Page 8 of Only If You Dare

“Around this corner straight ahead,” he said.

I was positive he watched as I sashayed away. I could feel his feral gaze running a blaze up my body. Inside the bathroom, I leaned over the sink with my hands pressed against the cold mounted marble top. Turning the faucet on I glanced at the mirror. My image told a story on its’ own. My hair was slightly ruffled, and my lips were partly swollen from the intensity of our kiss.

“Shit,” I cursed.

There was no way I’d make it two weeks with him without jumping his bones. His response to my risky behavior confirmed what I wanted to know. He was just as turned on as I was. I washed my hands and finger combed my hair, attempting to pull myself together. My hands shuffled around my satin blouse and maxi skirt as I worked to make myself more presentable and professional.

Consider professional bounds crossed…

Yeah, that was true, but I still needed to try, didn’t I? There was a mild knock at the door in a rhythm of three’s. I almost jumped out of my skin. My hand flew to open the door to find Julian’s tall incredibly striking and all male persona standing with his hands in his pockets. His stare bore into me before he spoke.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

I turned off the faucet and stepped out of the bathroom but didn’t glide any closer, making it a point to keep an opening between us.

“Should I apologize,” he asked.

I offered him a warm smile. “No,” I said, “not at all.”

“That’s good to hear because fortunately, I don’t regret it.”

We watched each other keenly before I spoke up. “Maybe we should resume this later in the week perhaps, say Wednesday?” It was Monday, and I needed at least a day to shake off this heaviness that saturated me.

“Wednesday?” Julian mulled it over. “Same time?”

“Yes, same time.”

“I’ll take you back to the Houston Report.”

“Oh no!”

I didn’t mean to yell, but I couldn’t possibly endure a car ride with him. Such proximity at this point wasn’t ideal if I wanted to stay off of his lap, if you know what I mean.

His brows rose in surprise. “How else will you get there?”

“I’ll catch a taxi.”

Julian was shaking his head no before I completed my sentence.

“I brought you here; I’ll take you back.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“Look, you’ll learn soon enough,” he took slow steps towards me, and I begged my feet to move back, but they didn’t. “I’m not the type of guy you may be used to. With that being said, I won’t allow you to take a taxi… ever.”

His beautiful eyes pierced me, and I acquiesced. It was interesting that I considered myself this independent woman who didn’t take orders too kindly, but for whatever reason, his command I wanted to obey without hesitation.

“Okay,” I said, “Let’s go.”

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