“Would you take me back to your super-luxurious penthouse, whip out the jacuzzi and some vintage wine, and make me fall to your feet?”
“Actually, it would only take one thing.” I lean closer to her, one elbow on the table. “My body. Sweaty, excited, pressed against yours. It would only take one night together, wherever you want. Just once. And, I assure you: you wouldn’t be able to help yourself.”
She slams her glass down on the table, wine sloshing over the rim.
“You’re not that irresistible, O’Connor. Aren’t all your other women enough for you?”
So, the jealousy card works both ways. Well, let’s give it a go.
“Does it annoy you?”
“Mmm?”
“That I’ve slept with hundreds of women?” Okay, so I’ve rounded the number up a little.
She laughs again, but this time, it’s forced. “I don’t think it would take you too long to find another hundred. At least, not until your good looks fade. Because, from what I can see, they’re already starting to go.”
Fading?Like fuck.
Just wait until I get her into bed with me, and she’ll see. She won’t be able to stand up straight for a week.
“You’d better hurry up, and stop wasting your time on me.” She gets to her feet, leaving half her meal untouched.
I get up, too.
“Thanks for dinner, and for this lovely reunion, but I really have to go. I have work tomorrow – you know, like normal people do – but I don’t even think you know what I’m talking about.”
She grabs her bag and turns to the table where my brothers are sitting. She waves at them and they wave back, like the utter dickheads that they are. I watch her as she leaves the restaurant, storming past the window, before crossing the road, heading towards the taxi rank.
“Wow. Well done, Nick.” Ryan appears at my table, followed by Ian and Evan. “You scared her off. Again.”
“Fuck off.”
“I’ll go and see if she’s okay,” Evan tries, but Ian stops him with one arm.
“Go, run after her. I’ve got it covered,” he says.
At leastoneof my brothers is useful sometimes.
I dash out of the restaurant too, running across the road. I reach her and grab her by the arm, making her jump so much that she literally falls into my arms.
I swear, you can’t make this stuff up.
Her hands are gripping my shirt, her hair tickling my nose, intoxicating me with its freshly-washed scent. My hands are resting against her warm shoulders. Her deep, clear eyes are reflecting my own. Her heat, her body. My heart, which beats against hers. Her nearness, suffocating me.
“Nice move, O’Connor,” she says, composing herself and backing quickly away from me. “But it won’t help you.”
“No?”
She shakes her head and steps back. “I’m immune to your charm, to your moves. I’m immune toyou.”
I take a step towards her. “Are you sure about that?” I lean my forehead down to meet hers, and her breath flutters against my face.
“Absolutely,” her lips say; but her tingling body, brushing against mine, tells a whole different story.
My hand slides round to the nape of her neck, underneath her hair, tracing along her hot skin. I can feel her goosebumps under my fingers. I pull her into me and, before she can even realise, her mouth is already mine.
I’m not wasting time. I’m not playing around.
