“It suits you.”
“You think?” he raises an eyebrow and looks around at his beautiful home.
“Yeah, it’s masculine, but inviting, and comfortable. And the kitchen is sexy as hell.”
“Sexy, suits me, does it?” He asks and kisses my knuckles again, sending shivers down my back.
I shrug and raise an eyebrow. “You have your moments.”
“Well, speaking of my sexy kitchen,” Nate rises gracefully from the couch and pulls me with him. “How would you like some dessert?”
“Dessert?” I echo, lamely. Watching him walk is making me crazy. He’s so graceful; he clearly takes care of that body. I can’t wait to see what he can do at the gym tomorrow.
“I have chocolate cheesecake.” He smiles back at me and I gasp.
“That’s my favorite.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because at every business dinner you always order it for dessert.” He motions for me to sit on a stool at the breakfast bar and pulls the cheesecake out of the fridge.
He pays attention to what I order at dinner?
“So I was a bit of a foregone conclusion tonight then?” I cock my head to the side and smile sassily at him and can’t help but enjoy watching him squirm.
“No, nothing you do is expected, Julianne, but I was hopeful, and prepared, just in case.” He cuts the cake and pulls two white dessert plates out of a beautiful dark mahogany cabinet. He joins me and we dig in.
“Oh, Sweet Jesus, that’s good.” I lick my fork and close my eyes. Diving back in for a second bite, I notice that Nate isn’t moving. “What’s wrong?”
“You are so sexy.” His eyes are burning with lust, and my body starts to hum under his hot gaze.
“I love chocolate,” I murmur and take another bite. “It’s my vice. I don’t drink much, I’m not big on junk food, but chocolate is not safe from me. If you don’t hide that cake, I’ll have it polished off by morning.”
“I don’t mind as long as I get to watch you eat it.”
I laugh at him as I take another bite and he digs into his own piece. He nods appreciatively and licks his lips.
Oh my, those lips. He’s so good with those lips.
“Am I seriously sitting in your kitchen eating chocolate cheesecake?” I ask. I can’t believe I’m here. “If someone had told me this morning that this is where I’d be tonight, I’d have told them to seek medical attention.”
“Is it that much of a hardship?” he asks, and I can hear the hurt in his voice.
Oh no! I don’t want to hurt his feelings!
“Not at all, just a surprise. This is just the last thing I expected.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” he murmurs, looking down at his plate, then he turns that hot gray gaze back to mine.
“Me too,” I reply and take the last bite of cake. “Feed me cheesecake like this, and I’ll never leave.” I laugh and gather my empty plate and take it to the sink, rinse it and place it in the dishwasher. Nate joins me, taking care of his dishes, and then leans back against the counter, watching me.
“My fridge will now forever be full of chocolate cheesecake.” He smiles warmly and heat slowly spreads through me at his flirty statement.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I quip and hop up to his on his counter, dangling my feet and watching him. God, he’s a sight to behold. I love seeing his hair hanging loose, and I definitely want to see more of that tattoo.
I wonder if he has more of them?
I lick my lips at the thought of exploring that hot body in the light. Yes, I know exactly where I’ll be sleeping tonight, and it’s not in the spare bedroom.
“That’s a promise I can keep, honey. I didn’t want you to leave last time.” He frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. “Speaking of, why did you?”
Oh. We’re going to have this conversation now.
“I couldn’t deal with the morning after regrets.”
“What morning after regrets?”
“You said you wanted to talk in the morning, and I naturally assumed that meant we’d have the ‘this was a one-time deal’ talk, and to be honest, I was saving us both from that uncomfortable conversation.” I bite my lip and close my eyes, feeling the humiliation all over again.
“That’s not what I was going to talk with you about, Julianne.”
My eyes find his and I grip the edge of the smooth countertop. “It’s not?”
“No.” He shakes his head and closes his eyes and swears under his breath. “When I woke up and you were gone it pissed me off. Then you wouldn’t speak to me for days. You finally asked me to go out with you and your friends, and I thought we had a good time, but then you went back to being professional and cool again. I know you’re giving me all the signs that you’re not interested, but I can’t seem to stay away from you.”
“I like my job, Nate. I worked hard to get it. And I enjoy working for you. You’re so good at what you do, and I’m learning from you. I can’t jeopardize my career because my boss is hot and I’m attracted to him.”
Nate smirks and then runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “It’s none of anyone’s business if we see each other outside of the office.”
“But someone will find out, and then it could be over for both of us.”
“I have very good lawyers, Jules.” Jules? He just called me Jules!!
I shake my head and look down at my swinging feet. I want him, and by some miracle he wants me too. Can we pursue this, whatever it is, and keep it away from work?
“Hey,” he murmurs, and pushes away from the counter to stand between my thighs. He wraps his arms around my behind and hugs me to his chest. He’s so tall, I’m only a few inches taller than him sitting up here. “Don’t worry so much about this, honey. It’ll work out.”
I gaze into his earnest eyes, my blue to his gray, and run my fingers through his soft, long black hair. For the first time in eight months my world feels right. I want to see where this goes.
I want him.
I lean down and brush my lips across his gently and nibble the corner of his mouth. I lean farther and bury my nose in his neck and inhale the musky, clean scent of him, and against my better career-woman judgment, I cave.