Page 3 of Desire Me
She stared at him for a long moment before nodding. His sigh of relief escaped silently as his ass hit the cushion.
“I have to admit”—he grinned, more at his own arrogance than her—“I was totally riding to the rescue over here.”
A husky laugh left her lips. “Totally?”
“Yeah.” His chuckle mingled with hers. “Not that you needed it, or me. Or anyone, for that matter. Like I said, nice work.”
Her eyebrow rose, and she gave him adamn rightlook. “Thanks.” One shoulder lifted nonchalantly. “I’m used to dealing with jerks.”
“If I promise not to be one, would you promise not to introduce me to that elbow?”
Her eyes lightened to caramel when she was amused, he noticed. “How about I consider it? You’ll have to earn my trust first, though.”
The flirty tone in her words kicked his heartbeat up a notch. “I’ll earn whatever you let me earn,” he promised.
She smirked, the slight curl of her lips pulling his attention to their glossy surface. His mouth watered. “Sounds like a deal,” she said.
She glanced across the room toward his original seat, confirming his suspicion that she’d spotted him before. The space he and his team had occupied was now empty, but the confrontation had drawn the notice of several parties around the bar top. Catching the interested eyes, she dropped her gaze to the drink in front of her as if the attention bothered her.
“Forgive our nosy Southern tendencies,” Saint said. “Some of us have no idea how to hide it.”
Her snort was downright cute. “That’s obvious.” She gave him a small smile. “But some of you don’t need to.”
The sudden intensity in her eyes seemed to search his depths, though what she was searching for, he didn’t know.
He glanced around, seeing far too many people focused on them for his comfort. His gaze dropped to the drink she slowly twisted around on the counter—the bottom half still brown, maybe tea, but the top half clear, watered down. “How about you let me replace that”—he nodded toward her drink—“and find you a booth to enjoy it with more privacy? Someplace with less of an audience.”
No pressure, just an offer. Would she take it?
Tension returned to her shoulders, and he leaned back slightly, giving her space.
Dark eyes studied him for a long, long time, so long he figured her answer would be no. But then she said, “My name’s Rae.” Pushing her glass away, she held out her hand. “What’s yours?”
“Saint. Saint Solorio.” Her hand slid into his like it had been created to fit him. He gripped it firmly, warming her skin with his, savoring the feel of her against him. Wanting to feel far more. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rae.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her dark, determined eyes. “Saint,” she murmured as if testing his name out on her lips. “I wouldn’t mind someplace more private, if that’s all right.” Sliding from the barstool, she gathered her jacket from the back and slipped into it. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Two
They left through the front door, Rae’s hand in his. The feel of her, skin against skin, was an electric shock to Saint’s system, shooting heat and hunger from his fingers to his core with an intensity that threatened to make him stumble. Never had a single touch from a woman affected him so strongly, but he boxed that knowledge away for now, something to pull out later and examine, preferably after he figured out where to take her. His very male instinct was to drive straight to the nearest bed, but something held him back. Something in the way Rae had stared into him, as if wondering whether or not he was genuine, whether or not she could trust him. Any single woman leaving the safety of a public setting would wonder the same, but that hadn’t been all that lurked in those dark brown eyes—he just couldn’t put his finger on the rest.
Whatever it was that he sensed, he knew Rae didn’t feel like a quickie kind of woman, any more than he was a quickie kind of guy. He liked to take his time, and he especially wanted to take his time with her. Every second she would give him.
“Is your car here?” he asked as he held the heavy front door of the bar open for her to exit.
Rae threw a smile over her shoulder as she walked into the cold. “Uber.”
A tension he hadn’t known he carried relaxed inside him. He wanted Rae with him, not driving a separate car to wherever they would end up.
And they would end up somewhere, he had no doubt, hopefully for a very long while.
He was driving the team’s black Escalade, parked around the left side of the building, nose out in case they got an emergency call from the office. He led Rae there by their firmly linked hands, keeping her close, savoring the warmth of her body against the chill December air even as he hurried her toward protection from the cold. The lights on the truck flashed as he pressed the unlock button on his keys, a welcome in the late-night darkness. “Here we go.”
Rae didn’t balk at climbing into the truck. She let him hold her door, a small smile playing over her lips as if his attention pleased her, and settled into the cushioned seat as he closed her door. Every sense was centered on her as he rounded the hood and hurried toward the driver’s seat.
“So,” he said, reaching to insert the key into the ignition, “where would you like—”
That warm hand he’d held on the trip to the car settled over his at the ignition. “Not yet.”
