Page 23 of Caffeine & Chaos

Ryan leaned in and rasped, “you kick me again and I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you into that bathroom and teach you a lesson.”

Nadia involuntarily clutched the edges of the table as she watched his tongue slowly run across the crease of his bottom lip, bringing back scintillating flashbacks of the lighthouse. When she met his gaze, he had that familiar feral look in his eyes.

Ryan reclined, breaking the mesmerizing hold that had enveloped her. Inhaling deeply, he spoke with earnestness, “Nadia, I want you. What I said to you in the lighthouse was not just a ‘heat of the moment’ thing. I want you. All of you.”

His words resonated with a raw honesty that struck Nadia to her core. There was no pretence, no hidden agenda; he spoke from the depths of his being. As she struggled to form a response, her thoughts swirled in a tumult of emotions. She yearned to echo his sentiments, to lay bare her own feelings, if she could only accept them first. “Okay,” she murmured with uncertainty.

Ryan’s head snapped back, and he laughed.

“I’m sorry, I just, I’ve never had anyone be so honest before. It caught me off guard,” Nadia said.

“I don’t mess around. When I see something I want, I act to acquire it.” Ryan sipped his coffee.

“So, I’m an ‘it’ now? That single rose will only buy you so much grace you know.” Nadia matched his form, lifting her cup to her lips.

“Mmmm,” Ryan growled throatily. “Why do I get the sense you’re egging me on?”

“Maybe I want you to take me into that bathroom and show me that lesson you promised,” Nadia said, the tingling between her legs intensifying. She wanted him to show her every lesson he knew.

Ryan grabbed one of her wrists instinctively. His grip was tight, not bruisingly so, but tight enough to send Nadia’s heart into arrhythmia. Adrenalin surged through her veins, causing her legs to quiver beneath the table. Every inch of her skin felt electrified by his touch.

Apparently working to quash his own rising desire, Ryan closed his eyes momentarily and when he opened them all of the sexual ferocity had vanished. He released her wrist and turned his hand, laying it over on top of hers. “You are avoiding the topic at hand.”

Nadia let out a scoff. “Honestly, Ryan, can we take some time to actually get to know each other first, please? Wasn’t that what you said you wanted when we were on our way to the Bay?”

Ryan cracked a smile, “and here I thought you were going to be all wrapped up with a bow for me.”

“I think we’ve discovered that we are much better together when I am unwrapped, don’t you think?” Nadia traced her finger in a circle over his palm. Her mind and body could only agree on one thing: she needed to feel him pressed against her.

“I do agree, yes.”

A pang of disappointment washed over Nadia. While Ryan’s words had agreed with her, he hadn’t taken the bait she so blatantly offered him.

“I want you to accompany me to a charity event this Friday,” Ryan said, changing the subject.

“Oh? What cause is it supporting?” she asked, as if that would determine her interest in going. The thought of peeling him out of a tux at the end of the night was all the motivation she needed.

“It’s the Influencer Awards Gala and Fashion Show Benefit. The mission of the benefit is beach preservation through habitat restoration and ocean research,” Ryan stated matter-of-factly before taking another sip of his coffee.

“Beaches and fashion, my two favorite things. Count me in!” Nadia smiled warmly at him as she continued, “plus I get to show up with some pretty tantalizing arm candy.”

“I do look rather fetching in something backless,” Ryan quipped, throwing his head back with a chuckle.

He was stunning. Even the way his neck muscles flexed as he tilted his head back was mesmerizing.

“Listen Nadia, there are some strings attached that you need to be aware of before you say yes.” Ryan waited for her to nod her acknowledgment before continuing, “I am getting an Influencer Award for my charitable work for the local beach preservation efforts here in Miami and there will be press present. By accompanying me we are going public with this relationship.”

Relationship. Nadia repeated the word silently to herself several times. Why couldn’t her heart make a decision? She longed to be near him, to be pressed into the warmth and safety of his chest, yet the word relationship sent her stomach into knots.

“Nadia?”

“Sorry, okay so what exactly does that mean?” She tried to swallow down the panic.

“It means that once we are photographed together, we will be an item in the eyes of the press, no matter how we try to spin it.” He searched her face for some reaction before continuing, “System Seven took a pretty big hit in the reputation department this week, so that means that I need to be squeaky clean in the press for the foreseeable future.”

“You’re afraid I’ll embarrass you? I am not Markus Brown, Ryan.” Nadia sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.

“I see you’re up to speed with what I’ve been dealing with. No, of course you’re not Markus, but I can’t have the tabloids running a story about my love interest out on the town with someone else. The promise you made me in the lighthouse; I need you to keep it.”

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