“What are you doing?” I asked.
He pulled me closer. “You’re my date. And I’m treating you like my date.”
“But people might think we’re together.”
He leaned down and kissed me softly on the mouth, not caring about the photographers and the onlookers. “Then let them think that.” He brushed his lips across mine before he pulled away.
We entered the hotel then the ballroom where the event was held. The second we stepped inside, the white lights were bright in our eyes. To go along with the underwater theme, there were splashes of blue and gold. It was so elaborately decorated it seemed like we were at a celebrity’s wedding rather than a charity event. “This is fancy…”
“They like to show off a bit.” He grabbed two glasses of champagne from a tray and handed me one.
I let the bubbles drip down my throat and fizzle in my belly. “Even the champagne is fancy.”
He pulled me away from the entryway so we wouldn’t be crushed by the new arrivals. “You look beautiful, by the way.” He looked me up and down, not caring if anyone saw the vulgar way he addressed my body. “I like that dress.”
It was black and backless, stopping just inches above my crack. His fingertips gently moved over the bare skin, his hand warm. “I would assume so…since you bought it.” I couldn’t afford a dress appropriate for an evening like this, so he had one of his shoppers pick it up for me. I didn’t want his charity, but I also didn’t want to look terrible for the evening.
“Money well spent.” A group of men approached him, ready to mingle. “This is gonna take a while, just so you know.”
“I figured you were a popular guy.”
Slate spent the next hour mingling with people he knew, police officers, judges, and other donors. The people he knew the best were from other successful companies, probably because they had more in common. He was charming, funny, and he always introduced me and kept me included in the conversation.
When it was time for dinner, Slate guided me to the reserved table close to the stage. There was already a couple sitting there, and judging by his nearly identical features, the other man was his brother. Slate pulled out the chair for me.
I sat down, feeling his brother eye me like I was the last thing he expected to see. There was a blond woman with him, and she also wore the same expression. It was innately unwelcoming, like I had no right to be at that table.
Slate sat beside me and rested his hand on my thigh under the table. He’d been perfectly polite the entire evening, making everyone laugh and introducing me to people I would never meet again. But now he didn’t say a single word.
Neither did his brother.
The mutual hatred between them was palpable. I could feel it slide over my skin like a slithering snake.
The woman didn’t make nice with me either, even though she and I should have nothing to do with this feud.
They served dinner, and still, there was no talking.
I felt awkward not introducing myself, so I went for it. “I’m Monroe…by the way.”
Slate’s brother gave me the same look of annoyance he gave his brother. “Coen.” All I got was a one-word answer.
“I’m his fiancée, Simone,” the blonde said beside him.
Then it returned to silence.
“That was the best steak I’ve ever had.” I wiped my plate clean and not because I was starving. It was just that good. The sauce they poured over it, along with the grilled mushrooms, made it the most delicious meal ever.
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“Did you like yours?”
“Yeah.” He rested his arm over the back of my chair and leaned close to me, behaving like his brother wasn’t just a few feet away from him.
“Are you nervous about your speech?”
“The only thing I’m nervous about is turning you on.”
“Well, if you’re that concerned about it, you could just take off your clothes. That works pretty well.”
He brought his face close to mine, wearing a slight grin. “I turn you on?”
“Did my orgasm not make that clear?”
“You can make a woman come without turning her on.”
“That makes no sense.”
“You’ll see what I mean, eventually. My goal is to make you so hot that you beg me to fuck you.”
“You already do make me hot…”
“Not hot enough.”
“Sleeping with a man for the first time isn’t about hotness.”
“But it’ll definitely help.” His hand moved into my hair, and he kept it out of my face as he looked at me, ignoring all the other people around us. His face was so close to mine that he could kiss me. Everyone else in the room could see the chemistry between us if they looked in our direction. All the women probably hated me, wondered what I had done to catch the focus of this beautiful man. If only they knew my secret…