dress at the theatre had backfired on her so she’d taken the opposite approach tonight. Her red, wrap dress hugged her curves and made her feel very feminine. If he didn’t like this dress, he was a blind man.
When her phone vibrated again, she groaned, almost afraid to look at the message. She was feeling like a silly school girl trying to best the cutest boy on the playground. And losing! “Yes, the red dress looks fabulous on you,” she read in the next text message.
She had to read it twice just to understand what it was telling her. And then it hit her. He was here! He was already in the restaurant?
She looked around, her eyes scanning the room and the other patrons. When her eyes collided with his, she was both embarrassed and furious that he could be so devious. And mortified that he’d seen her arrive early, leave and come right back. He’d seen her primp and look down at her dress and as he smiled at her approach, she could see in his eyes that he knew she’d done it all for him.
He strolled up to her, an amused expression lightening his rugged features. “You’re a bastard,” she said as she glared up at his brown, laughing eyes. He pulled her out of the way of arriving guests, which meant they were partially hidden from the restaurant patrons. The stairway to the upper level was on her right while the storage rooms were to her left, with Damon standing directly in front of her, blocking out her view of everyone else.
“And you look beautiful,” he said and pulled her forward into his arms, covering her mouth with his before she could say anything else.
She tried to resist. She sincerely did! For all of two seconds she resisted the temptation of his lips moving across her own. She tried to ignore his tongue demanding entry to her mouth and that tightening in her stomach which she refused to acknowledge as anticipation. But when his tongue ran along her closed mouth, teasing her and sending shivers of excitement down her back, she couldn’t resist opening to him and becoming overwhelmed once again with the passion he incited within her.
When her arms wrapped around his neck, that wasn’t enough. While her mouth kissed him back, her hands slid down his arms, then snuck inside his suit jacket and ran along the muscles of his chest, exploring the heat she found buried underneath his tailored shirt, hiding his physical strength behind a veneer of sophistication.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said several minutes later, lifting his head and looking around, realizing that they’d just kissed passionately in public. He abhorred public displays but there was something about this woman that pushed all of his normal rules to the side.
“Get out of here?” she asked, her eyes glazed over as she looked up at him.
“We can’t continue this here,” he growled and reached into his wallet. He’d already thrown down several bills to cover his drink by the time she realized that he meant to get out of the restaurant so they could find some privacy.
He was stepping back, holding onto her arm and had already taken two steps by the time she pulled back. “We can’t do that,” she gasped and stopped, almost tripping on the forward momentum he produced.
He turned back around and looked down at her. Seeing the worry in her eyes, he relented slightly but it was difficult since his body was still riding hard on the lust coursing through his system from her passionate response. “Don’t worry, Eva. I’ll take care of you.”
She shook her head and pulled her arm out of his grip. “I’m not leaving here with you.” The last time they’d been alone, things had gotten out of control. She’d gotten out of control. She didn’t want to experience another night like that. Nor did she want to have sex with him. Public places were her best bet.
He shook his head and pushed her back into their makeshift alcove, refusing to let her run away and grinding his teeth because he knew he wouldn’t get anywhere with her tonight. He understood that her fear had taken over instead of the desire he knew she was also feeling. “Eva, we’re going to make love together and it’s going to be soon. This resistance you keep pushing is getting tiresome.”
Her body was still throbbing with the need to continue what they were doing so when