His Forbidden Love (Manhattan Billionaires #2) - Ava Ryan Page 0,47
helps me slip the remnants of my dress off. Then he makes a great show of folding and smoothing the ruined fabric before carefully placing it on the bench. I laugh and step into the boxers. When I straighten, he holds the robe open for me as I slide it on. I start to reach for the belt, but he brushes my hands aside and ties it for me.
I watch him, mesmerized by the focus on his downturned face as he gets the knot exactly the way he wants it. I’ve seen this focus before, of course. In surgery. But seeing it now really does something to me.
It occurs to me that I need to be careful here. Otherwise, I’m going to wake up one day and discover that I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with this man. And it’ll be way too late for me to do anything to stop it.
“There,” he says, looking me in the eye again. “How’s that?”
I quickly face the mirror, startled by the delicious intimacy of the moment. “I look good,” I say, striking a runway pose. “I think this look will be a big hit when I walk home.”
We laugh together, our gazes connecting in the mirror as he comes to stand behind me. I could live and die in that moment. But then the laughter fades and he steps closer, pressing the front of his body up against the back of mine. Heat flares between us again. It doesn’t take much on my end, especially when his semi-erection presses against my ass. He slings a possessive arm low across my hips, making a shudder of renewed desire ripple through me. Then he closes his eyes and presses a fervent kiss to the side of my head, right where my hair explodes into a bird’s nest. But he doesn’t seem to mind. He seems…shaken. In a good way.
Then he raises the lids on those amazing blue eyes again and smiles just enough to make his sexy crow’s-feet and dimples pop.
“First of all, you’re not going home anytime soon. Second, do I need to apologize for anything that’s happened tonight?”
I think about my ruined dress and underwear. My ruined relationship with Bruce.
“Fuck no. So you’re sorry?”
His smile dissipates, leaving him unsmiling and serious as he stares at me with all that heat. “Fuck no.”
I can’t breathe when he looks at me like that.
I really can’t breathe.
“Good,” I say, reaching for the water bottle and then unscrewing it for a much-needed sip. I’m going to need to stay well fed and hydrated if I want to keep engaging on the playing field with this one. “Then we’re on the same page.”
“We’re definitely on the same page.”
The purr of satisfaction in his tone makes me feel like the sexiest woman alive. “So…what now?” I ask, hoping whatever it is involves his bed.
“How about I show you my apartment?”
“Let’s go,” I say, nicely diverted. I’ve never dated anyone with this kind of money before. Never been to a building like this. I can’t wait to see more of his natural habitat.
“This way,” he says, taking my hand as though it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Our hands fit together as beautifully as our bodies just did. I try to play it off as we take a step or two down the hallway, as though I always feel the zing of a connection like this and there’s therefore nothing to see here. But he stops and frowns down at our fingers laced together, looking as stunned as I feel by this turn of events.
“Just to be clear,” he says slowly, looking up at me again. “I can touch you now. Whenever I want.”
I feel a powerful surge of something that feels suspiciously like triumph.
“I hadn’t really given it any thought,” I say, shrugging and trying not to smile as we continue down the hallway. “Can I get back to you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“I don’t like to rush into things.”
“Ah.”
Without a word, he raises my hand and sucks my middle two fingers deep into his mouth. The delicious suction causes me to cry out. To squirm and melt. I’m not kidding when I tell you that I think that a finger-gasm is and/or should be a thing.
He knows it, too, the cocky SOB. He takes all the time in the world about letting my fingers slide free, eyes gleaming with amusement.
“Tomorrow’s too late for me,” he murmurs.
“I’ll see if I can get you emergency authorization,” I say breathlessly.