Page 80 of My Sweetest Agony
Nonni and Mom would have approved.
I settle onto the long wood bench and release a contented sigh. The light swaying of the branches creates its own melody, soft and sweet, relaxing as the stars start to wink in the patches of visible night sky.
A creaking sound from my left draws my attention to the front of the fenced yard as a gate swings open. Drew steps through it, latching it behind him. He walks toward the sliding back door I used to come out here, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m tucked away in this unlit corner of the garden.
“Did you need a break from that, too?”
He freezes mid-step and turns toward my voice, narrowing his eyes in the darkness. Even from here, I can feel the potency of his gaze. The way it rakes over me with each deliberate step he takes, like he’s memorizing every inch of me.
In his jeans and long-sleeve black dress shirt, unbuttoned at the neck to expose a hint of his tanned skin, the soft light from the pool casting its glow over him, he looks sexy as hell.
Since the first time we met, he’s always been breathtakingly beautiful, but tonight, there’s something different about him. A wildness. An untamed edge that I haven’t seen in him before.
Maybe it’s being in this environment. His home, even though he doesn’t actually live here anymore. Maybe he’s just more comfortable here and can really let go in a way he hasn’t on our previous dates because we’ve always been surrounded by people in restaurants, the movies, the arcade, even mini-golfing.
But tonight, he looks so effortlessly hot as he approaches that it makes me squirm on the bench.
Drew ducks to slip under the willow branches, his focus never leaving me as it roams over my hair that I left loose and flowing down to my shoulders and the black and white polka dot sundress that pushes my breasts up to create the perfect cleavage and falls only mid-thigh, especially when I sit like this. His eyes dip to my exposed legs and to the sparkly sandals on my feet, then come back up. “Is that what you’re doing out here? Escaping?”
I grin at him. “Maybe. You weren’t kidding about your mom’s parties.”
He smirks, and it is so devastatingly sexy and full of promise that my heart picks up speed, beating rapidly against my ribcage with each step closer he comes.
One of his brows rises slowly. “You’re out here all alone?”
I nod. “Yeah. I looked for you but couldn’t find you to tell you I was slipping out for some fresh air.”
He finally stops in front of me, close enough that I can see the searing heat blazing across his blue eyes. His lips part slightly as he examines me, and he draws in a long inhalation, his muscular chest rising against the crisp material of his shirt. “Have I told you how fucking beautiful you look tonight?”
My cheeks warm at the compliment, and I avert my gaze, adjusting the dress around my thighs, suddenly shy under his perusal. “Not like that.”
He snorts an incredulous laugh, then closes the few steps between us and lowers himself onto the bench beside me, spreading his right arm across the back of it. One hand dangling loosely over my shoulder, the fingers of his other one slide under my chin and tip it up until my eyes meet his.
The forcefulness with which he holds my gaze and the desire searing through his, along with his firm grip on me, makes me shudder in anticipation.
“I should have told you that a thousand times because you look incredible. His tongue slowly slips out across his lips. “Good enough to eat.”
Sweet mother of God…
Heat that was in my cheeks now flares between my legs.
Red hot.
Searing.
I press them together against the sudden throb ignited with those simple words that are clearly meant to hold a very sinful meaning.
And that I never expected out of Drew’s mouth.
He has always been such a gentleman, so concerned about ensuring he isn’t overstepping or rushing me into anything during our dates. The attraction has been there, though. This low, incessant buzz of energy that seems to have burst into flames in the last thirty seconds…
My tongue darts out, wetting my lips, and his gaze follows the movement. I try to dip my head to avoid his gaze, to prevent him from seeing what he’s doing to me, but he keeps a steady grip on my chin, refusing to let me look away.
Dark brows draw low over his eyes. “Why does that embarrass you?”
Shit.
“Um…” I bite my lip and shake my head. “I’m not sure.”
