“Then why are you offering to take me out tonight? You’ve made it clear where we stand ... or have you changed your mind?”
“About?” she asks dryly. Her voice is even, but the slight tremor in her hand gives her away.
“This unexplained thing that exists between us.”
“Please, attraction is nothing but a biological response.”
“You’re wrong,” I say.
“I’m sure you own a mirror. We both know you’re easy on the eyes.”
She rolls her eyes. “Are you trying to tell me you think you’re ugly?”
“Am I?” I wink as she scoffs. “About attraction. It’s a precursor to a deeper level of compatibility.”
She licks her lips, and I step closer.
“I can see the want in your eyes, Xia. Why fight it?”
“Be-because mixing business with pleasure could be disastrous, and I don’t do casual sex.”
“Nothing about what will happen between us will be casual.” Tiny bumps cover her bare arms, and her eyes dilate. “We’ve spent the past month dancing around one another. If this thing was going to wane it would’ve.”
“You are the one who continues to feed it with those comments and those knowing eyes.” The accusatory tone and anger that flashes, darkening her eyes to a nearly black color, make my skin tingle.
I want to be on the receiving end of all that fire.
“Are you trying to convince yourself of that, or me? ’Cause I’m not buying it. This is a two-way street.”
She growls and her nostrils flare. “Cocky.”
“Confident and honest. Life’s too short to deny yourself the things you really want.” I break eye contact as the weight of the past year slams into me. The demon raises up inside of me. She’s right to resist. You don’t deserve a second glance. If she knew what I’d believed in the past and how I’d acted, she’d never speak to me again. I trace her full lips longingly with my eyes. She shivers, and her lips part like a flower in the sun. “You make it impossible to walk away,” I whisper. Stepping closer, I place a hand on either side of her body as I pin her to the counter with my bigger frame. “Do you really want me to leave you alone, Xia? Tell me you don’t like the things I say or the way I make you feel, and we’ll never have this problem again.”
“We should …” Her voice trails off.
“That’s not what I asked you.”
Her lids close halfway. “I don’t—”
“Give me tonight. One evening without road blocks or opposition. Let me show you how it could be between us.”
“Shayne—”
“What do you have to lose?”
She shakes her head.
“All I need is one word. Aren’t you tired of bottling it all up? I see you when no one else around us does. You hide in plain sight with those fake smiles and that compliant behavior. Happiness never reaches your eyes. I want to spend a day with the mysterious woman I see lurking in those dark eyes. I want an entire evening with the real Xia.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
It’s a Herculean effort not to close the small distance between us and brush her plump lips. I push away from her. What’s between us deserves more than a rush job. I will take my time and build up instead of tear down. I’m a man on a quest, not just to win the fair maiden, but to prove I’m worthy of good things. I came close to the edge; steps away from being a complete monster. After so much destruction, I long to create.
“I’ll plan everything. You relax for once.”
“But I know the city.”
“I’m a resourceful man.”