So he didn’t like one of the premiere locations in London?
“So, uh...” I struggled to find the words, staring up into his eyes. “If you don’t prefer it, why are you here?”
He smiled again, this time flashing a row of perfect, pearly teeth. He beamed like that a lot. Whether it was real or simply designed to put me at ease, I didn’t know, but I liked it either way.
“My friends dragged me here for some kind of commencement thing.”
“Me too,” I volunteered quickly. “It’s the start of—”
“May I kiss you?”
My lips fell open a fraction of an inch, and my body suddenly felt quite warm, despite the chilly English night. “Um...what?”
He took a step closer, that same little smile still dancing in his eyes. He didn’t repeat the question; he seemed to understand that I needed a moment to digest it. Instead, he simply reached out a long finger and ran it down the side of my face.
That simple gesture left a physical burn in its wake, a fiery, smoldering something trailing out behind it. A visible tremble swept through my entire body, and without thinking, I took a step closer as well.
May I kiss you? Not can I, but may I. It was grammatically correct, and something about that blew my mind. Whoever he was, he’d clearly been raised with those impeccable English manners.
For whatever reason, that inane thought ran through my head when he cupped his hands around my face and lowered his lips to mine. He paused just an inch away, awaiting my answer, those sparkling eyes scorching my very soul.
It was all I could do to even nod, and I had no idea how I managed to keep my knees from buckling and stay on my feet as the two of us came together for the first time. All the air rushed out of me in a single instant, leaving me literally speechless.
The kiss was dirty and wicked, something that implied much more to come. A silent gasp ripped through me as I surrendered myself to it completely. I couldn’t help but close my eyes and hover there, on the tips of my toes, just letting the devilish magic wash over me.
Nope. I was wrong. This man doesn’t have manners at all, I quickly decided.
The night was cold, but his mouth was warm, and his tongue was even warmer. Somehow, his hands were even steamier, a sensation I felt when they vanished from my face and slipped down to my lower back. His fingers ran lightly over the fabric of my dress, tracing invisible patterns that I would never see. I felt his heartbeat quicken as he pulled me closer to encircle me completely in his embrace. I could not believe he took me to the edge of all logic and reason with that one mind-blowing kiss, but just as quickly as it began, it was over.
My eyes snapped open as a rush of cold swept suddenly over my skin, the burning flush that had enveloped it dissipating fast in the breeze.
He stared into my eyes. “Let’s dump this place. I know a far better one.”
I wasn’t that girl, not by any stretch of the imagination. I would never go home with a guy on the first date, never throw caution to the wind and kiss a stranger in an alley, let alone on a night like that, in a city I didn’t know. The only issue was, I’d done just that.
“I-I don’t...” I stalled, trying to buy myself more time.
“I’m talking about a night club. Let’s go grab a drink.”
“I’m not really familiar with—”
“I am.”
An incredulous smile rose to my lips, and I tilted my head to the side. “Well, I’m not really familiar with you either.”
He backed down for the first time, but he wasn’t about to surrender that charming little grin of his, the one that made me want him all the more. “That’s true.”
Just like that, the ball was back in my court. It was my decision, and he wasn’t going to beg me to join him. It was a simple invitation, and I really, really wanted to go. “Do you have something in mind?” I asked, still unable to believe I was willing to go along with the beautiful lunatic’s spontaneous plan. “Someplace close, preferably. I’ll need to, uh...”
I trailed off as he turned to look down the street. His chin lifted ever so slightly, and his eyes dilated with sudden focus, as if he sensed something I could neither see nor hear, at least not till a second later. The faint pulse of music was coming from a distance like a whispered beacon, beckoning us up the road.
I loved the sparkle that danced across his eyes. He turned those magical eyes back to me and said, “Would you like to dance?”
His charisma was contagious, his excitement catching. Not only that, but the man standing in front of me was too impossibly beautiful to ignore.
“I would love to.”
Without another word, he took my hand and led me swiftly out of the alley and onto the main road, where we were greeted by a barrage of lights and sounds of an entire nocturnal cityscape that had come to life. London didn’t fall asleep easily, but I was used to that, considering that New York was the same way. The States certainly didn’t have the monopoly on cities that never slept.