Page 45 of Sin City Lights

He shook his head, watching her lips close around another spoonful.“No, thanks. I’m good with this.” He took a sip of Aquavit, a smile touching his lips.

The waiter returned with a miniature bowl.“As requested, sir.”

With a flourish, he placed it on the table.

In it was a single maraschino cherry with the stem.

Well, then. Eve’s lips twitched.“I only have one try? I could have used a backup in case the first one breaks.”

“Do it.” Blue eyes intense, Adam motioned with his chin.

Her gaze locked on his, she picked up the cherry, letting it dangle from her red fingernails for a second. Slowly, she slipped the fruitbetween her lips, sucked it into her mouth, and chewed.

Adam’s pupils dilated. His gaze was trained on her mouth, the Aquavit forgotten on the table between his hands.

She swallowed, held the stem between her thumb and index finger to show him, and then, easing out her tongue, she placed the stem right in the middle.

Adam groaned softly. His flattened palms pressed harder on the table.

A wicked smile curved Eve’s lips. Keeping her mouth closed, she began biting down gently on the stem to soften it, then pushed down the middle of it with her tongue so it bent into aU. She knew that all Adam could see from his vantage point was her jaw working side to side and her puckered lips, but Eve could tell that she was getting to him.

Oh, was she ever.

She took her time positioning it just right. At last, she pulled the perfectly knotted little stem out from between her teeth.

His eyes widened. She took his hand, turned it over, and placed the knot in his palm.

He stared at her, lips parted, then clenched his fist around it.

Adam

He had been forced to stay and order coffee just so he could walk out of the restaurant.

Adam watched the streetlights swiftly slide by as the taxi returned to the Ritz. Beside him, Eve sat gracefully, legs slanted to the side, her thigh inches from his own.

The temptress from the Bible had nothing on this woman. No, this Eve used a cherry to drive a man out of his mind.

Definitely not what he’d signed up for when he’d invited her here for the weekend. He’d meant to have her so he could get the obsession over with already. He had been sure she would eventually give in. There had been a couple of times when he could have easily taken what he wanted since all the signals she was sending told him she would let him.

What stopped him was that he liked her. The way she smiled, not only with her mouth but with her entire pretty face. The way she wasgenuinely interested in him, in what he had to say. There wasn’t an ounce of artifice in this woman. He’d seen enough fakeness to easily tell the difference.

This thing with her was quickly evolving into something he would rather not analyze. It was too complicated to figure out, and even though these feelings bothered the hell out of him, he shoved them aside because he enjoyed being with her.

Tomorrow, it would be over, and they’d be back in Vegas. He had a ton of work to catch up on, and she…

He gritted his teeth. The thought of her going back to work made him want to punch something. In all the years he’d hired escorts, he’d never once thought about, nor cared, what they did after they left his bedroom.

The uniformed doorman pulled open their taxi door.“Good evening. Welcome back to the Ritz.”

Adam paid and thanked the driver. They exited the taxi and strolled through the hotel entrance.

He checked his Breguet. Nine p.m. He knew falling asleep this early would be an impossibility. And it would be torture to lie awake in his room another night, with her only a few feet away.

“How about a last walk on the beach?”

She gave him a sweet smile.“I’d like that.”

He offered his hand, and she took it without hesitation. He wanted to haul her against him and kiss the living daylights out of her, but all he did was give her fingers a squeeze as they made their way through the lobby to the French doors at the back.

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