Page 9 of Age of Shade

That’sthe woman he arranged to be my date for the evening?Her?

I don’t have time to panic. The tall blonde whom Liam waved to is winding her way through the tables, looking very much at home amidst the well-dressed diners while her dark-haired friend follows, a deer in headlights by comparison. I see a few men turning their heads to watch the two women pass and, possessed by an illogical, territorial instinct, I stand too.

“Ruby.” Liam kisses the blonde’s cheek as she stops at his side, her hand curling familiarly over his arm. “Glad you could make it.” Ruby preens as he leans back, looking her up and down in unabashed approval.

“This is my friend, Adina.” She gestures to the brunette, and my pulse throbs as she shyly lifts her eyes to meet mine.

Adina.

I’ve never met anyone named that, but it suits her. Mysterious, feminine, and lovely beyond measure.

Liam gestures to me. “Wonderful to meet you at last, Adina. Ruby’s told me lots of wonderful things. This is a friend of mine from my undergraduate days, Asher Roth. I promised to show him all the wonders of The Big Apple while he’s in town.” Turning on the pretense of pouring the girls each a glass of winefrom the bottle on the table, he winks at me, and I’m too hazy with shock to understand what he’s doing until it’s too late.

Liam is giving me the way out he thinks I want, ensuring a no-pressure, no-strings-attached evening for me with Adina.

So quickly I’m not sure if I imagined it, her eyes drop down my body and back up to meet mine. She looks… shocked.

I swallow thickly as I take one of the glasses Liam filled and step around the table to pass it to Adina. Our fingers barely brush, but the contact is enough to send electricity surging up my arm to spread through my chest, putting every nerve in my body on alert. I’m staring, but I can’t help it.Fuck, she’s so beautiful. I’ve never had this kind of reaction to a woman in my life. I should correct Liam, it’s not too late—

“It’s nice to meet you,” Adina offers, so softly it’s difficult to hear her words over the neighboring tables, and her lips lift into a shy smile.

“And you.” I gesture to the club chair behind her and she sits immediately, crossing her ankles beneath it gracefully.

Across from us, Ruby giggles, smacking Liam’s chest playfully as he whispers something in her ear I’m positive I don’t want to hear. Extracting herself from his hold, Ruby settles herself down beside her friend and regards me with a flirty, playful smirk. “So, what do youdo, Ash? Liam’s told me absolutely nothing about you.“ She takes her own glass from the table, casting yet another heated look toward my friend.

Tall, blonde, and thin, I can understand why Liam is attracted to her, but Ruby’s beauty doesn’t hit me like a goddamn truck the way Adina’s does.

Hazily, I attempt to think of a single childhood crush, former girlfriend, or international celebrity I would rather be sitting with right now. I come up blank.

Christ.

“Asher is in business. He owns averysuccessful chain of healthcare facilities,” Liam tells her, his confidence in the lie not faltering for a second, and my stomach churns. I don’t know how men do this—boast about themselves or make up lies to impress women. I’m not even the one saying this shit and it’s unbearable. Adina isn’t impressed either. On the contrary, she seems to shrink in on herself at his words, shying away from my gaze as if I might find her wanting.

Ha. The poor thing has a better chance of me throwing her over my shoulder, taking her upstairs to my room, and eating her pussy against the massive glass windows until she’s too swollen and sensitive to take anymore.

I’ve never considered myself much of an exhibitionist, but I know if this angel allowed me between those thighs, I’d want the whole city to know it.

Ruby leans forward, and her bright-red lips curl into a practiced smile. “Veryimpressive, Mr. Roth. I had no idea Liam has such impressive friends.”

“I—” My words falter and I clear my throat, taken aback by the possessive instincts coming to life inside me. This is the moment where I would halfheartedly make a joke about how Liam is attempting to make me sound more important than I really am and tell her the truth… That I’m an aggressively middle-class dentist. But,fuck, if even my closest friend thinks that my real life isn’t noteworthy, neither will Adina.

I’m so far out of my league it’s fairly ridiculous. Not only is she the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen, and half my age, but apparently her financial situation leads her to date rich men for money. Regardless of my wild attraction to her, this isn’t going togoanywhere.

My moment of paralysis is long enough for Ruby and Liam to lose interest in us, his hand finding her thigh as he leans over to murmur something undoubtedly filthy in her ear. I wince,turning my gaze desperately back to Adina, and I start with surprise when I find her looking at me.

This close, I can see her eyes are green and flecked with gold, so vibrant they stand out even in the dim light of The Witt’s lounge. She’s nibbling nervously on her bottom lip, and her cheeks go pink when I catch her looking, but she doesn’t turn away.

Something seems to loosen inside me.

“I’m sorry. About…” I tilt my head subtly toward our two unbearable friends, grimacing.

“We’ll hopefully survive the secondhand embarrassment,” Adina replies with a wry little smile, lifting her glass to her lips.

I chuckle, finding that I’m relaxed enough to manage a sip of my own drink. The restaurant is lit by clusters of antique lanterns hung over every table. They cast warm beams of light throughout the room, bright enough to see what you’re doing, but low enough to create an intimate, seductive atmosphere.

A minute ticks by, then two. Adina and I sneak looks at each other while Liam and Ruby become lost in their own world. I may not have been on a date in years, but I better figure it out fast. All thoughts of leaving evaporated the moment she walked into the room, and now I find myself desperately wondering how I can make the night last longer.

Talking to her would be a good start.

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