Page 38 of Captivated By You

“A hundred.”

His bright smile put the sun to shame. “The color of your dress suits you beautifully. It brings out the honey in your eyes and the highlights in your hair.”

A flock of butterflies—were they a flock?—took flight in my belly, and I could have sworn my pussy wept a bit. There was no doubt about it; I’d made an epic mistake by agreeing to this.

Ah, to hell with it. I only had one life. Maybe Asher was right and I could find a way to separate my personal and professional lives. Perhaps I had it within me to leave the past where it belonged and recognize that all men weren’t likehim.

The professional part wasn’t proving to be that big an issue. I hadn’t seen Asher for a month, so he’d told the truth when he’d said our working worlds were poles apart. He was the big boss perched in his ivory tower. I was the lowly trainee, tentatively stepping on the first rung of the career ladder.

And that threw up yet another reason this wouldn’t work. We were too different, from opposite sides of the track. To bail on him now, though, wasn’t fair. We’d have a nice dinner, make polite conversation. I’d drool a bit and hope he didn’t notice, and when he brought me home, I’d politely decline any further invitations… dates. Whatever.

That entire thought pattern happened in about two seconds. My head spun with the pace of it, the oscillation making me dizzy.

“Stop with the compliments.”

He angled his head. “Let me get this straight. You can use words like ‘wow,’ but I can’t give an honestly held opinion about your dress color bringing out the beauty in your eyes.”

“Correct.”

He chuckled. “Women. Such contrary creatures.”

“That’s right. Lump us all in the same bracket.”

Isn’t that what you’re doing to Asher by comparing him to the pond scum you once thought you loved?

Ugh. I hated it when my subconscious made her appearance felt—and spoke with too much common sense for my liking. It was like having Gia inside my head.

“Sounds like you’ve got a lot of experience with women there, Ash. To make such a bald statement, I mean.”

OMG, Kiana. Shut the fuck up.

He held out his elbow for me to slide my hand through, completely unoffended by my snarky remark. “Come on. Our transport awaits.”

“Aha. You didn’t deny it.” I locked my apartment door.

“Nor did I confirm. Maybe you were my first.”

I snorted as we set off toward the elevator. “With that performance?”

Will someone please cut out my tongue?

“I mean, you seemed to know what you were doing.”

And hurry.

A ripple of laughter rumbled through his chest. “I could have read a book.”

“Which one? TheKama Sutra.”

“Ah, Ethel. You are truly one in a million.”

“Showering me with compliments won’t make a difference.”

“A difference to what?”

“Getting into my panties.”

He grinned. “Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”

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