"Mine." She got up and retrieved her phone, my attention resting on her the entire time. She sat down and pressed the button, recording the dish and a few descriptors as she tasted it. She pressed the stop button and glanced up. "I'm usually so nervous to critique in front of anyone."
"Not me, though, right?"
"Not at all." She blushed, and I reached across the table, running my fingers over the tops of her knuckles.
"Good. Now, tell me your favorite color." I leaned back and picked up my spoon, tasting the soup and listening intently as we walked through the various facts about ourselves that meant little to the commoner, but to a lover, everything.
Jared kept the music low and romantic, the wine flowing, and the food coming in slow waves. We laughed throughout the meal, and by the end, she was relaxed, her posture a little less stiff and her smile authentic.
I stood from the table and offered her my hand. "I know you're stuffed, but I'd love to dance with you, if you'd do me the honor."
"I'd love to." She took my hand and moved to stand in front of me, sliding her free hand up my chest and around to lock onto the back of my neck. "Why do you have to be so damn smooth?"
"You'd rather I be overly hairy?" I lifted my eyebrows in playful confusion.
She laughed and snorted, causing me to laugh as well. "Stop it, or I'll fall madly in love with you, Easton Parks."
"And that would be bad because?" I pulled her closer to me and turned us toward the open floor just behind me.
"Because you said yourself that a relationship was impossible due to you traveling all the time." She glanced down, and I felt her pulling back from me yet again.
I tightened my grip and leaned down, brushing my nose by hers. "And you said that I should find a woman that wants to be on the road with me."
"I know, but that's not going to happen for a while, if ever." She stopped moving and I shook my head.
"No. You're not blocking me. Not tonight." I forced her to spin with me and moved us toward the balcony, releasing her and opening the doors. She walked out onto the patio and stood by the outdoor heater as she pressed her hands to the railing and took a sharp breath.
"This is incredible." She glanced back at me. "You're killing me."
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the side of her neck, wanting my place to always be behind her, holding her up, supporting her in any way she would let me.
"I don't want it to feel like a death, Viv. I just want to think about working toward what you want." I kissed her again and moved up to suck her ear lobe into my mouth.
"And what do I want?" Her voice was airy as she spoke.
"To live life with someone. I'm not asking for forever just yet. I just don't want to give up what started in Miami. It doesn't have to be anything insanely serious. Just be exclusive to me, and I'll do the same." I kissed the side of her jaw and slid my hand up between her breasts to cup her throat as she turned her face and pressed her lips to mine.
The groan that left me would have been embarrassing if it were anyone else. She echoed it with a precious moan of her own, and I tightened my arms around her. I couldn't lose her. It just didn't feel like a possibility I was willing to accept.
She broke the kiss and licked at her lips before turning in my arms and wrapping me in a tight hug. "What if I'm scared, Easton?"
"Then we'll be scared together. You have to learn to trust me, which will take time. I have all the time in the world." I moved down and pressed my lips to hers, kissing her tenderly, but not penetrating the warmth of her mouth until she opened up for me. The minute she did, I shifted my hips forward to let her know just how much she turned me on.
"Let's get out of here," she panted against my mouth.
"Come home with me tonight. I've asked and been rejected too many times so far. Don't turn me down again tonight." I rubbed the tip of my nose along hers and stole another quick kiss.
"No. I won't." She lifted to her toes and pressed her soft warm lips to mine.
I knew without a doubt that I had her. Keeping her would be a challenge, but for the night, she was mine again.
Chapter 25
Vivian
There was no need to fight it. Whether we could work out any sort of future together was irrelevant. I simply wasn't strong enough to pass up another night with Easton. He knew he had me, too. I could see the recognition of my surrender in his eyes.
He scooped me up closer and pressed his soft lips against mine, tilting his head and rubbing his tongue along mine as he took a series of deep breaths. Heat rose in the center of my stomach and danced along my nerve endings as desire pumped through every pressure point I had. I wanted him, no, needed him to bury himself deep inside of me and claim me as his own.