“Just because I’m a lawyer, you think I don’t have a heart?” It came out heavier than he wanted, charged by his mounting frustration. “I do like you, Nadine. Despite what you might think.”
He put his hand on her thigh, smoothing over her jeans. They were soft, worn; she must like this pair a lot—they molded to her like a glove. She inhaled sharply as he ran his fingers along the inner seam, pushing just hard enough to feel her heat.
When the waiter arrived with their dishes, he slid his palm down, just above her knee. Her red face made her look adorably guilty. He poured some sake for her—although since he did it one-handed, he supposed this would be considered rude. Which was appropriate, since he felt like being rude. Particularly if it kept her cheeks flushed and heated.
“I’m not going to apologize for being rough with you, though,” he said, in a quiet undertone that made her eyes swing towards him in alarm. “Because I think we both know how much you didn’t mind.”
Her mouth dropped. She quickly swiveled around to look for their waiter, though Cal had, of course, already checked to make sure that the man was no longer in earshot. “Don’t talk about that in here,” she hissed. “Someone might hear you!”
Cal chuckled. “You didn’t seem very concerned about who heard you last night.”
He didn’t think it was possible, but her cheeks darkened further. “Youchasedme.”
“Youran,” he countered.
She gulped.
Audibly.
He felt the bite of his own belt cut into his aching flesh.
So he went on, to torment both of them: “Youwantedme to chase you.” Moving his hand closer to the juncture of her thighs. “You were trying to make me jealous, you dirty little tease, and I gave you exactly what you were asking for.”
She breathed out unsteadily. Then her hand shot out and she gulped down the shot of sake, squirming in her seat like a witness on the stand.
He leaned in closer, trailing his free hand down the side of her cheek. “If we were in court, I’d have you for perjury, Nadine. And then I’d have you again for no reason at all. I still might.”
“What if someone saw?” She sounded petulant now. Provocative.
“Why?” He tugged at her necklace and she gripped his wrist, not quite pushing him away. He allowed this half-hearted attempt at restraint, whispering, “Did you want them to?”
She blanched. “Your father said some things. It sounded like he’d seen—or like someone else had and told him.”
His desire swirled away, like blood down a drain. He became aware of the air conditioner, in that moment, and its stark currents playing upon his prickling skin. The raindrops splattering against the window seemed to grow louder. “What did he say to you?”
“He said that there are eyes in the shadows. He said I c-couldimagine. Just like you did.”
Fuck. Odessahadbeen trying to warn him, after all. “He didn’t see us. But you should stay away from him.” Closing his eyes, he made himself say, “You should stay away from me, too.”
“In the car—” She hesitated. “You said you were dangerous.”
“I am.”
“You don’t seem dangerous,” she whispered.
He looked at her mouth. She gripped his hand even tighter, as if she needed to test her ability to temper his might. He flexed his fingers, severing contact. “I thought we’d dispensed with lying,” he said quietly, and something dark and predatory coiled inside him when she leaned helplessly closer, her eyes intent on his.
She reached for him again and he caught her hand, fast enough that he could tell she was unsettled. “What am I going to do with you?”
How am I going to have you before I go mad?
He nearly longed for the time when she rebuffed his advances, holding him at a distance with a mulishness that had, at the time, felt nigh insurmountable. A willing Nadine tested his restraint in ways that found his fortitude wanting and made him perilously close to losing control.
“When’s your birthday?”
Cal paused, unsure that he had heard her correctly. “What?”
“Your birthday. When is it?”
