“You are so strong. Like whoa strong.” My eyes widened again, and his grin grew bigger. “Why do I keep doing this?”
My cheeks heated. And like an idiot, I kept my hands on his arms. Release him, Sydney. Let go of him. Don’t be a freak.
When I had calmed myself down enough to actually hear myself, I pulled back, but his hand held one of mine in place and he said, “Have dinner with me.”
“Dinner? Like food?”
Gah, like food? Am I for real?
I had a doctorate, for Pete’s sake, and when I was around this man, I acted like a preteen girl with a crush.
“People do eat. I figured we could do it together.”
I dropped my head and gave it a shake. “With my luck, I’d probably end up accidently stabbing someone with my fork or causing a fire somehow.”
“Or we could have dinner and sit on opposite sides of the restaurant?”
I pushed against his chest playfully with my free hand. Yes, yes, yes, his chest feels as amazing as I imagined. Hello, sexiness overload.
The air grew tense as Mike’s gaze pierced mine. And damn it, my lady parts tingled. They screamed for a workout. Down, girl. I wanted him. Badly. Like crazy bad, but I wasn’t a one-night stand kind of girl.
The heat of his body seeped into mine. My nipples hardened.
“Have dinner with me. Let’s explore what this is.”
Unconsciously, I licked my lips. “Explore?”
“Are you going to answer every question I ask with another question?”
We moved closer together. I responded, “Maybe?”
When barely an inch separated us, I held my breath and prayed he’d close the gap.
Crash!
A loud noise outside the window made me jump, and Maggie Maye barked.
Mike was instantly on alert. “Grab the dog. Go down the hall.”
My pulse skyrocketed. “Mike, what’s going on?”
His hands went to my face. “Let me check it out, okay?”
“Okay.”
I grabbed Maggie Maye and took her into the hallway. She whimpered and wiggled to get down. “Shh… it’s okay. Your daddy is checking it out.” I stroked her fur and murmured to her softly.
Mike appeared from around the corner. He shook his head, clearly agitated. “Damn cat.” I remained frozen. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Syd. A cat knocked over your plant outside. I saw the culprit on the sidewalk before he ran off.”