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The easy admission, when Natalia was expecting a denial, knocked her off course. Just enough to wobble, not fall.

“Dinner tonight?” Samantha filled the silence with her warm voice.

Natalia’s pulse was stomping in her ears, her body flushed with heat and skin buzzing. She called on decades of experience hiding her thoughts and emotions to keep her face blank and utterly unreadable.

“I’ll see if I can fit you in,” she replied, trying to sound noncommittal and mildly disinterested. But she wanted to go. Wanted to spend time with her. Every moment they spent together could only make convincing her to share her work with the world easier. It would be stupid not to try.

Samantha stood, but this time she didn’t go for the door. Instead, she leaned over Natalia’s desk. The scent of her took Natalia’s senses by the throat. It was the cedar-freshness of an alpine forest on a clear winter morning with a current of something richer, warmer — the smoldering essence of a campfire at sundown. And breaking through it all an intoxicating blend of leather and spice. A fragrance that shoved Natalia into remembering the sensation of Samantha’s body on top of hers.

“Ms. Flores,” Samantha whispered, her lips inches from Natalia’s jaw. “We both know that I fit like a glove.”

CHAPTER 15

Standing outside the restaurant, the night cold and rainy, Sam gripped the handle of her umbrella and waited for the green Jaguar to roll up to the valet stand.

As soon as she saw Natalia, she ignited. With her hair slicked back and wearing a form-fitting, long-sleeved, black dress that was so low-cut it would make a lesser being fall to their knees in adoration, Natalia’s dark eyes met Sam’s through the windshield.

Have mercy, Sam thought before giving the valet attendant a look that said I-got-this-kid-step-aside. Striding around to the driver’s side of Natalia’s car, Sam held out the umbrella to keep her from the unpleasant drizzle.

As soon as the car door opened, Sam’s attention shot to Natalia’s legs. Long and smooth and made for locking Sam in place. Lips painted black as sin didn’t part in a smile, but Natalia’s dark chestnut eyes were bright enough to blind.

She was fucking stunning. A true goddess who materialized on Earth just to punish the unworthy. Sam lost touch with her own body. Forgot what she was meant to be doing and thanked Blanca for baiting her into asking Natalia out on a date. Just being near her set off a chemical reaction in her body. Attraction and curiosity and an aching want that compromised her reason and made her hope that Natalia wasn’t as unavailable as she surmised.

“This isn’t a date,” were the first words out of Natalia’s mouth before she allowed Sam to hold the umbrella for her.

The hopeful haze evaporated and was replaced by a chuckle rumbling in Sam’s chest. Using her free hand, Sam snaked it around Natalia’s waist and held her close while kissing her cheek.

Instead of hurrying out of the embrace to get into the warm, dry restaurant, Natalia lingered. Sam breathed her in and waited for Natalia to be the one to break the moment. Damn it, Blanca.

“Oh, this is definitely a date,” Sam said when Natalia slid out of her embrace.

Natalia shot her a look, sober and unwavering. She made a sound with her throat, but didn’t object before turning on her sexy-as-fuck heels and starting for the restaurant.

Inside, they followed the hostess to a corner table in the Parisian, garden-themed, fine dining restaurant. Dark, candle-lit, and tucked away from the other diners, Sam couldn’t have asked for a better date spot.

A staff member arrived just as Sam and Natalia got settled at their table. Before Sam could even pick up the menu, Natalia rattled off her order to the young man whose job it was to bring them water.

“I’ll have the Bronzino — pan-seared with a lot of lemon. If you have that zucchini and squash thing, I’ll take that, but no oil or butter. Just steamed. Otherwise, the tomato and orzo salad without the cheese.” She handed back the unopened menu. “And a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.” Her gaze landed on Sam with surgical precision. “Do you want to share a bottle?”

Sam looked away from Natalia and up to the confused kid holding a napkin-wrapped bottle of mineral water. “She likes to practice her order before the server comes. Thanks for being a great audience.”

Openly grateful that he didn’t have to figure out what to do next, the kid all but ran in place like a cartoon before disappearing.

“You know he wasn’t the server, right?”

“What?” Natalia’s eyebrows, so perfect Sam was sure she had them shaped every morning, twitched. “He works here, he brought us food and drinks?—”

“Bread and water,” Sam interrupted with a laugh. “Why did you?—”

“Expect competence when someone is rendering a service? What a leap?—”

“You like to intimidate people,” Sam decided while resting her back against her chair.

Natalia stiffened. “How is it intimidating to order food at a restaurant?”

Sam watched her in silence, waiting for her to appreciate that wasn’t what she meant. Natalia didn’t so much as shift uncomfortably under her gaze. She merely held Sam’s eye contact with the confidence of a lion staring down a mouse.

After a beat, Sam chuckled. “What’s your deal, Natalia?”