He smiled. “Thank you. And thank you for tonight.”
“Me? You brought dinner.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to share it with me.”
“Oh? I didn’t know that was an option. My mom always lived by the mantra that if you had more than you needed it was your obligation to share.”
He winked at her. “She sounds like a wise woman.”
“She can be.”
She could also be bitter and trapped by circumstances. Circumstances created by the father of the man standing right there in front of her.
“Hey, we’re all human, right?” Miles said. “I really enjoyed tonight.”
“Me too,” she murmured with genuine pleasure.
“I’m also glad you’re happy to see me again.”
And then he leaned in. Chloe’s body, already wildly attuned to Miles, responded automatically,—closing the distance between them until his lips were on hers. In that instant, she lost all sense of where she was. All she could think about was the warm, firm pressure of his mouth on hers and how she’d been longing for it ever since that moment in the kitchen. Miles reached up with one hand and slid it under her hair to gently cup the back of her head. His fingertips against her scalp sent tiny zaps of electricity through her and she wondered what they would feel like on other, more sensitive, parts of her body.
She parted her lips slightly in invitation and Miles deepened the kiss. Her mind went into overload. The taste of him, the scent of his cologne, the gentle caress of his fingers, all of it combined to make her want to sink into him and lose herself completely.
And then, just like that, the kiss was over and he was pulling back. Releasing her. Giving her space.
“Wow,” she said on a rush of air. “Do you kiss all the girls you knock over like that?”
“Only the ones I really, really like,” he replied. This time his face was serious. Not even an ounce of humor colored his eyes, which had deepened to the bottomless green of a lake at twilight. “See you tomorrow.”
He turned and walked down her front path and she saw the interior light come on in his car as he unlocked it. He raised a hand briefly in farewell before getting in and driving away. Chloe closed and locked her front door and leaned against it, her fingertips on her lips, reliving the kiss they’d just shared.
She was playing with fire. She only hoped she wouldn’t get burned.
Four
As he drove along the interstate toward the city, Miles couldn’t help but savor the anticipation of seeing Chloe again. That kiss last night had knocked him sideways. He hadn’t meant to kiss her just yet. In fact, he’d planned to make their first embrace something special,
to be remembered for location and timing as well as for content. But need had overcome rationality and he wasn’t a bit sorry about it.
He wanted to repeat the experience and this time he was going to ensure that it would be a moment to savor and that they wouldn’t be framed in a well-lit doorway open to the street and any passersby. Miles pulled up outside Chloe’s place and was halfway down the path when she came out the front door to greet him. He stopped in his tracks and let his eyes roam the loveliness that greeted him.
She’d gathered her fine blond hair up into a knot at the nape of her slender neck and delicate gold chain earrings hung from her earlobes. The dress she wore was black and beaded with fine black crystals and had a deep V-neck that exposed a great deal of lightly tanned skin. His eyes were drawn to the gentle swell of her breasts and the slight flush of color at her chest. Nerves, perhaps? Whatever it was, she was a vision and he felt a pulse of feral need beat in his veins at the sight of her.
“You look stunning,” he said as he continued up the walk to meet her.
She ducked her head slightly before angling her neck and looking up at him.
“Thank you. Not too much? You didn’t say where we were going and I’ve always been taught it’s better to overdress than turn up looking like a slob.”
He laughed. “You are nothing like a slob. This is perfect.”
He looked at her again, noting the way the cocktail dress skimmed her hips and ended a few inches above her knees. Not so short as to cheapen the outfit, and not so long as to dampen desire. The dress looked as though it had been made for her. She wore heels that made her at least three inches taller, but he still topped her by inches. They’d make a very distinctive couple tonight, he thought as he offered her his arm.
“All locked up?”
She nodded and took his arm with her good hand.
“How’s your wrist today?”