Page 42 of Beautiful Chaos

Chapter 29

JASPER

When we arrived at the restaurant Harper looked around, surveying her surroundings. Trying not to let my nerves get the best of me, I walked and opened the car door for her. I held out my hand, and to my surprise, she took it without a second thought. I didn’t let the gesture go to waste; I laced my fingers in hers as we walked up the walkway into the building.

The moment we walked in and saw the hostess, she greeted us. She was a young blonde woman wearing all black.

“Hello, Mr. Whitlock.” She smiled and gave a small nod to Harper.

“Your table is ready. Would you follow me please?” I couldn’t recall the young girl’s name, but I knew she had seated Max and me, the few times we’ve hosted business meetings here. Max, of course, always flirted with her, causing her to become all flustered.

She guided us through the busy part of the dining room. I felt Harper tense when we approached a large party of nearly drunk businessmen. I pulled her to my side, and I leaned in whispering,

“Don’t worry, Doll, we have a private area reserved, we will be alone, away from the crowd.”

Her shoulders fell as she relaxed at the idea.

She felt instantly at ease with the idea of being alone with me. I knew it wasn’t the time, nor would it be any time soon, if at all, but the thought of being alone with her in a dimly lit room made my cock twitch.

Stop it you fucknut; this is just dinner.

Unfortunately, my cock hadn’t gotten that memo.

As we neared the booth, I stepped aside, gesturing for Harper to go ahead of me. This allowed her to slide in first, positioning her back against the wall, and gave her a clear view of her surroundings.

No, will she feel trapped by my sitting on the end? Should I have let her decide where to sit?

I glanced up from wrestling myself over the seating arrangements to see Harper staring at me.

“You going to sit down?” she asked, with her eyebrows raised, I cleared my throat to shake off the embarrassment from my hesitation and slid in beside her.

Damn it! Why am I all over the place? This girl is fucking with my head and hell if I care.

On the table was the chilled Dom Perignon I requested when I made the reservation. I grabbed the flutes and poured each of us a generous amount. Harper kept an eye on me, her expression giving nothing away.

I handed her one of the flutes and held on to one for myself. Harper accepted it and then gave me a gentle smile.

“Do you like champagne?”

She looked down at her lap and shook her head. I frowned and started to take the glass from her, but she looked up at me before I could.

“I mean, I’ve never had it. I’ve always just drank the cheap wine from the grocery store down the street from my apartment, and I don’t particularly drink in public. Personal reasons, I guess…” Her voice trailed off, saying the last part almost in a whisper.

Oh, that makes sense, the night in the lounge she only had soda. Smart girl.

I shook my head and placed my flute back on the table.

“You go ahead and try it. I’ll skip the alcohol tonight if it makes you feel more comfortable, do you trust me?” I asked, then leaned over to brush my fingers over her cheek. She recoiled, only slightly, but enough for me to notice.

Fuck! Too much. Reel it in Jasper.

After a long pause, she gazed into my eyes and nodded her head,

“Yes.” She said it, with so much confidence. I never knew one word could cause so much chaos inside of my black heart, but she did, and it was fucking beautiful chaos.

After a few glances from me to the glass in her hand and a deep breath she nodded and sipped her first taste of champagne. Her eyes lit up as the liquid hit her taste buds. She pulled her glass away from her mouth as her tongue darted out to lick the remnants of the champagne from her perfectly plump lips. It took all of my restraint not to passionately replace her tongue with my own, and take her mouth right there in the booth. The way my tongue would explore hers had me inching closer to her. I had to stop myself.

“Oh my God, that’s so good.” She said, in shock at her newfound taste for expensive champagne. “I could get into trouble with this stuff,” she said with a chuckle. She lifted the glass back to her lips. She seemed to be so comfortable and at ease.

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