful in its own way. This city was her home and had been pretty much her entire life, and she loved it.
    She turned her attention from the stunning view to the roof itself. The space was large and completely open. The only attempt at landscaping was a shriveled brown palm tree in a clay pot. The bare cement space felt cold and barren. Literally cold, with the wind whipping over them from Lake Michigan.
    “The first thing to do would be to put up some barriers from the wind,” she said, without looking at him.
    “But you can’t obscure the view.”
    She glanced at him, unwilling to look him in the eyes again. “No. Not all of it. Clearly you want to take advantage of that. I guess it’s nice at night too, with the skyline lit up.”
    “You’ll come back and see it at night.”
    It wasn’t a request. And it made her shiver. “No.” Their eyes met. “I can’t work for you, Jack.”
    “Why not?” He frowned.
    “You know why not!”
    Something flickered on his face. For a moment he said nothing. Then he said, “That was a long time ago, Sasha.”
    True. And just what she’d been telling herself. By refusing to work with him, she’d let on that it was still a big deal to her, even though it had been twelve years ago. She swallowed a sigh. “I suppose I could give you a quote,” she said slowly.
    “No.”
    Her forehead tightened. “No?”
    He shook his head. “No. I don’t need a quote. I just want to hire you .”
    She turned her head a bit, keeping her eyes fastened on his face. “Excuse me?”
    “I just want you.”
    And there was that flip in the pit of her stomach. That warm, slow roll of lust that she’d been waiting for, hoping for, with every man she dated. It made her eyes widen and her skin tingle everywhere. And it made her angry. She dropped her gaze.
    “That’s not a good way to do business,” she said, her voice clipped. “I’m sure you didn’t get where you are today by being so foolish.”
    “Foolish.”
    She thought he might be angry, but when she looked back at him, he was smiling and relaxed.
    “I’m not a fool, Sasha,” he said. “Not anymore.”
    Their gazes met again in a meaningful exchange and she knew they were both thinking about the past. And once again, her heart hurt. He wasn’t the one who’d been a fool. That had been her.
    Her head felt too heavy for her neck, and she wanted to sit down. But there was nowhere to sit out here. “Jack,” she said. “What’s going on?”
    He moved closer. She wore a suit, but he wore short sleeves, his tanned, muscled arms dusted with dark hair, veins tracing their way down the insides of his forearms. He had to be cold