Page 24 of The Bargain

His nose scrunched up slightly, and I wanted to run the tip of my finger along it. “More thriller than horror. Not much for the gore and slasher movies, though I do like the old Michael Meyers and Jason movies. What about you?”

“I’m like you. Prefer action over drama, and I will happily watch sci-fi and fantasy so long as they are well written. The only time I’ll watch a comedy is with my friends. Also, I love a good war documentary.”

“Ancient history,” Byron volunteered. I made a face that said I wasn’t following. He huffed a laugh and continued, “I like war documentaries too, but my favorite are the ones about ancient civilizations. I’ve seen dozens about ancient Egypt and the different dynasties of China.”

“So, grabbing some takeout and pulling up the PBS app for a documentary would be considered a good date to you?” I teased.

“Well…I don’t know.” The smile forming on his mouth looked so fucking kissable. He was lucky we were in public. “As the second date with someone? Not unless I know them fairly well and would feel comfortable in their house. If it were someone I’ve been dating for a while, then yes, I think that would be an excellent date.”

The server returned to take our orders. Thankfully, I was familiar with their menu, because I’d barely glanced at it since I sat down with Byron. Of course, he had all my attention. Howcould food be more important than his smirk or the laughter twinkling in his eyes? Impossible.

Except my stomach was grumbling, and lunch had been far too long ago. I needed food.

When Byron was finished, I picked something with red meat and handed over the menu, ready for the server to be gone so I could focus on my date.

“Sebastian…”

A shiver ran through me at the sound of my name on his tongue. After hearing an unsexy “sir” all day, my name falling from his lips was heaven.

“Your hand keeps inching closer to mine,” Byron observed.

My gaze darted across the table to where my right hand was resting, and he was correct. My fingers had inched closer to his while we talked about our movie preferences. It was just that his hand was sitting there, so tantalizing. It would take so little effort to slide my hand those last few inches to run the tips of my fingers down his, to thread our fingers together.

“I take it you like to hold hands,” Byron said.

I blinked at him. The spell he had me under was broken temporarily. “Actually, no.”

He chortled. “I don’t believe you.”

Who could blame him? “I’m serious. I have never been a fan of holding hands or even felt the desire to hold hands. Or rather, until you…I didn’t.” His brow furrowed. I hadn’t even noticed the difference. He’d had to call attention to it, but it was the truth.

“I’ve never been one of those cuddly, touchy-feely guys. There’s never been someone in my life that I wanted to curl up with, to hold their hand or keep my hand on their knee. In fact, I dated someone like that once, and we didn’t get more than two dates before I ended it. Every time we were together, I felt like I had zero personal space.”

“He made you feel claustrophobic,” he supplied.

“Yes!” I threw my hands up in the air. When I brought them back down, the fingers on my right hand brushed his. “But it’s different with you. I want to touch you constantly. There’s never enough.”

Byron gave his head a tiny shake. “Don’t you think it might be because it’s forbidden to touch me during the day? Maybe that’s your entire infatuation with me? It’s got nothing to do with me, per se, but just that you want something you’re not supposed to have.”

“Yes. And no. Yes, I think being around you all day but not allowed to touch makes me want to touch you more, but I’m not sure that’s going to disappear even if I could touch you all the time. You look very huggable.”

Byron’s entire body shook with suppressed laughter. “I do not. Every guy I’ve dated has said I’m all hard angles, like a triangle. There’s nothing huggable about me.”

“I can’t wait to prove them all wrong. Also, I don’t think the forbidden is linked to my infatuation. The day you came to interview at Courtland, I spotted you sitting in Fountain Square, reading over some papers as I was returning from lunch. I thought you were adorable then, and I think you’re adorable now.”

“You can’t help it, can you?” he asked.

“What?”

“Flirting.” The word drifted from his lips, and Byron’s fingers caressed mine. My entire body froze as I soaked in that phantom-light touch as it sent a spark along my arm and across my chest. “Every word out of your mouth is flirty.”

“Do you mind?”

Byron paused for a second, and I hung there like a worm speared on a hook, dangling above a fish as it debated whether to bite.

A heartbeat later, his smile widened, and his fingers threaded with mine. “No, I don’t. It’s been far too long since someone flirted with me.”

Oh yes, he was all mine.

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