Marked

“I came to his room that morning to see if he wanted to go to the gym with me. He had other plans, so I left, and that’s when you and I ran into each other.” His smile was slow as it worked across his mouth. “Can’t say I’m mad about that though, even if you did think I was dirty bastard.”

I felt my cheeks heat and prayed it was dark enough in the restaurant that he couldn’t see.

I cleared my throat and lifted my wine glass, finishing off the second one.

“Do you want another one?” Tommy asked but didn’t say it condescendingly, genuinely wanting to know if I needed a refill.

And I sure as hell did. Because I felt these things for him, emotions and sensations that were very unusual for me. I wanted to explore them. I wanted to see where they led. And liquid courage would help with that.

So when I nodded and he waved down the waiter, ordering himself another beer and me another glass of red wine, I let him take the lead. In fact, it turned me on to know that he took control. My life was very organized, so to speak. I didn’t like circumstantial situations, didn’t believe in chance or fate. At least, I hadn’t until meeting Tommy. The way I felt for him at the club then running into him as he walked out of the hotel room that had been right next to mine—that couldn’t have just been by accident, right?

The waiter set another wine glass in front of me, and I took a long drink, savoring the flavor. I knew I wouldn’t end this night with a kiss on the cheek and a sweet goodbye.

“Tell me about yourself, Izzy.” He leaned forward and rested for his forearms on the table.

I couldn’t help but look at how manly he was, how small he made the chair and table seem by his sheer presence. And I certainly didn’t miss the way some of the women in the restaurant couldn’t take their eyes off him.

I couldn’t blame them.

But he was here with me, and that gave me this feeling of power. I started telling him little bits of information about myself, how I was an only child, that my parents lived in Florida. I told him Nadine and I had flown up from Ohio for a girls’ weekend and because she was trying to get over her cheating ex. I’d been shocked to find out he was also from Ohio, only an hour from where I lived.

What were the odds?

Maybe he was onto something about this whole fate and destiny thing.

I ended up telling him all kinds of things, how I was an introvert, how I had my Master’s and was a librarian at my local library. And he listened to me the whole time, never interrupting, never taking his focus off me. And I could see on his face that he was genuinely interested in everything I said.

I was falling further into this feeling that sometimes you met people for a reason. I was starting to realize I’d met Tommy for a reason.

After he paid the bill and we left, I adjusted my jacket once we were outside. “Thank you for dinner,” I said, but I really wanted to tell him I didn’t want the night to end.

Despite it being nearly April, the weather in Toronto was still chilly, especially with the wind. I’d taken a cab to the restaurant, even if I could’ve easily walked from the hotel to here. But I didn’t know the city well enough, and I sure as hell didn’t want to walk alone, especially at night.

“I had a really great time too.”

He took a step toward me, and even though people walked by on either side of us, I felt like it was just us. I found myself wishing I had the courage to rise up on my toes and kiss him, but I wanted him to make the first move. I wanted him to take that control and make me wholly feminine.

“I don’t want this night to end,” he said in a husky, sexually-laced voice.

My heart thundered, and despite the fact that I knew I should take things slow… I didn’t want to. I wanted to be with Tommy. I wanted to feel him, to see if he was just as potent in the bedroom as he was on the dance floor.

God, I wanted that. And so I took a step toward him, our body heat mingling, everything in me coming alive. “Then take me back to your hotel room.”

Chapter Nine

Izzy

I’d sent a text to Nadine on the trip back to the hotel, telling her everything that was happening, letting her know exactly what was going to happen. All she’d sent back was a surprised emoji face and told me to “get it, girl.”