Page 33 of Caffeine & Chaos

A satisfied smile played across Nadia’s lips. She had sensed something amiss in that interaction, and her instincts proved correct. Slipping her hand into his, she squeezed it reassuringly. “Nothing, Ryan. Absolutely nothing. I had a feeling about her, and I didn’t divulge any details,” she assured him.

“That was a long time for no details to have been given. What did she ask you?”

Nadia rolled her eyes at him but answered anyway. “She asked about Markus of course. She wanted to know how you were handling the news. I avoided the question, both times she asked it.”

Ryan’s shoulders relaxed and he exhaled a long breath. “Anything else?”

“Yes, I told her that we’ve been dating for a couple of weeks.”

Ryan smirked at her and slid his arm around her waist. “Well, I’m glad you told me, I’d hate to have to find out about our official status by reading the Newspaper.”

Their official status. Nadia had just unwittingly confirmed to the entire world that she and Ryan were a couple.

Him.

“Oh please, who reads newspapers anymore! I probably could have kept that to myself, and you would have been guessing for weeks.” Nadia smiled at him and tucked her arm under his.

Ryan relished the sensation of Nadia’s firm body beneath his fingertips. The velvet material clung to the small of her back, allowing him to discern the subtle tension in her muscles beneath. His mind conjured up the image of Nadia nude and spread before him on the stairs of the lighthouse. Feeling himself hardening, he quickly tried to suppress the thought.

She had said the words he was waiting for. They were dating and she was his. His to handle in the most intimate of ways. His to linger with in bed after making love.

The way Nadia teased him turned him on. It had been a long time since he’d met a woman who wasn’t so eager to please him that she lost her personality entirely in the process. Nadia was fiery, brazen, and fun. It also didn’t hurt that she exuded an intensely magnetic sexuality.

Ryan kissed her cheek, his breath whispering past her ear as his hand circled just above her buttocks. “You couldn’t have waited weeks,” he whispered.

He felt her buckle slightly beneath his touch, her body involuntarily responding to every stroke of his hand like a finely tuned instrument.

“You might be right about that.” Nadia leaned her cheek into him, bringing with her the light fruity scent of her shampoo.

“Please take your seats, the show is about to begin.” One of the hotel ushers corralled them towards the runway.

They took their seats along the side of the runway and Ryan watched Nadia take in the intricacies of the moss wall. He had deliberately chosen a seat on the side instead of his usual seat at the end of the runway. He wouldn’t be going home with any of the models tonight. Nadia’s features were so perfect; looking at the other women would be a waste of time.

Her.

After the fashion show concluded, Nadia and Ryan slipped outside onto the terrace to catch some fresh air. The view before them was breathtaking, with the lush landscaping surrounding the hotel and the vast expanse of the ocean stretching out into the distance. Nadia filled her lungs with the salty sea breeze, feeling a sense of contentment wash over her. The fashion show had been nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual extravagant display she had witnessed countless times while living in New York. As the sun dipped low on the horizon, it painted the sky in hues of pink, yellow, and soft blue, casting a mesmerizing glow over the water. In Miami, every view seemed to be a work of art.

Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist, and she nestled into his chest, gazing up at him. His attention was fixed on the beach below, his hair gently ruffled by the breeze, and his eyes distant and contemplative.

“Did you mean what you said about wanting to get away from this?” Ryan asked.

Nadia pressed herself further into him. “Yes. And no. I want to be as near to you as possible, and this is your life right now.”

Ryan chuckled. “You’re a complicated woman, Nadia. You say something like that, but then nearly choke to death on your words when we try to define what we are to each other.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s just... I’ve never been very good at letting people get close to me,” she confessed, the words spilling out uncontrollably. With each passing moment, Ryan seemed to be dismantling her defenses, piece by piece.

He leaned down and kissed her temple while hugging her tightly. “It’s frightening, isn’t it?”

Nadia wanted to rail against his words. She wanted to push back, to tell him that she wasn’t afraid, that she had never relied on anyone before, and that nothing had changed now. Yet, beneath her defiance, she couldn’t shake the nagging question: was she trying to hide from him or from herself?

An intense need for him rose up within her; she slid her hand up onto his neck and pulled his head down to her, kissing him softly. When their lips parted, Ryan gazed deeply into her eyes, searching her expression for its meaning. Seeing the raw desire she held for him, he returned it, sliding his hand up into her hair at the nape of her neck and capturing her lips.

Their lips locked together furiously, feeding their rising passion. Nadia ran her hands along his body, desperately pulling him against her.

“I booked us a room upstairs. Do you want to go now?” Ryan breathed the words into her neck as he embraced her.

Nadia fought to pull herself out of the fog of lust. “What about your award?”

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