Chapter 7
“Can I take you to dinner? I feel like celebrating.” He held her close, refusing to let her go unless she made him. Luna tempted him without even trying. He wanted to run with her, to take her in the back of the car, to bring her back to his place and have her all night, to invent ways to fuck her that would put the Kama Sutra to shame.
“I-I guess I could.”
Her reticence landed on him like a bucket full of cold water, causing him to take a step back. “Don’t feel as though you have to, Luna. I can go alone.”Like I always do.“Or I’ll just call one of my friends.”
Her cheeks reddened, and she looked over his shoulder before meeting his gaze unwaveringly. “I would like to celebrate with you, Davis. As long as we keep our wits about us.”
“God forbid I lose my mind around you. As though I even have a choice.” He turned on his heel and stalked back across the parking lot to the waiting car. He opened the back and waited for her to join him.
When they were both in the backseat heading away from the school campus, Davis angled toward Luna. He’d sat on the far side of the long, smooth leather seat to give her the space she apparently craved. But he needed to look at her. She soothed his nerves while simultaneously setting them on fire, all just by existing.
“Why are you staring at me?”
He smirked, but she wasn’t looking at him. “Because you seem irritated with me after you said you forgive me.”
“There isn’t anything to forgive, so technically, I haven’t forgiven you.” Her voice was tight, as were her muscles as she held herself rigidly on the far side of the vehicle.
Davis sighed. While he normally enjoyed teasing her, he didn’t want to piss her off. “Luna, I’m being serious now. If you want to go home, Sorensen will take you there.”
“No. I agreed to dinner.”
“Dinner, not your execution,” he pointed out at her biting tone.
Finally, she turned to him. Her eyes were molten emeralds ready to scorch him. “I’m a little uncomfortable after what happened. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to celebrate something you’ve worked so hard for. But you keep pushing me to be the same old Luna, and I don’t think I can ever be her again.”
“Why are you so insistent that anything has changed? We didn’t morph into new people, Luna.”
She leaned across the space that separated them; he almost cowed back against the door, but managed to hold his ground. “I’m not the same! I’m altered; ruined, even. It’s not your fault, but it is what it is.”
“My Luna, don’t cry.” Without much conscious thought, he reached out and swiped at her tears with his thumbs. “There are no expectations. No wrong moves. I’ve told you—and I still mean it—you can’t lose me.”
His assurances didn’t work. She fell apart, fell on him as she sobbed. Bewildered, he held on tight as she hiccupped and sighed as her tears ran their course. He stroked her back, up and through her tangled hair. He wanted to kiss her but he couldn’t make things worse. That woulddefinitelymake it all worse.
“Sweetie, tell me honestly what’s wrong.”
Despite his pleading, Luna merely shook her head and straightened. With her head against the back of the seat, she looked at him warily. “I can’t explain it any further than I have. I don’t want to repeat myself.”
“It has been years worth of the same excuses, Luna. You and I both know your reasoning is wrong, but I will give you this; we don’t need to rehash it now.”
Luna rubbed her fingers under her eyes and sighed. “I want to put this behind us. I want to be your best friend.”
“Just not my best friend with benefits.” He stated it clearly, with no questioning tone. It was obvious, so why ask?
“Um, no.” Luna’s voice, on the other hand, came out soft and unsure. Davis knew one thing for certain, and that was that he wouldn’t bring it up again. If she wanted him, she would ask. If she didn’t ask, he would assume the idea remained off the table.
“We’re just going to have a nice meal together, that’s all. I promise.”
Sorensen pulled the car smoothly up to the curb outside the restaurant Davis had chosen ahead of time. Davis opened his door before his driver could even get out and helped Luna climb out behind him. They entered hand in hand, and Davis suggested Luna make a stop in the restroom while he checked in with the host. It was something he took for granted, the fact that anyone in his employ could call any establishment and get him in without any hassles. He knew it was a privilege that came with his last name. He made up for it by tipping heavily and being incredibly gracious.
Luna came walking up to him, her makeup fixed and her hair brushed until it shined like a new penny. “Ready?”
She nodded and took his extended arm. They walked together into the dining room, and he noticed who watched them and who dismissed them. He found it interesting that a few people stared as if they were trying to figure out where they knew the pair from, while others couldn’t have cared less.
“Why is that couple looking at us like we have horns and tails?” Luna tilted her head close to him as she asked, and he got a whiff of her perfume.
He waited until the host sat them at a small table before he responded. “Maybe you haven’t noticed this before, but there’s always at least one person in every crowd that recognizes me. They try to decide if they know who you are and how you’re related to me.”
