He wants me. The thought is exultant. Whatever this thing is that I’m feeling, this unreasonable desire that I can’t even justify, he feels it too.
The waiter arrives with the drinks, and I watch with regret as Landon pulls back, releasing my hand.
Suddenly my throat feels parched. I take a long sip of my cocktail. “So are you on the prowl or what?” I say it lightheartedly, even though the thought of him picking up another woman tonight causes an intense pang of jealousy inside me.
He considers me for a moment. “Are you working tonight?”
I almost reply that I am, then remember that he doesn’t know what I actually do. “Working?”
“Are you working the joint?” he repeats, his penetrating gaze steady on my face as he waits for me to reply.
I swallow hard and look away. Of course, as far as he’s concerned, I’m a hooker. Why else would a hooker be in a swanky club if not to pick up men?
“Not tonight,” I reply. “I’m here with my cousin and her boyfriend.”
He doesn’t look as if I’m telling him something he doesn’t already know, fueling my suspicion that he’s presence here has something to do with me.
“Does she know what you do for a living?”
I pull my hand from his, resenting the lies I can’t stop telling. “No.”
The tempo of the music changes, and Justin Timberlake starts to sing about mirrors. I move farther away from him on the seat as the silence stretches between us. The weight of the knowledge that my deception has gone farther than what I intended making me shrink from him. It feels almost as if he knows. As if with his eyes, he’s challenging me to come clean, but that’s just ridiculous.
I decide to go back to my table. Laurie would be back soon anyway, and somehow, I think it’s better if she doesn’t find me on the same table as Landon Court. I’d have no words to explain that one.
I start to get up, but his hand snakes out, reaching for mine.
“Don’t go,” he says.
I fall back on the seat, momentum bringing me closer to him than I originally was. He’s turned towards me, and my body is angled towards his, so close that all I can see, feel and breathe, is him.
His eyes are on my lips, and I can feel the tenseness in his body, like an animal about to spring. There is an aching tightness spreading from my belly, making me breathless.
I lick my lips again, and a breath escapes him.
“Don’t do that,” he says it like a warning.
“Why not?” My voice sounds thick and husky.
His eyes roam my face. Hooker or whatever he thinks I am, he wants me, and his desire is calling out to mine. I can feel one of his hands on the side of my thigh, warm and firm, and I know I want more. No matter what he proposes, I won’t resist.
As if he can sense my capitulation, his body relaxes. He strokes a finger across my cheek, his lips rising in a small smile. “I think your cousin is looking for you.”
For a moment, I can’t focus on what he’s saying, too intent on wanting him to keep touching me. Then I hear Laurie’s voice.
“Rach!” She sounds confused. “I was looking for you.” She’s holding Brett’s hand and frowning in Landon’s direction. “Why’d you move tables?”
“I… This is Landon,” I say, watching as her eyes widen, only for a second, and then her face is composed again.
Landon rises to his feet, managing to do so gracefully, despite how tangled up our limbs are. “Please join us,” he says, extending a hand to Laurie. “I’m Landon Court.”
“Laurie,” she gives me another questioning look as Landon and Brett shake hands and exchange names. I raise my shoulders in a gesture to show her that I’m as confused as she is, and look away.
“We were just going,” Laurie says, looking at me. “Do you want us to wait or...”
“No…” I steal a glance at Landon, then look back at her. “Just wait for me, I’ll be right out.”
“Nice to meet you Landon,” Brett says politely. “We’re right outside Rach.”