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“Hi!” I exclaim, noticing his eyes drifting down my body with no attempt at subtlety.
“Wow,” he says. “You look…wow.”
My heart does a full rollercoaster loop inside my chest.The dress works.
“Thank you,” I say, stepping back to let him in. “Come in.”
Chapter 19
Marcus
Ican’t take my eyes off her even for a second.
At Sapphire on Friday, she looked great.
At lunch on Monday, she was radiant in that easy, natural, girl next door kind of way.
But tonight…
She looks like she’s stepped straight out of a magazine.
Her brown hair catches the light as it cascades over her shoulders in soft waves, and that dress -God,that dress. The long sleeves say ‘soft and sweet’, but the plunging neckline tells another story entirely, showing just enough of the curve of her breasts to make concentration impossible. The fabric hugs her waist before flaring out into a flowy skirt that stops mid-thigh, and those black knee-high boots don’t help matters, leaving just enough bare skin between the leather and hem to make me lose my damn mind.
I picture sliding my hands under that skirt, and it doesn’t take long for that thought to travel south. I shift slightly, trying to mask the tightening in my jeans.
Forcing my gaze up to meet hers, her eyes are glowing with excitement, and when she smiles, it lands somewhere in my chest and makes itself at home.
I don’t get nervous around women – it’s never been part of the equation. I’m good at staying composed. Confident. Detached, even.
But with her?
I’m fucked.
For the two years she’s been at Catalyst, she’s always caught my attention. Too young, too close, and too impossible to ignore. I’ve watched her in meetings, caught her laughing in the corridor with her friends, and every time, I’ve wondered what the hell it is about her that makes it so hard to look away.
I hold the wine bottle out. “I wasn’t sure what kind of flowers you liked best, so I figured wine was a safer bet. And it doesn’t die, so there’s that.”
She laughs, the soft, musical sound instantly making the room feel warmer. “Thank you,” she says, setting the bottle on the coffee table. I watch her movement, fighting to keep my eyes from lingering on her legs.
Then I do something I hadn’t planned on. I step closer, my hand lifting to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her breath is heavy as her gaze falls to my lips and my knuckles trace her cheek ever so lightly.
And like a magnet with an undeniable pull, my lips are on hers, soft, sweet, and sensuous, and something tightens in my chest.
“I couldn’t wait another second to do that again,” I murmur and she lets out the tiniest little whimper that sends my pulse skyrocketing.
Her eyes look up at me, wide and hopeful, her lips parted.
“You sure you still want to go out?” she asks, a small smile tugging at her lips.
An unexpected laugh escapes my throat.
Fucking hell, this girl is going to be the death of me.
I could quite happily take her to bed now and forget everything else.
But I pull myself together, stepping back just enough to break the spell. Barely.