It was the same reaction I had when I set eyes on him in his three-piece.
Wonder.
And, like me, he tried to hide it.
“Mr. Black, what a pleasure,” a man says, falling into stride next to us. “Anything you need, please, just ask.”
Black continues, not even blessing the man with a glance. But then he pulls to an abrupt stop, forcing every one of his entourage to stop too, all of them clearly confused. “Actually”—Black uses his free hand to go to his inside pocket, then turns to the man—“your chopper. Have it on standby.” He releases my hand and flips off at least a dozen hundred-dollar bills and passes them over before claiming me again. “I might feel like a sky tour of Vegas after dinner.”
“Of course, sir.”
A helicopter? Just like that? “That’s a bit spontaneous,” I say without thought as he moves us forward again.
“I don’t do spontaneous,” he replies flatly, releasing my hand and taking it to my lower back. My teeth bite down together, as his big palm splays the entire width, his touch burning through the silky material of the dress. Danny strokes the area gently, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s mindful of the bruise he’s seen there. “Spontaneous gets you killed,” he adds quietly.
“Wasn’t this dress spontaneous?”
“Yes, and it might get me killed.” His face is deadly serious when I shoot a surprised look his way. “After you,” he says, opening the door and letting me go through, but not before three of his men.
I see Perry immediately. He’s at a table of four, throwing back shots rapidly. He looks troubled. Very, very troubled. I feel Danny’s mouth at my ear, and my body rolls. “I hope you’re looking forward to this evening as much as I am.”
“I would rather walk on broken glass.”
He laughs softly as we’re led to a table mere feet from my lover. A romantic, cozy table set for two. Just two. Two places laid side by side. Not opposite each other. They’re next to each other. This is going to be more of a spectacle than I anticipated. Danny Black is about to torture me throughout dinner, and appearing disgusted rather than turned on under Perry’s watchful eye is going to be hard.
One of Danny’s men indicates the seat, and I sit, placing the silver purse that’s a perfect match to the dress on the table. Black takes a seat beside me. He’s close. Too close. His men move away, not too far but far enough to give us privacy, not that this dinner is going to be private. Nowhere near.
I know the second Perry sees us. I know because Black curls his arm around my shoulder. And then I feel the heat of his mouth moving in on my cheek. My body does what it’s so good at doing when he’s this close. It trembles. I flick my eyes to Perry, seeing a horrified stare pointing my way. I try to pass my shakes off as a shuddery cringe, closing my eyes as if struggling to endure Black’s closeness. I should be quite convincing, because I really am struggling. Thank God Perry can’t see my thighs clenching under the table.
But Danny can feel them when his hand lands on my leg. I sense his wicked grin spread across my skin as his lips linger, my cheek set to burst into flames with the rest of my body. We’ve been here a few minutes. How will I ever get through the entire evening?
“I think you’ve made your point,” I say quietly as the waitress pours us wine.
“On the contrary.” His big hand squeezes my thigh, his rough palms bunching the luxury satin fabric along with my flesh. “I haven’t even started yet.”
“Why don’t you just fuck me on the table and be done with it?” I say stupidly, my own words making me shift uncomfortably in my seat. I’ve never been turned on. I’ve pretended to be and always done a stellar job, and now I have to pretend not to be.
Don’t be turned on, Rose!
I just know I’m not very convincing. Maybe to everyone surrounding us, but to Danny Black who’s touching me, feeling me, I’m not fooling him. How can you hate someone and lust for them at the same time?
Black’s face doesn’t crack as he stares me down. “Something tells me you’d love that.”
“Never.”
Taking his glass of wine, he guides it to my lips, forcing me to open. The crisp, refreshing white wine slides down my throat, and Black slides closer. “You have some here.” Leaning in, he licks from one corner of my mouth to the other. Slowly. Softly. “Never,” he mimics me, full of knowing. My heart begins to pulse as I silently weigh up the merits of giving in to the madness of my body’s wants. Just to get it done with. Just to rid myself of this helpless feeling of desperation. For the first time in my adult life, I feel scared. I don’t like it. But as I keep reminding myself, I sleep with who I am told to sleep with, and I haven’t been told to sleep with Danny Black. I hate myself for wishing I had. But none of this matters, because Danny Black takes what he wants. I would never be able to stop him, and that terrifies me. I wouldn’t want to stop him. That terrifies me more. Yet there have been plenty of moments in the past twenty-four hours when he could have forced me. But he hasn’t.