Page 39 of Verses Of Us

The idea had come to her more than once while getting ready. Each time, she couldn’t keep the images from her mind—of how Ciarán now looked under his clothes, how he’d smell, how he’d feel… Her mind continually conjured the memory of his lips pressed to hers, feathering across her skin, across her…

She cleared her throat, stepping out of her apartment building and onto the sidewalk. Though she had insisted she would meet Ciarán at the restaurant, he had insisted harder to pick her up.

Her neck tingled and when she glanced up behind her, she found Julie waving from their apartment window. She waved back at her as a black SUV with tinted windows pulled up to the curb. The chauffeur, a tall, boxy man with wide shoulders and square jaw, stepped out, crossing to her side of the car.

“Good evening, Ms. Stanek. I’m Robert, Ciarán’s driver.”

Struck by a quick pang of disappointment that it wasn’t Steven, she smiled back. Robert opened the back passenger door and she glanced in. Tucked away at the opposite end of the backseat, Ciarán smiled, awakening a part of her she thought she’d lost.

“Hey, Lex,” he said, his greeting casual.

“Hey.” She sat beside him and buckled up, noticing he hadn’t, when her phone dinged. She assumed it was Marie and automatically checked it, having learnt the hard way never to ignore her boss’s texts.

Do you have protection???

Alexis stifled her giggle and glanced up toward the living room window. Julie was still staring down at them.

“Boyfriend?” Ciarán asked, nodding at her phone as she tucked it into her purse.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she teased.

“Actually, I would.” His tone was gravelly and warm. Their eyes met, his serious regard luring a blush that started on her chest and climbed up her neck to her face. Suddenly, her throat was bone dry and her hair cried out to be tucked behind her ear.

Robert merged into traffic, the sound ofPump Itby the Black Eyed Peas filling the car. Montreal’s nightlife hummed outside her window with people walking along the streets, heading to dinner or a movie. She loved the city and its liveliness no matter the time of year and could never envision leaving it.

Her attention wandered over to Ciarán, taking him in. He wore black pants and a light grey sweater that hugged his chest and arms and looked so soft. Her fingers itched to touch it. Compared to her navy leggings and white blouse, she worried she dressed too casually.

“You never told me where we were going,” she said, tugging on her trench coat. “I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

He cocked his head. “Come now, Lex. I’m sure you can see it by now?”

“See what?”

“That you look perfect no matter what you wear.”

She knew it was a line and rolled her eyes, but somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him, feeling the intensity of his gaze moving over every inch of her body. The longer she remained quiet, the more the tension between them thickened and crackled.

“Besides,” he added after a heavy pause. “You know I don’t do fancy.”

“To be fair, I don’t knowwhatyou do.” She pressed her lips before addingnot anymore.

She turned her attention ahead, staring out the window, but saw nothing, her mind too cramped with everything she wasn’t saying.

“Did your boss approve the article?”

Alexis nodded, relieved at the change in subject. “I’ll need to add some finishing touches later. I can’t tell if Marie was okay with what I have so far or not. All she said wasit’ll do.”

“Sounds like a great place. Why do you stay?”

She frowned as if the answer should be clear, but then remembered that when you’re a rock superstar, life comes easier.

“One day, it’ll be worth the sacrifice.”

They pulled over. Robert rushed to her side to open her door. She stepped out onto the sidewalk, Ciarán behind her, his hand landing on her back, sending a current of pent-up energy coursing through her veins. Even years later, nothing about his touch was foreign or strange, and though she knew she should step away, something inside longed for it more than anything.

“What about Robert?” she asked, as the man got back behind the wheel.

“What about him?”

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