"Did you ever think about leaving?"
I glanced up at him. His voice had changed and the look on his face was part concerned and part something I couldn't begin to decipher. I touched his arm. It was an instinctive gesture. "Not once. I told you in the beginning that I don't give up. I wouldn't do that to either of you."
Christian took in a deep breath. His eyes slid down to my hand that lingered on his muscled arm.
I pulled my hand back when I realized what I was doing. His gaze flicked up to mine and immediately I wished he would push me against the counter and rip my clothes off. My breathing picked up as he let his hand slide down and linger on my hip. It was the smallest touch, but it radiated desire and longing.
Fuck.
Every thought that went through my head was dirtier than the last. My eyes were drawn to his inviting lips. When he licked his sensuous bottom lip, I shuddered. "What are we doing?" I asked quietly.
"I just wanted to say thank you. That's all," he said in a deep, husky voice.
Just the sound of that voice made my knees weak.
Christian's hand shifted from my hip and he turned towards the table again.
I could see the tension in his body and his reaction to me pushing so hard against the fabric of his pants and it was an impressive push too. I wanted to press my hand against it, slide it against my lips and watch him moan as he gave into me.
I swallowed hard. My entire body felt hot and bothered, so I had to force myself to breathe right again.
We finished cleaning up and put everything away in relative silence only making small talk after that. I don't think either of us could really focus.
"Would you like me to drive you home?" Christian asked when we were done. "You've had a couple of glasses of wine."
"Oh yeah, I have." I laughed lightly. I hoped that was why I felt so damned hot and flushed. "What about Annie though?"
"I'll ask Gary to come over and keep an ear out for her. He’ll probably be in the pub around the corner." He smiled.
I smiled too and shook my head. "Sounds like a plan. Let me grab my things."
"I'll wait for you here," he said, already speed-dialing Gary.
I nodded and jogged upstairs to grab the bag I'd left in the spare room. I hadn't wanted to wake Annie up when I came back to retrieve it. Slowly, I pushed her bedroom door open a bit. I saw her still passed out and I smiled with satisfaction.
"Night kid."
I snagged my bag, and stopped very briefly to check that I looked okay in the en-suite bathroom mirror then walked out to the living room where Christian was waiting on me. Gary must have sprinted down the road because he was already nestled on the couch and polishing off the rest of the wine bottle.
I climbed into his gleaming sports car and Christian closed the door down after me.
"Ready?" he asked.
I nodded. As he pulled away from his home, I had a thought of staying the night and waking up there.
You're getting ahead of yourself, madam.
I knew I was, but my imagination had a mind of its own sometimes. I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.
Chapter Thirteen
Hannah
The drive back throbbed with the sound of the engine and something else mysterious that seemed to hang in the air between us. The overhead streetlights flooded the interior of the car and every once in a while with enough light, I could dart a look in his direction to check out his expression.
Christian's hands gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles were white. His lips seemed to move silently as if he were having some kind of inner dialogue.
I would have killed to know what he was murmuring. I had a sneaking suspicion it might be the same thing that was in my head.
Every ounce of tension that flowed off his body made me just as anxious and antsy as he seemed to be. I wanted to ask him what was going through his head, but I didn't dare. I wasn't sure what I'd say if he said he wanted to throw me down and have his way with me.
I shoved my thighs together and squeezed as my fingers gripped the seat tightly.
Calm down, Hannah. There is absolutely no way that anything is going to happen between us.
It couldn't. He was my boss, my employer. If I crossed that line, I'd be potentially screwing up a job that I really liked and wanted to keep. Plus, I’d just made a huge breakthrough with Annie and I didn’t want to throw it away. I couldn't risk that. Right?
The car pulled up to my apartment building and I glanced around. The parking lot looked pretty empty. I was very aware that we were completely alone in the luxurious, but tight confines of his car.