Page 30 of His to Teach
“Hello,” he says, voice a silky murmur. “I thought that was you.”
I search his face, not recognizing him. “I’m sorry. Have we met?”
His smile grows. “Unfortunately, no. But I noticed you the last time you were here.” His grin becomes rueful. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough before your attention was otherwise occupied.”
By Nate. My heart gives a painful lurch at the thought but I push it away, determined not to spend the entire night pining after him. He made himself perfectly clear—what we shared that night isn’t going to be happening again.
“My name is Aden,” the man says, holding out his hand. I shake it, trying to ignore the way that Emma is gawking at us. Instead of returning my hand shake, Aden brings my fingers to his mouth, brushing his lips across my knuckles. “And you are?”
“Harper,” I say, feeling overwhelmed by his closeness, by the determined, self-assured way he handles himself. Much like I had with Nate, I get the feeling that this man knows exactly what he’s seeing when he looks at me. I shiver and his grin grows.
“I was so disappointed to miss out on the chance of meeting you last time,” he murmurs, still not releasing my hand. “I’m very pleased to remedy that now.”
My throat feels dry and I swallow several times, not knowing how to respond to that. But his grin only grows, as if he’s pleased by my silence. He nods to the bar. “Let me buy you a drink.”
It isn’t a question.
I finally manage to find my voice. “I have one, thank you.”
He nods, eyes still fixed on mine. “Then let me keep you company while you enjoy it.”
“I have company, thank you,” I say, tilting my head towards Emma. His eyes flick over to her before coming back to me.
“Surely she won’t mind.”
I swallow, trying not to let my surprise show on my face. It’s incredibly rare, unheard of, even, for a man to pay me any attention when Emma is right there. She’s always been more popular with the opposite sex, what with her bombshell figure and her outgoing, flirty personality. In comparison, I’ve always come across as the sedate friend. The boring one.
But maybe he’s not the type of man to like outgoing, I realize, the thought bringing a flush of heat to my cheeks.You’re a natural submissive,Nate had told me.I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you.
Is that what this man sees when he looks at me?
“I’m actually going to run to the ladies’ room,” Emma says, standing quickly. She gives me an intense look and I can read the encouragement in her eyes. Then she turns to Aden, smiling. “Why don’t you take my seat?”
I want to grab her hand, to tell her not to leave me here, but she’s already flashing me a congratulatory smile and slipping away into the crowd. And Aden is already sliding onto her stool.
“So,” he says, leaning close to me as I suppress a shiver. Nate had leaned in, just like that. And the effect had been similar, making me feel overwhelmed and ever so slightly dizzy. At least now I’m sitting and don’t have to worry about weak knees. “Youdecided to visit our little club again. I take it you must have seen something you liked last time?”
I smile, feeling shy. “It was a very interesting experience.”
His eyes flash. “Indeed.” He reaches up to brush a lock of my hair over my shoulder, his fingers lingering on my skin. “The only question is, were you more interested in what you saw or who you were with?”
I swallow. “Who I was with?”
“Nathan Chase,” he clarifies. “From the way you stuck by his side all night, I assumed I would see you here again with him.”
So this guy had watched me closely enough to not only recognize me but to make note of the fact that I had spent most of the first evening with Nate.
All of the memories and emotions of that night seem to rush back to me in that moment. The excitement I felt, the fear. The relief I’d experienced when I started to feel like my desires might not be so strange after all. And the crushing regret I had felt the next morning when Nate told me not to come back here.
“He decided not to ask me back,” I whisper, the pain of that pulsing deep in my chest.
Again, Aden’s fingers dance across the skin of my shoulder and his voice is deep when he responds. “Then he’s a fool.”
I give him a weak smile and his touch on my shoulder becomes slightly firmer.
“I take it this is all still new to you?”
I manage a laugh. “Am I that obvious?”
