Page 17 of Boss Unyielding (Boss 1)

Once he was away with his attention on the bar, a pair of men walked past Farren, one of them giving her a seductive look when she made eye contact. He had definitely been checking her out. She felt herself flush with modesty. She wasn’t used to so much attention as she had gotten since being in Italy. Maybe she should come here more often, she thought, jokingly.

Rogan returned and his hand brushed hers as she took her fresh wine glass from him. There had been several of those small touches since they’d gotten here tonight, and every little touch seemed to electrify her skin at their point of contact.

He was wearing a mischievous smile, she noticed, so she had to ask. “What’s so funny?”

He moved close to her, brushing her hair back from her ear and leaned in. “It seems I can’t take you anywhere without men undressing you with their eyes,” he told her, and his lips just grazed the soft flesh above her lobe. She found herself wanting to open up to him, to tilt her head to the side to give him access for even more contact, but had to stop herself.

She smiled and chuckled, shaking her head in denial. “I think you have it backwards. Have you noticed the women circling around you like vultures, just waiting for the opportunity to get you alone?”

His hand went to the small of her back, and when she didn’t shy away from him, he let it travel just lower to rest above her hip. God, if he knew what that was doing to her. The more he touched her, the more she wanted him to touch her.

“Well, in case they haven’t noticed, I’m not alone,” he said, drawing her eyes to his, weaving her into some kind of magical spell.

She struggled to swallow down her nerves and gave a timid laugh. “No, I don’t suppose you are.” Was that all she could think of to say? She was so flustered, she had to get a grip on herself, and she was giving herself a mental face-palm.

He was the first to look away, and she took the opportunity to take a gulp or two of wine. At the rate they were going, she would need a lot more of the stuff to make it through the night. When she went to set the glass down on the table, it tipped over and streams of red wine went flowing in every direction.

She jumped back trying to avoid staining her clothes and covered her mouth with both hands, embarrassed that she had just made such a mess. She looked up at Rogan who looked as though he were trying to hold back a laugh, but once their eyes met, they both erupted in a fit of laughter. He grabbed a napkin and pulled her close to inspect her body for any signs of the dark liquid he might need to dab off.

“I’m so sorry about that. Apparently, you can add clumsy to my laundry list of quirks,” she said. “I hope I didn’t ruin this outfit. I’m sure you paid quite a bit for these clothes.”

He shook his head with indifference. “I’ve yet to see any of your quirks to be anything but endearing.”

A waitress made her way over with a cloth to clean up the spill, and Farren’s embarrassment for causing the mess was still evident in the flush on her face.

He must have noticed her discomfort. “You want to get out of here?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Sure.”

He handed a bill to the waitress, 100 Euros, and he took Farren’s hand to lead her through the crowd and out of the club. Once outside, they took a cab back to the hotel.

“It’s weird seeing you like this, you know,” she admitted on the way back.

“Like what?”

She gestured to him like there was something tangible about him she could pinpoint to tell him, but the words wouldn’t come as easily. “This… I don’t know. You’re normally so dark and brooding, so serious. Tonight, you’re… different.”

She wondered who else ever got to see this side of him, and wished she could see it more often. She wasn’t so deluded to think the Insensitive Ass-hole was gone for good, but since this new, fun, light-hearted Rogan Rayner was here for the moment, she would enjoy him while she could.

He shrugged. “By dark and brooding, I hope you mean professional. I do have important work I usually have to tend to, but for the moment, everything is done until we return home tomorrow.”

“Then I’m sorry I ended your night out so soon,” she said, lowering her head with the shame she felt for ruining what little down time he had.

He reached to put his fingers beneath her chin and in a tender gesture, lifted her face back up and towards him. “Don’t do that. Don’t be sorry. I’m exactly where I want to be right now,” he said.

Confusion filled her eyes. So many touches and personal gestures from him tonight clouded her judgment. There was no way he could be coming on to her, but damn if it didn’t feel like he was. Maybe it was all in her overactive imagination. His hand was gone as quickly as it had materialized on her skin, just as they pulled up to the hotel entrance.

When he stopped outside her hotel room as she dug for her room key again, she noticed he had been quiet, pensive even, on the way up to their floor.

“Is everything okay?” she asked him. The corners of his lips were turned up just slightly, so she didn’t get the idea he was angry, but she thought she would ask just to be sure.

“Yes, everything is fine, Farren.”

The way her name rolled off his tongue in the deep, husky voice he had sent shivers through her body. He shoved his hands in his pockets, which she thought was unusual for him, too, but pretty much nothing about this night was usual.

“Okay, well, goodnight then,” she said, hesitating before she pushed the door open.

“Goodnight,” he repeated, but continued to lean his shoulder against the wall next to her.

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