When Trace had taken me there earlier, I had walked out on Dirk and missed out on what I had heard was a great place to eat and the chance to take in the ocean and hills to the north. I was looking forward to this dinner even though I’d turned Dirk down multiple times.
My suspicions of Scarlet, my attraction to Dirk, and the desire to feel safe all combined to make this a perfect moment. I always felt safe around Dirk and now I had him all to myself.
In two more days, Dirk would have his tenth appointment with me. He would divorce Scarlet and then we could see where our relationship might take us.
Soon traffic piled up and Dirk turned south before we made it to Glendale.
“This route is much more scenic.”
“I like scenic.” I regretted the console in between us. The thought of sliding over to sit close to him and running my hand up his thigh ran through my head.
As if reading my mind, his hand went to my knee. My pencil skirt just reached my knee, but soon he slid it up my thigh and caressed my bare skin. I felt the heat from my pussy growing as his hand stoked my desire.
We met each other’s gaze. I tried to smile, but I felt like I melted at his touch and gave him some crazed, lusty look. He smiled back, however, which just melted me more. If I wasn’t careful, I might be drenched by the time we made it to the restaurant.
I grasped his hand, lifted it, and held it, while I slipped my skirt back down with my other hand.
“Well, I kind of like the scenery I’m seeing right now.”
“Keep your eyes on the road, Mr. Dark Eyes.”
“Mr. Dark Eyes?” He smiled mischievously.
“Yeah. That’s what I called you until I learned your actual name.” I felt the rush of blood from my neck into my chest. I didn’t blush often, but sharing this small tidbit of information with Dirk made me brighten.
“From the club? Who all did you tell about Mr. Dark Eyes?”
“Just my friend, Carol.” I focused on my knee and his hand, but managed a side-eye glance at his face.
“Did you tell her everything about that night?”
I gulped and considered lying.
“I told her everything. Down to the last detail.”
I noticed a bulge growing in his slacks.
“Does that excite you? Me telling others about our sexual encounter?”
“You excite me. Every damn time.” He squeezed my knee and his hand roamed up my thigh, but with my skirt between his fingers and my soft skin.
“Both hands on the wheel.” I didn’t want his hands off of me, but I needed to maintain my composure until we talked at the restaurant.
I needed to know if his feelings for me seemed as genuine as I hoped they were. I’d gotten involved with a lover with less than hope before, but it had never worked out. If he was serious and we could solve the Scarlet problem, then I would allow his hands to roam up my thigh, right to my aching flesh at the apex of my thighs.
The path Dirk had chosen seemed to go faster, and soon we were on a winding road in Hollywood Hills that snaked down the hills into the valley below us. As the road snaked and roamed with the terrain, I imagined Dirk’s hands roaming my curves in the same way.
He put both hands on the wheel as we encountered more and more switchbacks.
My body ached from the departure of his hands just as much as I reveled in the view of the city below us and the ocean in the distance.
I leaned across the console and laid my head on his shoulder. Breathing in his cologne, I basked in the scents of leather and jasmine, and the faint smell of finished wood.
His cologne always made me tremble in anticipation of his touch. Even when there was no chance of him touching me, like when he and Scarlet were together for an appointment, my body still responded as if his touch were mere seconds away.
I breathed in deeply and I felt as if someone had slapped me across the face. Pulling back, I sit upright and as far away from Dirk as I could get.
Scenes of my assault flashed through my mind. Rough hands. A gun barrel to my head. A scent. Leather. Jasmine. The scent of worked wood. All mixed and assaulted my nose at the same time.
