Prime 112 was one of the more exclusive steak restaurants in Miami and not somewhere she’d been to before. “You’re a steak man?” she asked when they were settled.
“I come here for the burgers,” he said without looking at the menu.
She opened a large leather binder and looked through the options, her mouth watering at the array of choices. “Thirty dollars for a burger?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Kobe beef. It’s the best.”
Oh, really? She folded her arms across her chest and nodded. “Then I’ll have the same.” If the man was that crazy, she figured why not join him.
He eyed her with an indulgent expression she wasn’t sure she appreciated.
“Order what you like. You don’t have to eat a burger because I am. Or because you think it’s one of the inexpensive options.”
She curled her fingers around the menu. “I like hamburger,” she said, fighting off the blush caused by him having figured her out.
“Good. My siblings agreed to come over on Sunday for dinner, so I’ll put those burgers on the menu.”
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.”
“But will you?”
She glanced up at him. “I won’t be there.”
He reached out, and when he covered her hand with his, she was surprised visible sparks didn’t fly from the heat his touch generated.
“Yes, you will.”
She decided it was time to explain a few things to him. “Just because you got your way this whole week and we’ve had dinner together every night doesn’t mean you can say jump and I’ll ask how high.” She met his stare, wanting to him to understand she was serious.
Ian heard the insistence in Riley’s voice and knew immediately she wasn’t kidding. In business or in his personal life, he wasn’t used to not getting his way. His usual MO would be to steamroll over the opposition, but Riley wasn’t his adversary. He wanted to know her inside and out.
She was different from the other women he knew. She was independent. She had spunk. All qualities he appreciated because few women argued with what he wanted. Only his sisters came to mind. Which meant he had to change tactics or she’d bolt. To his shock, he found himself doing a rewind.
“Let me start over. Will you come to dinner on Sunday?” He inched closer. “Please?” He stroked the top of her soft hand with his rougher fingers.
She swallowed hard, her delicate throat moving up and down as she reacted to him.
“Don’t you think the first time you meet with your siblings you should all be alone?” she asked.
Ian groaned at her accurate assessment. “Yes, you’re probably right. But that doesn’t mean I can do it.” He stopped short of saying he needed her, but she’d be an ideal buffer between them. “I’d appreciate it if you’d come,” he said, managing to hang on to his dignity.
She bit the inside of her cheek, clearly still uncertain. “I think I’d only cause more problems between you and Alex. Not to mention between me and Alex. I still have to tell him about the job.”
Ian grimaced. He didn’t want Alex getting in the way of his affair with this woman but was forced to acknowledge his half brother had been in her life first. Which meant Ian was going to have to give when it came to the other man. Didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Talk to Alex and get back to me,” he said, giving her more leeway in her decision than he wanted to.
“I—”
“Can I take your drink order?” a waiter asked, interrupting as he stepped up to the table.
“We need some time,” Ian snapped at the man, his gaze never leaving Riley’s. If he broke eye contact, she’d withdraw and say no.
The waiter walked away.
She leaned closer, her sweet scent kicking his awareness of her into even higher gear. “I’ll talk to Alex if you tell me one thing.”
He raised an eyebrow, amused that she gave as good as he did. “What is it?”
“The other day, with your sister, when you were talking about inviting your siblings, you said something about making a deal with the devil. You looked at me and said it was worth it. What did you mean?”
She was also perceptive. “Alex wouldn’t share your contact information with me. To get it, I had to ask my father. He had…conditions.”
She tilted her head. “Go on.”
“In exchange for your address and phone number, I agreed to reach out to my half siblings.”
She blinked, her gaze softening. “You did that for me?”
“I wanted to apologize for not returning your call. I needed to know what Alex meant when he said it was too late for me to help you.”
She exhaled slowly, pursing her lips together as she blew out a long stream of air.
He’d been deliberately slow and methodical with her, taking his time. But he wanted nothing more than to taste those lips and plumb the depths of her warm, wet mouth. Throughout the week, he’d been hard most of the time, thinking about her in the same building, dying for a taste. At home, alone, he’d taken himself in hand. If he wanted her in bed, he had to keep to the plan and stop pushing her around, but it wasn’t easy. He was who he was, and there was only so much he could temper. From the sudden warmth in her expression, he’d begun making headway.
“Look, you obviously know things between Alex’s side of the family and mine are strained. I hoped you’d come on Sunday to ease the tension. You’re friends with Alex and now you’re—” Tread lightly, he warned himself.
“I’m what?” she asked, a smile lifting her lips.
“You’re involved with me.” Blunt but not so aggressive she’d bolt. All in all, he figured he’d handled that well.
She laughed, the sound brightening his evening. “Is that what you think? A couple of dinners and we’re involved?”
“By Sunday when they all show up, we will be.”
* * *
After a week of him wining and dining her, keeping a respectful distance while luring her in with his domineering personality and erotic kisses, Riley decided Ian Dare was too much. He epitomized danger wrapped in a too-appealing package.
She eyed him in the quiet that fell during coffee, using the time to compare him to past relationships, none of which were all that recent. Nobody piqued her interest the way he had. Probably because Riley’s usual taste in men ran to the predictable and safe. Being raised by a bully determined to have his own way with no regard to the emotional destruction left in his wake, Riley made no apologies for choosing carefully. She was immune to hardened, take-charge men.