Page 5 of Forbidden Desire

“Thank you.” She bites her lip nervously. “This is so not like me. My friends convinced me to buy this dress…”

“It would be a disservice if they hadn’t convinced you.”

She lets out a small laugh through her nose.

“You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you?” she asks, her eyes finding mine.

“I just speak the truth.” I shrug.

“Well, thank you.”

Another eighties ballad blares through the speakers and I can’t help but grimace at the singer’s off-key melody as it trails toward us.

“I’d ask you to dance, but…”

“Please don’t.”

I look at her curiously, wondering if my feelings should be hurt.

“It’s just this band is awful,” she quickly says, putting her hand on my arm to reassure me that it has nothing to do with me. I like the feeling of her hand on me. So much so that I wish this party wasn’t on a rooftop and there was a dark corner we could find ourselves in, so my hands could do their own exploring.

“They really are.” I laugh.

“I feel like my ears might be bleeding. Will you check for me?” She tucks her hair behind her ears and leans in closer for me to inspect. I catch a whiff of her perfume and inhale the sweet scent. It’s vanilla and amber, and it’s intoxicating. I realize she’s flirting with me, and I’m not about to miss this opportunity. I trail my fingers softly through her hair, getting even closer, letting my breath trail across her bare neck. I see her eyes close for a moment.

“No sign of blood,” I say, letting the words bounce off her jawline like little kisses.

Her eyes flutter open and she gives me a nod.

“Good,” she says, but I can tell the moment has knocked her off her axis, just as it has to me.

I hear a throat clear and look up to see the cocktail waitress from earlier, holding a tray of champagne and looking pissed. Her face is pinched as she looks between Erica and me.

“Would you like another glass?” she asks curtly.

“I’m all right,” says Erica.

“No, thank you.” I shake my head dismissively.

She lets out a little “hmmph” as she turns away from us. I guess I just lost out on any chance of taking her home tonight, but I realize I have no desire to. I have the best thing at this party right next to me and I don’t intend on letting her out of my sight. Instead, I have every intention of waking up next to her in my bed in the morning.

Chapter 4

Erica

I’m still trying to gather my wits about me as Marco’s breath lingers against my skin like a warm bath I want to soak in for hours. If we weren’t interrupted by that rude cocktail waitress from earlier, I wonder what might have happened in the corner of this rooftop. The summer air surrounding us is warm, making the tension between us even more palpable on this balmy night.

It is probably best she broke whatever spell I find myself under with this complete stranger because I’m beginning to not recognize myself. I’m not this kind of person. The one who gets swept away by a man. The one who loses all sense of reality, making it difficult to get my otherwise articulate words out. I’m sharp usually. Witty and sarcastic. But tonight, I’m wavering. I don’t know if it’s because of the nerves of the possible promotion that was just ripped away from me or this intoxicating surprise of a man standing next to me. I’m not myself, though I’m trying desperately to find her.

As I look around the party, I realize that most of the guests have left. I wonder how long I’ve actually been holed up in this corner. I see the tension from earlier, when whispers of The Shark being here were trickling around the room, has dissipated. He must have left. Along with my boss, George. I try to fight back my disappointment, knowing that I lost my chance of a promotion that had been so close I could almost taste it.

I guess the silver lining is Marco. My friends did say that this dress would either get me promoted or laid, and right now I’m hoping for the latter, which is so unlike me, but I can’t help it. The man is as charming as he is handsome, and when my hands wandered down his body earlier, I couldn’t help imagining what was underneath his damp suit.

The band is announcing their last song and a panic comes over me, realizing the party is over and it’s time to go home soon. I don’t want this night to end yet. I know I should excuse myself and head home, but my empty apartment sounds so unappealing when I’m standing next to this exotic god of a man whose voice travels down my spine like an electric current.

I clear my throat, as if I need to garner the attention he’s intently focused on me for the past hour. He looks at me almost expectantly, and I wonder if behind his warm brown eyes he’s thinking the same thing I am. Actually, I know he is. He made it clear when those same eyes traveled up my body like they were drinking it in, and I let him, completely turned on by the lustful look on his face.

“Looks like they’re wrapping things up,” I say, looking from the party to him.

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