The Taming of the Billionaire (Page 22)

Not even when the woman had a full, smiling red mouth and a sly tongue that loved to cut.

Still, he found himself following her into the reptile house, watching the sway of her hips. It was an awkward movement, unique to her because of her limp, but he still found it sexual, because when she balanced her weight on one side, it made her hip cock out. The reptile house was dark inside and completely empty except for the two of them and the scaly inhabitants. And with the privacy, his thoughts turned to lustful ones as he watched her hip push out again in that exaggerated motion.

“So what about you?” she said to him as he moved to her side.

Distracted, he glanced down at her. “What about me what?”

She nudged him with her elbow. “What made you decide to become a game programmer or maker or whatever it is you do?”

“I wear a couple of different hats, actually. Designer, programmer, developer.” He shrugged. “I like to have my hand in everything so I know it’s done just the way I want it to be. As for how I decided to do it . . . I just did. Levi and I used to play computer games when we were kids, and we were constantly trying to hack the games to improve them. From there, I got a degree in programming and started to make a few of my own games on the sly. I’m good at making things happen, but Levi’s the creative one.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. I’m sure you’re creative, too.”

“Not quite like Levi. He’s able to take ideas and spin them out of nothing.”

“I see. Was he the one who came up with the idea for Warrior Shop ?”

“Actually,” Magnus frowned, thinking. “That was me. Levi helped me figure out a lot of the parts, though. He’s integral to everything I work on, especially with The World .”

“That’s the new game you’re developing, right? Did you come up with that concept or did he?”

“I did.”

“Mmmhmm. I think you might be less dependent on Levi than you think,” Edie said.

She wasn’t getting it. Or maybe she was choosing not to understand. “Well, let’s take Bianca for example. Are you dependent on her?”

“Yes,” she said flatly, and she didn’t sound pleased.

He was surprised to hear that answer coming from her. She valued her independence so fiercely. “You are? Really?”

“I can’t drive for long periods of time or my leg cramps up. Bianca drives me everywhere. She’s also my assistant.”

“But she’s vital to your business as it is, right? Kind of how Levi is to mine.”

Edie shrugged. She looked unhappy with the subject. Bad move, Magnus, he told himself. He didn’t want her to feel cornered or like she couldn’t talk, so it was time to distract her.

“So,” Magnus said, pressing closer to her. Edie was sandwiched between a wall and a row of glass enclosures for the reptiles. “What if I ask you nicely again? Do I get a kiss?”

Her brows drew together. “Let me get this straight. Seeing all these snakes and lizards made you horny?”

“No,” he said, but grinned at her words. “Being alone in the dark with you made me horny. Plus, I’m a guy. It doesn’t take much to turn us on.” He leaned in closer, his nose practically in her hair. He could smell her shampoo—sweet and clean. “Is that a no, then?”

Edie looked up at him thoughtfully.

“What?”

“Just thinking.”

He arched an eyebrow and put his thumb to her chin, angling her face up to his. “Don’t strain anything.”

She batted his hand away, but his tease brought a smile to her face again. “I was just wondering . . . why me?”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged and looked away. “Why are you interested in me? There’s lots of girls out there for a guy like you, and I’d bet they’d be a lot nicer than I was. But you . . . you got a cat to ask me out, didn’t you?”

Edie was astute, he’d give her that. “Of course not,” he said, keeping his words light. “I love Lady Cujo. She’s absolutely what I was missing in my life.”

“Uh huh,” she said, smiling. “So I guess my question is . . . why me? We didn’t exactly click when we first met.”

Because my brother’s an idiot and he’s in love with your sister? Because he won’t buckle down and go back to work until he bangs her, and that’s why I suddenly have a cat and a date with you? Except he couldn’t say any of that, because the fair Bianca seemed to be holding out on Levi, and if Edie found out what was happening, she’d blurt it all out to her sister, and then Levi wouldn’t get what he wanted in order to be creative, and then Magnus would be the one who suffered.

It was all pretty damn exhausting, really. And no matter what he did, Magnus felt like he was the one getting the short end of the stick here.

But Magnus could be charming when he needed to be. After all, he’d managed to squeeze two billion from a computer company for one single computer game. He could romance a cat lady.

So he brushed a finger along the edge of Edie’s jaw. “Why not you?”

“Seriously?” She pushed his hand away again. “How about giving me a non-bullshit answer?”

Annnnd this wasn’t working. New tactic. “All right. Here’s some non-bullshit for you. You want to know why I like you? Because you can cut like a knife with that tongue. Because you don’t let me get away with anything. Because you have a pretty banging body, and because that mouth is incredibly fuckable. Because you’re smart, and the whole cat thing kind of intrigues me, despite myself. And your mouth is really damn sexy. How’s that?”