and I was determined to whisk her away to somewhere we could be alone.
She spotted me when I was a few feet away, and while her cheeks bloomed with a soft shade of pink, her lips curved up into a seductive smile. My cock immediately responded, and I was forced to alter my gait to make my movements less painful. Fuck, I wanted her. I wanted to sink inside her heat and take us both over the edge. But I also wanted to be surrounded by her sweetness. Hear her laughter. I wanted to learn everything about her because she fascinated me on every level.
Once I was in front of her, I silently held out my hand, giving the illusion that she had a choice. I was prepared to throw her over my shoulder and haul ass, but a smile stretched across my face when she placed her palm in mine. I lifted her hand to my mouth and pressed my lips to the back. Then I released it to put my own on her lower back and walked beside her as I guided her to the back of the restaurant. The heat of her skin burned my fingertips through the thin fabric of her dress. Damn, I could only imagine the fire that would rage between us when our bodies were finally pressed together with no barrier.
We emerged from the kitchen, and I debated for half a second whether to take her up to the penthouse where I could have her naked in minutes or take her home. As soon as the question entered my mind, the answer was right on its heels. My suite wasn’t a fuckpad. In fact, I’d never taken a woman there. However, I didn’t want Amelia to feel for even one moment that she was a hookup or a one-night stand. She was special and bringing her home would show her how serious I was about us. Besides, it would be her home soon as long as she liked it, so it would be as good a time as any to see if I needed to put my house on the market.
With slight pressure on her back, I urged her to turn left and walk to a set of double doors that led to an underground garage where my car was parked. Amelia kept sneaking glances at me, looking up through her lashes. It was cute as fuck, especially when her cheeks turned crimson each time she realized I’d caught her looking.
We reached my Maserati, and I reluctantly removed my hand to touch the door handle so it would unlock. I opened it and helped her slide into the seat before swinging it shut and jogging around to the driver’s side. After getting in and settled, I started up the car and drove toward the exit. I reached over and laced my fingers with hers, then brought our hands to my mouth and kissed hers before resting them on her thigh. This was going to be the longest fifteen minutes of my life.
“Where are we going?” Amelia asked softly. She sounded curious rather than afraid since she’d just driven off with a man who was almost a stranger. Although, once I’d had my mouth on her delicious pussy, I was pretty sure I wasn’t classified as a stranger anymore.
“Home,” I told her simply, flashing her a warm smile.
She raised an eyebrow, but her lips curved up to match mine. “You don’t live at The Artemis?”
I shook my head, then looked at her when I stopped at a red light. “I didn’t want to raise my daughter in a hotel.” I shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile before turning back to watch the road as I began to drive again. “Besides, I prefer the comfort and privacy of a home to room service and valet parking.”
Amelia laughed, and while the sexual tension between us didn’t dissipate, the atmosphere became more relaxed. “I can understand that. My family traveled a lot when I was growing up, and I loved it, but I was always happiest when we returned home.”
“Would you like to travel more?”
“I wouldn’t mind it. It’s always fun to have unique foods to write about. But it’s also nice to be able to do my job locally, especially if I have kids one day.”
“You’re a food critic?” She was becoming more and more interesting with everything I learned about her. I doubted she’d noticed the slight tone of longing in her voice when