Before he dragged Jessey through the entrance and into the gallery, she had time to wonder whether her food was going to come crawling out of her mouth. It was OK however, since it was obvious that Dodge had no idea.

Her heart rate increased. He may never have good fortune if she did. Since the maids only came in on Monday and Friday evenings, she still had time to go into the loft and steal her lingerie before they brought it to his notice in the morning. She looked at her watch for a second. It was only going to be four hours before midday, which was perfect timing for her to sneak into the loft. Meanwhile, she could make it through the day.

Charley sat in his car and looked out at the street, wondering if he'd gone crazy. This woman, Jessey, didn't want to be around him at all. When she realized he wasn't Dodge, she almost screamed and ran out of the room.

Still, he couldn't deny how much he liked the way he felt when he was with her. Jessey was nothing like the women he had been with before. He should have been turned off by how different she was, or at least been mildly interested, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this if he gave it a try. Also, Dodge thought it was a great idea to surprise her.

He decided not to remember all of Dodge's other dumb ideas that didn't seem so good once Charley walked through the front door and into the gallery. There was a good chance that this one was also crap. What the hell did he think? She wouldn't want to go on a date with him. He should just tell her he's sorry and leave her life for good.

Yes, that was a good plan. Better than the one he did first. With a plan in place, he went from room to room in the gallery. Even though it had been almost six months since his last visit, Charley was still impressed by his brother's collection. Even though he wasn't a snob about art, he couldn't deny that his brother had a good eye for this kind of thing. Charley still liked the scrap-metalpaintings best, but he could see that Dodge gave other artists a chance by showing their work in his galleries. No wonder the things sold for such a crazy amount of money.

"See something you like?"

When he turned around, Jessey was wearing a cool pink skirt that showed off her killer legs and a striped tank top, which was a big step up from the ruffles and satin she had been wearing before. Yes. Charley saw something he liked for sure. A lot. Even though her outfit wasn't at all too tight, Charley couldn't stop thinking about her naked. Even though he tried hard, his cock jumped to attention.

“You.” She took a step back and her blue eyes got very big. "What do you want to do here?"

Even though it wasn't exactly a warm welcome, she wasn't going to call the police either. Charley was happy with whatever he could get. "I'm here to buy a picture."

If her blush was any indication, Jessey's snort was an accident. She ran her hands over her skirt, making the lines of her hips stand out. This made him look away again. Charley would give his left hand to be able to touch her there just one more time.

"Quit it."

He quickly looked back at her face. "Don't do what?" Would she really say that he was staring at her like an old dirty man?

“You—” Before she smiled at him, her eyes burned and her mouth tightened into a line. Even though her lips were curled up, she still looked like she was very angry. "Which piece did you think about?" The way Jessey said it showed she didn't think he could afford it.

The way he was treated hurt his pride. This girl didn't know jack about him. She only saw his broken face and tattoos, so she thought he was trash. The truth was that Charley could buy every painting in this goddamn gallery and still be fine.

He turned toward the paintings near the front window and pretended to be interested. "These ones stood out to me."

He waited to see if she would tell him to leave, but Jessey just sighed and walked over to him. "They are the newest ones on the market; I just got them from a show in town. Mr. Schultz loves giving money to local artists.

Mr. Schultz? Did she joke around with him? Or really didn't she know he was Dodge's brother? Charley watched her out of the corner of his eye. He noticed how she couldn't take her eyes off the middle one. "Do they go together?"

"That's possible." Jessey gave a shrug. "You have to decide if you want to spend the money to get them all." Again, her tone showed that she was trying to be funny. "They seem to fit you well."

Charley knew that the music was from Dante's "Inferno." She would have to think he was going to one of hell's nine circles. He took a deep breath and got caught up in the deep, woodsy smell of her. Even though it wasn't a scent that most women would choose, it still made his mouth water. "And which one would you pick?"

Jessey blinked. “Me?”

"Yeah, you. Since you work here, you must like something. Which one do you like best?"

"I don't see what difference that makes."

Charley took a look at the art. As usual, they ranged from delicate and beautiful to completely abstract and dark. No one could say that his brother's taste stuck to one niche, but they could say that he has more than one personality. Which one would she pick?

"You're serious?" She took a deep breath when he just waved for her to go ahead. “Fine.”

She walked through the gallery without stopping. Charley went after her and used the chance to watch the way the muscles on the back of her legs moved. Those heels were killer. He gave his stamp of approval.