Page 15 of Seductive Desires

“I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not, Carlos.”

“I didn’t say that! I just think you should have something more classy, like a clutch or something pretty. Your mom’s bag is… fine, but not date night appropriate.” When I tried to smack him, he put his hands up defensively. “But do what you want! What do I know? I’m just an artist with an actual boyfriend who has gotten laid more than once in the last decade.”

“Oh shut up.” Yes, it had been a while before Mateo but not a decade. I struggled with intimacy sometimes. Carlos knew why, though he was kind enough not to bring it up. I blew my hair out of my face.

“Maybe this isn’t a good idea…”

“Nope! I’m not letting you chicken out. He should be here any minute. Get moving, we still need to pick shoes.” He rolled off the bed, shoving me out the door. Carlos handed me a small black clutch and I slipped on a pair of wedges right as Mateo knocked on the door. Carlos threw it open, beaming at him.

“Hello! She’s ready, have fun!” He shoved me again, straight into Mateo’s arms before ducking past me and running down the hall. Jerk.

Mateo helped me right myself, his hands warm on my shoulders.

“Sorry about that, he’s a little…overexcited.”

“I will never complain when you end up in my arms, mariposa.”

I flushed. Something about him calling me that made my stomach do cartwheels. He still hadn’t let go, his hands slipping down my arms to hold my hands instead. It was technically against the rules of the game but I couldn’t blame him since Carlos practically threw me into his arms. I bit my lip as I looked up at him. He was dressed more casually tonight than when I saw him at the hotel but that didn’t seem to change the fact that he was gorgeous. He had a dark turtleneck and a long jacket with gray slacks. He looked like he just walked off the runway or something.

I spun myself around, pulling the door closed behind me. While I was locking it, he hovered behind me, not quite touching me but as close as he could get. He was already testing the rules and I had to hide my grin.

“So where are we going?”

“The concierge mentioned a few restaurants downtown, I was going to see which sounded best to you.”

Concierge? It hit me suddenly. He wasn’t from around here and probably didn’t know about all the good restaurants that weren’t super fancy.

“Is it your first time in Chicago?”

He nodded, following me down the hall and out of the building where the sports car from before waited.

“Have you ever had Chicago style pizza?”

ChapterEight

The restaurantwe ended up picking was near the water, across from the museum. It had been an unusually warm spring day and the patio was open, giving us a great view of the park. It was pretty crowded during the dinner rush so I was surprised when a table opened up almost immediately for us. We sat in the corner, furthest from the door and watched people milling about below us.

I love the atmosphere here. I was really worried he would only want to go to really fancy restaurants where I would feel awkward the entire time. Here everything was simple and down to earth and I felt relaxed. Poor Mateo looked like he was freezing though, so I had to ask one of the waiters to move the outdoor heater closer.

I was busy trying not to laugh at him when he leaned close to me.

“Keep teasing me, mariposa. Remember, what goes around comes around.”

I snickered, shaking my head. “Oh come on, it’s cute! Pobrecito.”

He narrowed his eyes and sat back, crossing his arms. He was pouting now which only seemed to make me laugh harder. Teasing him brought him down to my level a bit, made me less intimidated so I didn’t feel too guilty. Besides, he probably needed someone to deflate his ego every now and then.

The wind tossed my hair around and I pushed it out of my face. I saw Mateo reach for it out of the corner of my eye but paused, realizing last minute that it was against the rules.

“This…will be a lot more difficult than I thought.”

I flashed him a smug grin. “So what do I get when I win?”

“Whatever you want, mariposa. There is nothing I would deny you.” Ugh. That was cheesy. It must have shown in my face because he chuckled.

“Does that bother you?”

I turned to face the view, leaning my elbows on the table. “I don’t need anything.”

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