Page 4 of Rainstorm

So unique.

It should’ve been illegal to look that way, to have that effect on me, but despite being a good ten feet away, when he looked my way, his stare pinned me in place.

Magnetic eyes traveled over my body. From my bare shoulders and the valley between my breasts. Dipping in. Caressing me with intensity.

My outfit was demure, but he made me feel exposed in some way. Bare, yet at the same time wrapped in the might of his gaze, he made me feel invincible.

Indomitable.

Running across my heated body, those eyes finally trailed up to meet mine.

A wave of electricity.

The strength of thunder.

Even just sitting there in the restaurant, I could recognize how great his presence was, the power he radiated, overshadowing all other men.

The attraction sizzled.

Gravity pulled at me.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I just stood there, transfixed, watching him, until the voice of Mandy Sue calling my name brought me back from my lust induced fantasy cloud and back down to earth.

We found two tall stools at the end of the bar, and I dropped onto one of them, happy that from my spot, I could steal furtive glances at the man on the other side of the restaurant.

I was already a lost cause.

“What can I offer you today, ladies?” the bartender greeted us. I ordered a strawberry margarita—my favorite—and an order of ceviche to share between us.

When my drink arrived, as I took the first sip, I dared to glance over at where he was, only this time he caught me.

He caught me staring.

At him.

STARING! For God’s sake.

Ignoring the heat in every cell of my traitorous being, I continued with my spying task, worse than a teenager with her first crush.

Feeling confident, I raised my eyebrows, and was rewarded with a smirk. Damn him for being so gorgeous. And cocky. I continued sipping my drink, enjoying the mixture of flavors, the sweetness and the saltiness, the tequila’s bitter kick.

His intense stare pinned me. Lust wavered between us. Flirtatiously, I flicked my hair over my shoulder as I asked Mandy about her date. After all, that was the reason why we were there.

“I just got a text, he’s almost here.”

Being late, I had to say, was not a good sign for a first date, but I bit my tongue, for now at least.

I engaged Mandy in a nonsense conversation in an attempt to keep myself distracted, but it was no use. He was like a fog, a heavy cloud filling the space separating us.

Inebriating my mind.

But then I could feel him approaching, coming over to where we were, like the warm sun coming out after a long cold winter. And no, we weren’t talking about the dry spell I’d been going through. All my senses were on high alert while I followed his approach, as he seemed to somehow dominate the entire place.

It wasn’t just the way he looked, tall and beautifully built. No. It was the way he moved.

So confident.

So powerful.

---