Her whole body flushed as she watched his eyes drop to her lips. And it had nothing to do with the Indian spice. She’d imagined kissing him before, usually in the privacy of her bedroom or while sitting alone with a glass of wine in the evening. But she never imagined she’d kiss him so soon, or while eating Indian food, and she licked her lips self-consciously.
“I’ve never told you this,” he began, softly, dropping his eyes. “But your calves drive me crazy.”
“My calves?” Her legs were stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. The position made her skirt ride up to expose her thighs, but he specified her calves, not her legs. It was the last thing she expected, and she enjoyed the unfamiliar compliment.
“I know. It’s probably not something someone says every day, but they’re very sexy.” He reached down and tentatively touched her ankle with his two fingers.
He waited a beat, most likely to see if she’d protest at the touch. She didn’t. She enjoyed it and raised her knees to expose the area he favored, but still made sure her thighs were closed. She was a lady, after all.
He slowly glided his fingers along the back of her calf. “That curve . . .” he trailed off.
She felt flushed, like a teenager sitting in the back seat of a boy’s car for the first time. “What is it about you that has me tingling like an adolescent? Most men say they’re enamored with my eyes or my lips. You’re enchanted by the curve at the back of my calf.”What an incredible turn on.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I’m enchanted by all of it. Everything about you has a hold on me.”
Her heart beat so loudly that it felt as if it were blaring from the stereo speakers. Her throat bobbed as the need to swallow overtook her. She wanted to rush at him and plaster her lips to his, and it took every bit of self-control she could muster not to. The devil on her shoulder asked her, why? Why was she holding back? Why did she have to take things slowly?
The light pressure of a hand on her cheek drowned out her internal debate.
“I do love your lips,” Robert whispered, lightly fingering the corner of her mouth with his thumb.
His gorgeous sapphire eyes darted up to hers for a brief moment before returning to her mouth. He moved his lips an inch closer to hers, unsure, but his posture and hand on her cheek portrayed pure confidence. She never met someone who displayed the perfect mixture of strength and vulnerability. Testosterone and sensitivity.
He stayed there, with a sliver of space between their lips, the air between them growing heavier with an unstoppable pull, and waited for her to make the final move, as if she could ever resist this man. She leaned in and closed the space between them. When their lips met for the first time since that night in the bar, little jolts of fire sparked in her chest and danced in her belly. Their mouths were fused together like gears finally falling into alignment, and a euphoric rush ran through her veins. Heat flushed over her body, all the way down to her toes, and her breaths deepened. Her fingers dug into the back of his hair, holding him in place as if worried he’d withdraw his lips, because she never wanted the kiss to end.
When their lips parted, neither moved. Their mouths were still millimeters apart, breathing each other’s breath, as if the air wasn’t enough to sustain them.
Robert kissed her again. And again. His hands caressed her neck and waist, then moved over her hip to her naked thigh.
Amber immediately sucked in a breath. Her insides began to quiver as she expected his hand to reach under her skirt, but instead of moving upward, it moved down to her calf. With one long, slow sweep, his palm ghosted over her lower leg, making gooseflesh rise on the surface of her skin. This newly created erogenous zone made her head reel and her body react with a mountain of heat and need.
She thought that they’d end up naked in the back of the limo, but Robert gently pulled back and said, “I’ve imagined kissing you again a million times over, and it was exactly like this. Every. Single. Time.”
Amber had imagined it as well, and it wasneverlike this.
When Amber left work for the day at 5:00 p.m., Robert was waiting for her again so they could go to dinner. “Is this something I should worry about, Mr. Blade?” she teased. “Finding you outside my building every time I leave work?”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “You should make a police report.” He extended his elbow toward her. “Can I drive you to the precinct?”
She wrapped her hand around his arm. “Lead the way.”
They started walking toward the lot behind her building, and she wondered if he drove or if he still had the limo service. “We’re not taking a limo to dinner, are we?”
He slowed his pace. “Did you want to?”
“No.” A picnic lunch in the limo was spectacular, but she didn’t want the fuss and attention of being chauffeured to a restaurant.
He let out a relieved breath. “Good. I got nervous there for a minute. I drove. I thought I’d follow you to your place so you can drop off your car and then we can go. Is that OK?”
“Sure.”
When they got to the lot, he motioned to the row of reserved parking spaces. “Are one of these yours?”
“The Tesla.”
“Tesla?” He jerked his head back to look at her. “Fancy.”
“Iama doctor.” She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s the cheap model.”
