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I took my seat across from Sean and looked out at the twinkling lights of the city on my left. “This is not what I expected, Sean.”
“Well,” he said, sounding cynical, as usual, “I was certainly not the one you expected to be sitting across from.”
I glanced down at my outfit and then at the other patrons in this restaurant. “I meant, this is way fancier than I expected.” I hesitated. “After our night at the gala, I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to experience anything as fine as that again. And you’ve proven me wrong, like always.
“I mean, I know this isn’t a date,” I added hastily. “But it’s nice, being here with you.”
Our eyes met over the table, and for a while, it seemed like I couldn’t draw myself to look away from his dark brown eyes.
He leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “Chloe, if this was really a date, I’d have picked you up at your doorstep; I’d have met and spoken to your brother, Henry; and you would definitely not have started the evening off with tears in your eyes.”
I inhaled sharply as I considered a real date with Sean. It was shocking—that a man like him could see me as someone sexually attractive. Me—a woman whose schedule had more appointments for her brother than herself.
I shook my head, forcing my daydream out of my mind. This evening was a surprise, but I knew better than to expect good things in my future when my landlord called me names for asking for “a perfectly good door” to be replaced.
The waitress, whose name tag readTraci, arrived. She handed us menus. She also offered us an aged red wine from Bordeaux, France, that she said she knew Sean liked.
I watched her leave, wondering how it was that the staff at a restaurant knew Sean and his tastes better than anyone at his company, before I took a sip. It was heavenly; rich, velvety notes hit me, giving me flavors with hints of berries and oak.
My eyes widened, and a subtle smile played on Sean’s lips as he asked, “Is it good?”
I nodded. “It’s unbelievably sophisticated,” I said.
So, this was Sean’s taste in things—and perhaps in women too.
Sean handed me the menu, and I ran my eyes over names of dishes I had only heard of in passing. Truffle lobster risotto, sushi with foie gras, a black truffle and gold-leaf pizza … the list was endless. But it still wasn’t enough to distract me from the tall, dark man across my table.
Sean looked at me over his menu, his eyes filled with humor. “Do you still want the burger?”
“I want you. But we have to get through this facade of a dinner before I can have that.”
His throat worked, and his tongue whipped out to lick his lower lip.
When Traci came over, Sean rattled off our order, choosing what I should have. I barely cared about eating anymore while Sean’s foot teased mine under the table.
“Come over here,” Sean said when Traci left, reaching out to pull my chair closer to him.
I shook my head. I’d seen the gleam in his eyes.
Sean placed his hand on the back of my chair and pulled me to him in one swift move so I was next to him instead of across. “It wasn’t a request,” he breathed into my ear after my chair came to a standstill.
We were so close; my knee touched his. His eyes followed my gaze to where our legs met. Under the white linen tablecloth, he languidly lifted a finger to graze my knee, starting at the edge of my skirt.
He carefully coasted one finger up my inner thigh, reaching my wet underwear unnervingly slowly. I sucked in a breath as I fought every instinct to spread my thighs wide.
My body was hot and needy, and I couldn’t focus on anything except his touch, inching closer and closer to my pussy.
“Sean,” I gasped, and the look on his face was one of utter admiration.
My hand ran up his arm, feeling the bumps and valleys of his muscles, but I didn’t stop him.
Finally, his fingers reached the wet garment under my skirt, and a moan fell from my lips.
“Shh,” Sean said soothingly.
I looked up, my heart hammering. We were in a secluded corner at the back, but still in a public place.
I had my back to the window, and the table would shield me from any passing server, but I didn’t trust myself to stay quiet.