Page 23 of Kayla's List

When she catches me staring, all I can do is smile like an idiot. I can’t help that she has me mesmerized without doing the slightest thing. I can’t take my eyes off of her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Kayla whispers as if she’s afraid of what the answer might be. The more time I spend with her, the more I want to know her story. I want to know why she’s so shy and why innocence radiates off of her.

“Like I said before, you’re beautiful.” I can tell by the way she dips her head and looks away that she’s blushing.

“Thanks,” she says simply, but I know she thinks it’s just a line.

I gently place my hand under her chin and turn her face towards me. I look her in the eyes so she can see the sincerity, “You are a beautiful woman, Kayla Jones.”

Kayla’s shy smile turns into a wide grin, and her brown eyes twinkle. The look on her face alone tells me that she’s not used to getting compliments. I intend to change that.

“Thank you, Anderson.”

Instead of telling her, she’s welcome, I pull her to me and kiss her lips once more. It’s not the rough savage kiss like in the bar or the sweet touch of lips like on the Ferris Wheel, but something more.

I can’t explain why she makes my heartbeat speed up or why, from a simple touch of her lips pressed against mine, I feel like a teenager ready to explode.

I thought I was fixated before, but now I know better. Now that I’ve tasted Kayla…I’m obsessed.

“Are you hungry?” I ask as I tear myself away from her delicious lips.

When I look down into her face, Kayla’s eyes are still closed, and her expression is one of pure bliss. Suddenly, I wish we were alone in my hotel instead of standing in a crowd on the Vegas strip.

“Umm, what did you say?” Kayla finally opens her dazed eyes.

I chuckle because the look on her face is exactly how I feel… deliriously happy.“I asked if you were hungry.”

“Oh… umm, I could eat. Are you hungry?”

I smirk because what I’m hungry for, I’m sure she’s not ready to give me yet. “Come on, doll face, let me feed you.” I lick my lips because her eyes dilate once more, and I know she caught my double entendre.

Kayla shivers when I place my arm around her, and I smile knowingly. Although the weather is mild, we’re in Vegas. It’s nowhere near cold. However, I can’t help but want to tease Kayla.

“Are you cold? Do you need me to warm you up?” I drop my voice low and seductive just to see her reaction.

Kayla rapidly blinks in surprise, “I-I’m okay. Thanks.”

I do my best not to laugh because Kayla is so fucking cute, but as I suspected, she has limited experience with someone like me. I’ve been doing my best not to be outright vulgar and say the nasty shit that’s really on my mind, but to see her eyes go wide and blush turns me on.

It’s after midnight, and all of the fancy places that I would’ve taken her to on a planned date are unavailable, so we walk to a little place that sells deep dish pizza. I order a couple of slices and bottles of water for us to drink because Kayla willnotbe getting drunk on my watch, and we sit down on a bench overlooking a glowing water fountain.

We sit in companionable silence as we eat and people watch. I do my best not to stare at my beautiful date, but I find my eyes drifting in her direction without my permission. And it seems every time I look at Kayla; she’s looking back at me.I hope that’s a good thing.

“You know I haven’t been this relaxed in a very long time,” I confess on a deep exhale.

“Really? Why’s that?” Kayla turns her body toward me, and our legs brush together. She clears her throat and moves back, but I slide over and tuck her under my arm.

When she relaxes against me, I smile because I know I’ve won a small battle.

“I’ve been working for years to get my company where I want it to be. It takes up a lot of my time and energy.”

“That’s understandable. If you want to be successful, you have to work hard.” Kayla nods.

That’s not exactly my story, but I nod at her. I could’ve been successful off the backs of my parents. I didn’t need or have to work for anything. Nepotism is real. And although I chose to go my own path, some people still see me as some privileged brat rebelling against his parents.

That’s one of the main reasons I work to have a successful company. I don’t want people saying I was given shit. I work hard because I know that it isn’t easy for everyone, and I’m lucky.

“I want to be successful and I’m willing to work as hard as I need to.” I quirk a brow at her, and she flushes again.