“Sure.”
When his wine has been poured, Max raises his glass. “To the prettiest woman in the room…” He pauses, eyes lingering on mine just long enough to make heat rush to my cheeks.
“Yes, Gloria is lovely,” I tease.
His lips twitch. “And to her finally saying yes to me.”
“I didn’t—”
He raises one eyebrow.
Rolling my eyes, I decide not to argue. He’s right; I did say yes. I reach to clink my glass against his, but he pulls his away quickly.
“Look at me.”
My breath catches and my eyes flick up to meet his. They’re so dark, so deep and penetrating, but there’s something else there too, a familiarity that makes my stomach somersault.
Butof coursehis eyes are familiar. Max has been pursuing me for years, and even long before I was on his radar,hewas onmine.
I mean, I’ve been naked with this man, for Pete’s sake! If getting close to him now feels unsettling, I imagine there’s just cause for that feeling.
“Seven years of bad sex if you don’t make eye contact when youcheers, Ms. Hart.”
“Oh, well…” Snorting, I decide to keep to myself how much that likely doesn’t apply to me. If you don’t actually have sex, how can it be bad? Locking my eyes with his, I clink my glass against his and take a sip. He does the same, and I don’t know how much time passes before the server comes and I finally look away.
Max Cruz is disarming in a way I’m seldom prepared for.
I’m not entirely sure that agreeing to dinner with this man was a smart idea.
Our server places a basket of garlic bread in front of us, then begins the spiel about what each dinner includes, what the sideoptions are… she points to menus on the wall, telling me about them, but I don’t hear a thing.
Max’s eyes haven’t left me, and as I struggle to retain anything the server says, all I can feel is that heady, palpable gaze.
My cheeks warm in response to his attention.
My pulse picks up speed.
I grip my wine glass because I suddenly don’t know what to do with my hands.
I’ve been pushing this man away for so long, and now, crammed into this booth with him, all I want to do is give in.
Maybe it’s this new side of me, this person Dominus has brought out of me. She’s carefree and sensual, trusting her body to know what it needs. When I’m at the Rabbit Hole, Dominus is in charge, but he’s going off of what I need and want, my likes, dislikes, my comfort zone—both within it and pushing just past the perimeter.
I trust myself with Dominus, and I trusthim.
Could I be that way with someone else?
Could I trustMaxthe way I trust this masked man I don’t even know?
I know Max Cruz, far more than I know my Dom. I know he’s a good man, all arrogance and humor aside. He doesn’t remember the night we spent together, but he was at the peak of his celebrity back then, a young footballer with women throwing themselves at him like confetti from a cannon.
Max finally tears his eyes away from me to say something to the server, and I swivel my head to look at him.
From that dark mop of hair that’s always perfectly messy and just a smidge too long, to those strong cheekbones and that broad nose. His pillow-soft lips…those dimples I hate to love…
He turns his head, meeting my gaze, and his eyes, locked with mine, darken.
He wants me. It’s never not been obvious, but I’ve always pushed it off as something unattainable, something he merely wanted because he couldn’t. Shouldn’t. Because I made the chase a game for him, and I was nothing more than a prize to be won.
