Page 30 of Surviving Slater

It was a little awkward.

"You look stunning." His eyes slid over me.

"Thanks." I kept my response short and I got myself a drink. It was only the two of us despite the house being packed.

"You with someone tonight?" Steven asked.

Should I lie? Was he trying to find out if I had moved on? It was strange. He didn't strike me as the type to hang around when a girl wasn't interested, so why was he asking?

I hesitated as his eyes held mine. There was a clear message that he was ready to pick up where we'd left off the last time I'd seen him.

"No," I said, telling him the truth. There was no point in lying as the truth always had a way of coming out anyway.

He walked closer. He was good-looking and he knew it. It was his confidence and the way he trailed his eyes over me that reminded me what had attracted me to him in the first place.

His hand snaked over the counter and touched mine. I looked down at his hand covering mine, and any doubt of what his intentions were went out the window.

"I came alone." My eyes lifted to his. Only after I'd spoken the words did I realize it sounded like an invitation.

I wanted to feel the same. It would be so easy to lean over and press my mouth to his. There was no risk of feeling more than I was prepared to for him. He would be the easier choice, but I couldn't. Instead of doing what my mind told me to do, I listened to my heart and I pulled my hand gently from his.

"I can't."

He retracted his hand but his eyes still held mine.

"Sorry," he said, giving me a slight smile. "You can't blame a guy for trying." And there was the player in him. "I was convinced that on our last date things would go further but I must have read it wrong."

No, he hadn't. Thathadbeen my intention.

"I'm sorry." I shrugged my shoulders.

He gave me one last look before he gave a slight inclination of his head and left me alone. I breathed in a deep breath, hating how I felt guilty for not being able to give him what he wanted.

Squaring my shoulders, I turned to leave but stopped. Slater filled the doorway. I faltered. Had he followed me?

"You seem to be having fun," he said as he stepped into the room.

The air around me evaporated and it was harder to breathe. He had a way of making everything else, including the music, disappear into the background.

My mother always told me of how she knew when she was in love. When she saw the guy who held her heart, nothing else mattered, only he existed. Was that what this was? Because I was pretty sure this tattooed bad boy standing there with a smirk on his face was the only thing that mattered at that moment.

He took another step forward and I resisted the instinct to step back, not allowing him to intimidate me.

I lifted my eyes and held his.

"I am," I lied. I had spent most of the evening wondering where he was. More importantly, if he was with someone else. "You?"

His confident smile grew and he closed the space between us. Suddenly, looking up at him, it became even harder to breathe.

"I am now."

I frowned. What had changed?

The first touch was his hand to my waist, and I didn't resist. It would have been like fighting against a tidal wave. My eyes dropped to where his hand tightened slightly.

The second touch was his hand that slid up the back of my neck. My eyes lifted to his again, waiting for his next move, and I knew what was coming but didn't fight it. The truth was I didn't want to.

The chemistry between us was electrifying. His gaze dropped briefly to my lips as I wetted my own with the sweep of my tongue. The third was when his mouth covered mine. My stomach flipped when his tongue swept into my mouth and caressed mine. He tasted of mint. My hands went to his neck. His kiss swept right through me and I held on as our kiss deepened, his tongue against mine.