A few weeks earlier, such an odd comment would have knocked me completely off my game. Now, not only did I find it perfectly ordinary, but I even managed to counter it with a little surprise of my own: “Good, because I invited Caleb too.”
See? Guess two can play this game.
Her mouth fell open.
I opened the door with a sweet smile on my face. “Sorry. I must have forgotten to let you know.”
* * *
Our dinner party was a raging success. Once everyone got past the shock of Madison’s house, which highly resembled the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, we settled in to have what turned out to be one of the best parties I’d been to in a long time. The food was delicious, the booze flowed freely, and not once in three hours did the conversation miss a single beat.
Not only that, but Robert couldn’t take his eyes off me. The two of us sat directly across from each other at the table, separated only by a linen tablecloth and a dozen empty champagne bottles. More times than I could count, his eyes met mine with a secret smile, dancing under the golden light of the chandelier. He couldn’t seem to stop staring at my skin, my eyes, my lips, and my chest, and I just stared just as shamelessly back at him. It was impossible not to, because the man was a magnet for the eyes. I couldn’t avoid taking in his broad shoulders, spectacular body, and strong, rugged jaw. He was a GQ cover come to life, and it wasn’t long before the sexual tension between us became almost too much to bear. We were on pins and needles, literally on the edge of our seats, waiting breathlessly for an opportunity, both hoping for some single spark that would ignite the flame.
When Caleb mentioned casually that we were out of wine, we both sprang to our feet at the same time.
“It’s in the cellar, right, Madi?” I asked, as casually as I could. “I’ll get it.”
“Let me help you carry it in,” Robert said, just as casually. “I imagine we’ll need at least a couple bottles.”
“Yeah, at least,” I echoed.
Fortunately, everyone sitting around the table had already consumed plenty of alcohol themselves. The entire table was completely wasted and didn’t notice the rather stilted dialogue coming from the two of us. Only Madison shot me a faint grin, then mouthed what looked like “Russian nesting dolls” in my periphery.
Without another word, I was off, making my way down the hall, through the door, and down the steps that led to the wine cellar. I heard footsteps behind me but didn’t dare to turn around until I’d reached the bottom of the steps. “So, are we thinking red or white—”
I was off my feet before I could finish the sentence, spinning through the air as Robert literally swept me off my feet. When he sat me down on a table in the corner, his hands were everywhere, and his lips came down hard to meet mine before he smashed them against my arms, breasts, and the sides of my face. It wasn’t until they started sliding up my dress that he pulled back to take a breath.
“I’ve wanted this for so long, Della.” He kissed me again as his fingers looped around the straps of my thong. “A very long time.”
“Me too,” I whispered against his lips, matching him kiss for kiss as my fingers scrambled to unfasten his belt buckle. “You have no idea how long.”
In a blur, his pants came down, and my dress came up.
It was nothing like the first time. The kisses, smiles, and the feel of his hands were different somehow. In a lot of ways, it couldn’t have been further from our rooftop romp, but the man himself was standing right in front of me, and I was determined to give it a try. I hadn’t secretly pined after him for so long for nothing, and I was sure those feelings had to mean something.
I ripped open the buttons of his shirt as he positioned himself in front of me, about ready to venture inside. Then, just a second before he could, I suddenly pulled away.
My eyes weren’t locked on his face anymore but on something lower, something that didn’t make a bit of sense, no matter how long I stared.
“What is it?” he panted impatiently. “What’s the matter?”
I slipped off the table still staring at that part of him, as if I was seeing a ghost. “It’s... your chest,” I breathed, staring in wide-eyed shock.
“You don’t like my chest? Because I worked hard to get these muscles.”
“Where is your... You don’t have a tattoo.”
He glanced down in confusion before looking back up with a frown. “No. Why? Were you expecting one? Some kind of fetish you have or something?”
Fetish? What an asshole. This wasn’t my knight in shining armor.
Fuck!
My eyes shot up to his face and froze there for a moment before they filled with tears. “I’m sorry. “I just can’t... I have to go!”
“You’re such a tease!” I heard him call as I rushed out of the wine cellar. “Come back!”
Chapter 21