But... are you? It’s only been a few dates, andhehasn’t asked to kiss you. He hasn’t even tried.
Letting my gaze drop back to his mouth, I nod my head before I can talk myself out of it. Talk myself out of doing something reckless and impulsive. Something beyond my control. Something for me.Just me.
“Yes.”
The moment I say it, my eyes slip closed and my breath flutters in my throat, my heart hammering against the base of it. The heat of his mouth hovers above mine for just a moment before I feel the soft, lazy trace of his tongue along the edge of my lower lip, the sweep of it tilting me in my seat. Making me dizzy. Glad I’m not standing when my knees start to shake with anticipation because I know the instant I feel it that I don’t just want him to kiss me.
I want everything.
Everything this man is willing to give me and he won’t have to ask.
I’ll beg for it if I have to.
Dean makes that noise in the back of his throat again. A sound that tells me he knows exactly what I’m thinking. Exactly what I want and what I’m willing to do to get it.
“Mill—”
The sound of my name is cut off by a loud knock, the sudden intrusion of it jerking me back in my seat and flooding my cheeks with color. For a second, all we do is sit here and stare at each other.
Another knock—this one louder and sharper than the first. “Millie, It’s not even midnight,” Paige’s voice calls out to me, muffled by the thick wooden door. “You better not be sleeping.” Her tone makes it clear that she’s prepared to drag me out of bed if she has to. The thought of it reminds me that while I shut the door, I didn’t lock it.
Shit.
Jumping up from my seat, I rush across the room. Practically throwing myself at the door before she has a chance to open it, I grab the knob and hold it, not at all surprised when I feel it start to twist in my grip. “What do you want, Paige?”
She laughs. “I want you to stop hiding and get your uptight ass out here and have some fun before you throw your life away on Mr. Boring Banker Guy.”
Tossing a quick look over my shoulder, I find Dean where I left him. Still sitting on the couch. Easing himself away from the edge of it, he sits back. Sinks back into the cushions with another of his unreadable expressions. Whatever he’s thinking, one thing is clear. He heard what she just said, and he’s not happy about it.
I’ll explain.
As soon as I get rid of Paige, I’ll explain.
Yes, I’m casually dating someone but we’ve only been out a few times. He’s never even kissed me. It’s not nearly as serious as Paige is making it sound.
Turning the knob, I ease it open just a crack, wedging my foot behind it in case she tries to bulldoze her way through it. “I’m done for the night,” I tell her firmly. “Gwen made it clear she doesn’t?—”
Before I finish my refusal, Paige’s gaze shoots up and away from mine, a second before I feel a hand graze past my cheek to wrap around the edge of the door, pulling it open all the way.
“Breaks over, I guess,” Dean says, his tone laced with insolence as he moves past me while I flounder. “Back to the grind.”Stopping, he reaches up and back to hook his fingertips into the neckline of his shirt. Dragging it over his head, he laughs a little before he looks at me.
The guy who flirted with me at the bar earlier and asked to kiss me just a few minutes ago is gone—so completely gone, I’m sure he never really existed. “Make sure you finish that wine before it gets warm, Princess.”
An act.
Just an act.
I didn’t see him at Henley’s wedding, but that doesn’t meanhedidn’t seeme. Women like me—shy, awkward women from wealthy families—are easy targets.
You’re a Blackwell, Melisandre. You need to be careful about who you associate with. People aren’t always what they seem, especially when there’s money involved.
I’m not sure what Dean hoped to gain by pretending to be interested in me but it doesn’t really matter. Whatever it is, he’s not going to get it.
Not from me.
I close the door in Paige’s face without answering him, shutting them both out.
And this time, I lock it.
