“Your jewelry, Rachel,” I reply smoothly. “I gave them to you, but that’s not why we’re here. I wanted to see you.”
She doesn’t respond, but I can tell the words have an effect on her. Her throat works as she swallows, and her lips quiver visibly.
“I wanted to see you,” I repeat. And God knows I want much more.
“Why?” The word is barely louder than a whisper.
“Why?” I laugh ruefully. Because I can’t stop thinking about her. Because our arrangement had the opposite effect from what I intended. I haven’t gotten her out of my system. I am more addicted to her than I ever was.
I run a hand through my hair. I’m too tense, too nervous. “Because,” I say in a measured tone, “you’ve gotten under my skin in a way I didn’t think was possible.” She’s silent, so I continue. “I want to keep seeing you. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”
She starts to say something, but our food arrives.
I wait until we’re alone again. “When I asked you to take the trip with me to San Francisco, you insisted you only wanted our arrangement to last for a week. I want to know why.”
This is the part I fear the most. The part where I fear she’ll tell me it could only be temporary because of the other man who already has a hold on her heart.
“I was in a bad place,” she replies, looking
at me. “I thought a short physical relationship would help to get me back on track.”
And did it? Is she ready to move on from Whatshisname? “You thought?”
She looks down at the table. “What are you asking, Landon?”
I might as well just put it all on the table. “I want to know if…” I exhale, searching for the right words. “What I’m saying is, I want you. I have from the moment I saw you, and I still do. I can’t let you go.”
I can see her hesitation, and in there with it, longing. She feels something too, even if, for whatever reason, she’s not sure how she wants this…us…to go.
“You don’t have to let me go,” she murmurs. “I don’t want you to.”
Tension loosens in my belly, and I relax for the first time since I saw her outside her building. I keep a handle on the desire to sweep her into my arms and kiss her till I lose my breath.
“The food is getting cold,” I say, my tone belying the intensity of my relief. “We should eat.”
The change of subject amuses her, and her lips lift in a small, perfect smile. She’s so beautiful it makes me catch my breath, and I can barely take my eyes off her as we eat.
If she notices, she doesn’t seem to mind.
“What are you doing tonight?” I ask her later.
She shrugs. “Nothing. Why?”
“Aidan, my brother, has been working on a play. It’s still in the preview stage, but tonight is a press night, and I’m going to lend my support. Will you come?”
She sucks in a corner of her lower lip. “I’d love to.”
“Good.” My eyes follow the smooth sway of her lips, and arousal stirs in my pants. I want to taste those lips, suck on them, hear her moans… I exhale. “Now, I’m going to take you back to your office, because if I don’t, I’m going to have to find a place to fuck you.”
Her eyebrows rise, and her eyes darken with a lush invitation that goes straight to my cock. “I can get away with another hour or so.”
I need no more encouragement. I take her hand and lead her out of the restaurant. In the elevator, I grab her face in my hands and cover her lips with mine, tasting her with a hunger that has been building to a peak since the moment I set my eyes on her.
She melts into my kiss, her body igniting with my touch. Her fingers dig into my hair and she strokes my tongue with hers, driving me to the verge of insanity. I can barely tear my mouth from hers, but I have to, or else we’ll end up fucking right here, right now.
She moans in protest when I put some space between us. Her lips are swollen, her eyes glazed. “My place is closer than your hotel or your office,” she offers.
Oh Rachel. “Your place it is.”