I giggle again as I tear my eyes off his perfect form and up to his face. Gorgeous, light brown eyes look back at me from the other side of his mask. He cocks his head to the side, shrugging his jacket off.
“You must be cold,” he muses, casually stepping close to me and wrapping his jacket over my shoulders.
My first instinct is to politely refuse it, but I don’t. And when he pulls it around me, still holding on to the front collar to adjust it comfortably over me, I catch the scent of his cologne.
Ocean air, fresh and crisp, salted skin and hot sun.
I bite my lip again and can’t find anything to say as an overwhelming feeling floods through me.
“Is that better?” he asks, his eyes searching my face, gentle and intense.
“Yes, thank you,” I mutter, my cheeks blushing a light, warm shade of pink.
He steps away from me, leaning against the balcony, watching the city below us. I turn as well and let my eyes wander over the same view, too nervous to look at him.
What is going on with my heart? It’s beating a million miles an hour.
After a long moment of silence, he looks at me and grins. “Are you going to run away from me again?” he asks, teasingly.
“I might. Would it bother you?”
He laughs, a low rumble that makes my heart beat even faster.
I bite down hard on my bottom lip, trying to stop this crazy surge bolting through me.
“It would bother me, Kat.” His voice is so serious, so dark, it sends a dusting of goosebumps over my skin beneath the soft lining of his jacket.
“Are you here alone?” I ask, realizing he might be just as married as the other morons who have been flirting with me tonight.Fuck. I hope not.
“Indeed, I am,” he nods. “You?”
“I am. Is anyone, um, waiting for you at home?” I push.
He grins, dimples forming on his cheeks just beneath the lower edge of his mask, his eyes flaring with mischief. “Do you want to come home with me and find out?” he asks, but his voice is playful, nothing like the slimy creeps I’ve been dealing with all night.
This guy is different. He’s not just different from tonight’s guests, he’s different from everyone I’ve ever met.
I narrow my eyes as I study his golden, beautiful stare. I wonder what he’s hiding beneath that mask. I would love to lift itoff his face and see him. Tentatively, I lift my hand. It hovers in the air between us before I chicken out and quickly pull it down again.
Amusement flickers in his eyes, and that gorgeous half-smile steals onto his face.
“So, Kat, what is a beautiful girl like you doing in a place like this?” he asks, looking at the city lights again.
“Do you mean in the city, or at this party?” I ask, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Either, or? I’ve just never seen you around. I definitely would have remembered if I had.”
“How can you tell? I’m wearing a mask,” I tease.
“Oh, I can tell. Trust me, your charisma shines far too brightly to be hidden by that mask.”
He’s staring at me a little too intently, spiking currents of desire that rush through my bloodstream. I’m blushing again.
He must have moved closer to me at some point, because the heat of his body is soaking into me as his arm brushes against mine. He turns, facing me. Standing over me, he stares down with darkness in his eyes, a deep yearning that spills over into me as he steps even closer. His body is pressed against mine, his chest against my breasts. I can barely breathe. I can’t think straight.
In slow motion, he reaches his hand up towards my face.
His fingers trace over my jaw, drawing soft lines over my cheek and then down the side of my neck. He threads his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me closer. My hands slip around his waist as he leans down, his lips hovering above mine. If I want to stop this, now is the time.
