Page 4 of Captivated By You

We fell into silence, a state of being I’d never been all that comfortable with. I tended to fill silences with inane chatter, usually getting myself into hot water in the process. I stared at my glass. I could feel his eyes on me, and it took all my strength not to face him.

“Have you eaten?”

On cue, my stomach rumbled again. “Not yet, no.”

He tossed a few bills onto the bar, then stood and removed my jacket from the back of my chair, holding it out for me.

“Would you allow me to take you to dinner, and you can tell me about this shitty day of yours?”

I narrowed my eyes and angled my head. “Going to dinner with a man I’ve just met who fake-named me sounds like a one-way trip to the morgue.”

His shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. “I promise I’m not a serial killer.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“Is that right?” His forehead wrinkled. “How many serial killers have you come across?”

I refrained from sticking out my tongue at him. Twenty-four-year-old women couldn’t get away with something so childish. More’s the pity. “That’sprobablywhat they all say.”

He glanced around the bar. “Would you agree to eat with me if we stayed here? Saul could protect you, then. I mean, you’ve known him for forty-five seconds longer than you’ve known me, so it’s a shoo-in that he’s a safe bet.”

It was my turn to laugh this time, and I didn’t hold back. “You make a valid argument, fake Anthony.”

“I’m glad you think so, fake Ethel.”

He walked off with my coat, and I scrambled to follow him. By the time I caught up, he’d spoken to the hostess, and she was leading him to a table.

Well, fuck me. I’m having dinner with a stranger.

I really should add that to my bucket list, if only for the satisfaction of crossing it off.

Chapter2

Asher

Copping an eyeful is not a good idea.

Thirty yearsI’d graced this earth.

I’d seen a lot, done a lot, met many people from all over the globe.

Yet never,everhad I come across a woman as astute as this stranger. This stunning woman who’d captured my attention from the second I’d caught the faint whiff of her perfume as she’d sat beside me. And from the moment she had opened her mouth and spoken, I’d been a goner.

She’d nailed pretty much everything about me, almost as if she’d poked around inside my mind, exposing the man I rarely showed anyone. Such a rare skill, and one I wanted to explore further. She might not have allowed me to dissect her, but as the night wore on, she’d let her guard drop, and then I’d swoop in.

I hung her jacket on the back of a chair I pulled out for her. As I moved to the seat opposite, she smoothed her skirt, then sat down, and, I admit, I peered down her blouse, copping an eyeful of her cleavage. I lifted my gaze just in time.

Or so I’d thought.

The fire swirling through her amber irises told me I’d gotten busted. I gave her an embarrassed grin.

“Sorry.”

She glared at me for two or three seconds, then stood and whipped her jacket off the back of her chair.

I rocketed to my feet. “Where are you going?”

“I’ve had enough of being sexually objectified today, Anthony, or whatever your real name is. I’m sure there are plenty of women’s names in your little black book who are happy for you to ogle them, but I don’t plan on being your latest addition.”

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