Why could no one else see just how sexy his commanding presence was? She was surprised the women in the restaurant weren’t all lining up to admire him. Her every fantasy had finally become a reality, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do.
“Aren’t you going to eat, Tessa?” he asked after a few quiet moments in which he’d already started.
Slowly she shook her head. Watching him eat hypnotized her. His strong hands wielding the utensils, the way his lips wrapped around the tines of the fork. “I’m not very hungry.”
He set his fork on the side of his plate, his dark brows lowered. “Are you not feeling well?”
If being sick with arousal was a true illness then yes indeed, she wasn’t feeling well. At all. “I’ll be fine.”
“What is it?”
Now she just felt foolish. “It’s just that I—” She released a shuddering breath, shocked she was about to confess such a thing. “I want you so much. It almost hurts.”
Alex gripped the edge of the table with one hand, his fingers curling into the white tablecloth. He stared at her, his breath increasing, his eyes darkening until there was almost no blue in their depths. Just pure, turbulent gray. “You should eat.”
Slowly she shook her head and kicked off her shoe, stretching out her foot so it rested on top of his. “I don’t think I can.”
He shrugged, his nonchalance strained. Triumph surged through her. She affected him, more than he cared to admit. “It’s your loss. The food is excellent.”
“I’m sure it is.” Smiling, she grabbed her fork and stabbed it into the giant scallop on her plate, cutting off a small piece before bringing it to her lips. All the while she slipped her bare foot beneath the hem of his pant leg, touching his muscular calf and stroking him with the tips of her toes.
His penetrating stare nearly made her wobble but she kept it together. Slowly she chewed, the taste of the buttery fresh scallop bursting onto her tongue. Her big toe streaked down his leg and he jolted beneath her touch.
She felt bold, uninhibited. It was completely unlike her past, almost timid behavior the last few nights with Alex.
She wondered if he liked it.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” he warned, his voice dark and silky. “Not here.”
“What are you talking about?” She blinked at him as she continued to rub her toes up and down his warm calf, the hairs that grew there tickling her.
“I don’t like to be teased, Tessa.”
“Oh, what’s the fun in that?” She dropped her foot away from his leg, swore she saw a flicker of disappointment in his gaze. But she resumed eating her meal, reluctantly admitting that the cuisine was indeed most excellent.
As was the company she kept, the ambiance, the service. Everything about tonight was completely, utterly perfect.
Tomorrow they returned to New York. Would they resume their old roles? Or would their relationship take on a different level. It was far too nerve-wracking to contemplate yet she couldn’t avoid it forever.
She was too scared to mention it to Alex, though. Didn’t want to know if he’d scoff, if he’d tell her just how foolish she was. She couldn’t face that sort of reality. Not yet.
They didn’t linger over their meal, Alex indicating to the waitress he wanted the check soon after Tessa took her last bite. Eagerness seemed to infuse him, making his movements almost jerky, rather impatient and, after he signed the bill and shoved his credit card back into his wallet, he stood.
“Ready to go?”
She nodded, standing when he pulled her chair out for her. He had such impeccable manners, was such a gentleman.
Powerful, rather demanding, impatient, gorgeous, stubborn, all of his traits created a most impressive man. Women stared as they walked through the restaurant toward the entrance and Tessa filled with pride. He walked beside her, his hand resting low on the bare skin of her back, his hot fingers branding her to the very depths of her soul. Marking her as his property.
It was such a base, rather old-fashioned way of thinking, and not particularly liberating but Tessa didn’t care. She wanted to belong to him. Permanently.
They climbed into the back seat of the hired car. As soon as the driver shut the door Alex was on her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. His hands splayed across her bare back and his mouth fused with hers, tasting the wine they’d drank with dinner.
She could do nothing but sink into the kiss, sliding her arms around his neck. She thrust her fingers into his silky soft hair, twining her fingers around the short strands as he stroked her tongue with his. His hands wandered, one slowly slipping beneath the skirt of her dress and along her thigh, all the way up to her hip, pausing when he realized her secret.
Breaking the kiss, he stared down at her, his breathing ragged, pupils dilated. “You’re not wearing any panties.”
“I forgot?” She leaned in and pressed her mouth to his neck, darting out her tongue to lick his warm flesh. She could taste him all night, nibble and kiss and suck.
“Mmm, such a wicked little kitten.” Her heart threatened to pound out of her body when his fingers slid sensuously over her hip to glide down the slope of her stomach, coming perilously close to her sex. She spread her legs the slightest bit, giving him the advantage, waiting breathlessly for his assured touch.
His fingers stopped just at her mound, his hand going still, large and hot against her. She squirmed, lifted her hips, trying to get his fingers to slide down further, but he remained frozen. Taunting her.
Teasing her.
The car pulled away from the curb and into heavy traffic. The hotel was at least fifteen minutes away, perhaps longer what with the busy streets and Alex had made sure the glass partition between the front and back seats was already up, giving them complete privacy.
Thank goodness. She’d been so lost to his kisses she probably wouldn’t have noticed if they gave the driver a raunchy backseat show.
“Alex.” She glared at him, trying to scowl but not having much success. “Stop teasing.”
He lifted his brows. “You’re the one who teased me in the restaurant.”
“Oh, it was only for a few seconds—and with my toes.” She rolled her eyes, her entire body attuned to his hand resting on her lower body.
Slowly, he squeezed her, his fingers sliding down and cupping her sex. “Your toes drive me wild,” he whispered. “Everything about you drives me wild.”
She went liquid in his arms, her bones dissolving to nothing. He hovered over her, his face so close to hers their noses touched, his arm supporting her back, his other hand still cupping her most intimate spot. Releasing a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes, overwhelmed by how thoroughly he surrounded her.
He pressed one finger against her slit, applying pressure until it slipped between her soaked folds. “Open your eyes. I want you to watch me when I make you come.”
Her lids fluttered open, and she met his heated gaze. Slowly he stroked her, his touch light, driving her even wilder than if he’d been aggressive and purposeful. She lifted her hips against his touch, keeping rhythm with his patient strokes and when he brushed his thumb across her clit she gasped.
“Does that feel good, kitten?”
She loved how he called her kitten. It made her feel sweet and feminine, yet wicked and dangerous with the potential to bear her fangs and wield her claws. “So good,” she confessed softly.
“Hmm, my girl prefers a gentle touch.” He stroked her, up and down, around and around, thrusting first one, then two fingers deep inside her sheath. She moaned, desperately trying to keep her eyes open but lost to the sensations his touch brought forth.
He tightened his arm around her shoulders, his fingers pressing into her flesh. She studied his face, the grim determination glittering in his eyes, the tension in his broad jaw. He held himself in check, sweat dotted his forehead and she grasped at his tie, tugging on it so she could bring his face in closer and capture his lips with her own.
She kissed him thoroughly, her tongue thrusting in time with his fingers, her hips rubbing against his hand. She wanted to come so badly, was so desperate for it, that when her climax finally washed over her she broke away from his mouth to offer a keening cry.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded and she did, staring into his gaze as the tremors took over her body. It was such an intimate moment, raw and primitive she was tempted to declare her love for him right then and there.
Tessa couldn’t deny it any longer. She was in love with him. So completely in love with him she would do anything, give anything to be with him forever. Not just as his assistant but as his lover, friend, companion.
Wife.
Big dreams for a silly little girl. She bit her lip, silently chastising herself for the near slip. He didn’t want to hear declarations of love. He wanted to enjoy an illicit affair while they were away from the office and nothing more.
“God, you’re beautiful.” He kissed her softly, a chaste kiss full of emotion she didn’t want to overanalyze. His fingers were still in her body, still gently playing with her and just like that her entire body tingled. “I bet I could make you come again.”
She laughed and closed her eyes. “You’re about to do so right now if you keep touching me like that.”