Page 23 of Power

“Do you live in Chicago, or are you visiting?”

“Full-time occupant,” I answered. “You?”

“I live near Chicago, but not close enough to commute home when work is heating up here. Staying in a hotel at the moment.”

Hotel. With a bed. Stop imagining him lying on it naked, Scarlett.

“I should have asked this sooner,” he said, his tone shifting to something more serious. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“That would have been a deal-breaker?”

“Never been one to cheat.”

That one moral line drew me in even more. In the times I’d been hit on by men, if they asked about my dating life, none of them had ever made it clear cheating was off-limits.

“Have dinner with me.”

Jeez, this man is nothing if not aggressive with what he wants.And I’m all for it,my hormones squealed,especially if what he wants is me.

“Again with the statements rather than questions.” I smirked.

“Willyou have dinner with me?” he revised.

“I don’t know if that’s such a great idea,” I allowed.

Although, suddenly, once again, I couldn’t remember why. And once again, a twinge of panic seized my stomach at the thought of him walking away and never talking to him again.

Worse, after all his persistent attempts to spend time with me—each one that met with my rejection—Jace finally seemed to accept the message. He took a sip of his drink, his expression shifting from hopeful to resigned. He sighed, his voice dropping an octave when he spoke again, the flirtatious tone replaced with unmistakable disappointment.

“May I have your phone?” Jace held his palm out.

Eyeing him curiously, I handed it to him and watched as he put his contact information in and handed it back.

“I hope you’ll call, Scarlett.”

What was I doing? I didn’t want to let him go! Was I this much of a prude? Was Dakota right? Was I too stuck in my own thoughts to let loose and have fun?

Regret washed through me as he rose, and even though I had his number, there was something magical about tonight that might never be repeated again. He could leave, these feelings could cool, and I’d always wonder what would have happened if I’d just … stayed.

Before I could think of what I’d say or do to unravel the worst decision I’d made since arriving at the bar, I rose to my feet too.

Only … my high heel caught on the barstool’s base.

Gravity betrayed me for the second time tonight. The second time in front of Jace, thank you very much, only this time, he caught me. Easily. Effortlessly. His strong hands held my forearms, steadying me, and as my attention drifted up his stomach, his chest, the beautiful base of his throat, and to his jaw, I found his smirk was back. The one that suggested he found my tumble utterly and devastatingly adorable.

“Are you clumsy, Scarlett?”

His fingers trailed up my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, but he didn’t stop there. His touch ghosted down my jaw, leaving a trail of heat in its wake while his focus drifted to my lips.

My heart beat its chant of yes-yes-yes as he stilled for several seconds, unable to look away, unable to step away, unable to release his fingers from my jaw. Instead, he glided his finger beneath my chin, and still staring at my mouth, he tilted my face up.

My body stretched higher, willing his mouth to come faster, but I swore to criminy, time decided to go all slow motion on me as those full, sexy lips inched agonizingly closer until finally, gloriously, they pressed to mine.

Heat exploded from my lips and traveled down my throat, my stomach, and shot right between my thighs. I’d never had this reaction to anyone kissing me before. Never. It was soft but charged with so much chemistry as his tongue trailed a line along my lower lip. When he slid his tongue past my lips, I actually let out a groan.