Page 44 of Layne Closure Ahead

His hand reached across the table and took hold of hers. “I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to tonight. I know there have been a few bumps along the way, but I’m confident we can smooth things out.” His thumb caressed over the tops of her knuckles reassuringly.

She offered him a light smile and then nodded to the waiter who returned with Eric’s drink and offered another pour of wine. “So, just what is your plan once Liam gathers the last pieces of information you requested?”

He sat back in his seat after releasing her hand. “I don’t want to talk business tonight, I’d rather talk about us.”

That sounded awfully personal, and she hated mixing her private life with business. Though, in Eric’s case, he was shoring up to be a bit of both, wasn’t he?

She lightly pulled in a deeper breath into her lungs before slowly exhaling. “Alright. Then, what did you want to talk about?”

A victorious smile appeared on his smug face. “You. I know all about the fiery Layne O’Reilly on paper, but I’m more curious about what’s underneath the surface.”

“What you see, is what you get,” she assured him as she sat back in her seat. “But, if you’ve got time on your hands, I’d be more than happy to share a few stories that may not have been told to you.”

Eric couldn’t pass up the offer as his lips made contact with the whiskey-heavy cocktail in his glass.

Some stories may have been slightly embellished for his listening pleasure, but Layne shared some of her biggest wins in the business and a few of her early mistakes. It kept the conversation rolling throughout dinner.

“What about you? I’ve been talking about myself all evening. I think it’s only fair.” She folded her arms across the edge of the table as she leaned forward prepared to sit there and listen to him do a little sharing of his own. The emeralds of her eyes peeked down at the time on her watch discreetly to take note of the time. It was nearly a quarter to nine and she would have preferred to stretch this time here with him out just a little longer.

He polished off the rest of his beverage, sliding the empty glass away from him. “Now, that is something I’d be happy to do, but I think it requires a little more privacy.” Eric stood and came over to her side, offering his hand for her to take.

Scooting her chair back, Layne reluctantly took his hand and stood. Once she was on her feet, he released her hand and slid his arm around her lower back. Pulling her in closer to his side, he whispered in her ear, “Did you think I wouldn’t know what you’re doing?”

There came back the bit of paranoia that had been quieted by the wine. She tilted her head curiously as she looked at him. “And what am I doing?” Better to appear ignorant and unknowing, than to reveal one’s secrets unknowingly.

His lips found their way onto her cherry-glossed lips and coaxed a kiss from them. “Let’s talk about it in the car on the way back home.” Eric gave a nod to the restaurant’s manager on duty, having previously arranged the bill to be taken care of.

Outside waiting for them moments later was a black SUV. Eric let her into the back seat first and joined her a moment later after saying something to the driver that she had been unable to hear.

Layne automatically crossed one leg over the other as she settled in. After the vehicle pulled away, Eric’s hand patted her thigh. “I think you underestimate how well I can read you, Layne.”

She doubted that very much. “What makes you say that?”

The warmth of his hand should have been welcomed in this freezing weather, but instead, the cold settled into her bones. His gaze seemed to analyze every movement she made. “You can tell me all your stories about your successes and your failures, but you still don’t want to acknowledge one very important thing about yourself.”

“That I don’t like cryptic talk?” She didn’t try to hide the disdain in her voice.

He chuckled, removed his hand from her leg, and settled it on the side of her face. “I scare you. You’re not intimidated by me, but you do harbor fear inside of you when it comes to this—to us. You’re worried that you’re going to let yourself enjoy the life you are destined to have. You got a taste of it the night of the concert and now you are doing your best to close yourself off.”

She saw the street signs indicating they were approaching the corner lot where his residence was located. Layne looked back into Eric’s eyes and gave him a playful smirk. “Maybe you’d get the girl from that night if you asked nicely.”

“One thing I will share with you is I don’t ask nicely.” To prove his point, he crushed her lips under the weight of his mouth as he consumed the taste of her. Layne pulled herself up against him letting him take his share for the time being knowing their destination wasn’t too far. His hands began to wander down over her body, and right as his tongue pushed past her lips, the car came to a stop inside the multi-car garage of his home.

He pulled away from her reluctantly. “I have more fun for us inside.”

The way the word ‘fun’ rolled off his lips made her think that his idea of fun was quite different from hers.

A few moments later they were inside the vaguely familiar home she had last seen the night of his party. As they made it up to the third floor where all the numerous bedrooms were, Layne questioned how much house one man needed.

As if reading her thoughts, Eric spoke up. “I know that the house is exceptionally bigger than I need, but I couldn’t resist all the possibilities of how one day each of these rooms would have a specific purpose.”

Layne nodded before Eric stopped at the entrance to one of the many closed doors in the hall. His hand dropped to the brass handle and gently swung the door open to the dark room. “This one is my favorite.” He gestured for her to step inside before he reached in to flip the lights on so she could take it all in for herself.

What she saw was not the master bedroom she had expected to see. No, the master bedroom would have been very much welcomed. Eric came behind her, his hands on her hips and breath on the back of her neck. “It gets me excited every time I come in here. Consider it part of my wedding gift to you.”

It was rare for Layne to find herself in a state of shock, but what was waiting there for them had managed to leave her brain unable to reconcile what was happening.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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