Page 34 of Selling Innocence

“When in Rome,” I muttered.

Twenty minutes later, a nice buzz had taken me over as I ate the food from my plate. We’d ordered a few different things to share, giving me the chance to try an assortment of items, all of them amazing. I’d kept an eye on my blood sugar, since I rarely drank, but my before-dinner insulin seemed to be doing its job.

And the alcohol had smoothed over my nerves. It quieted down that voice in my head that screamed to be careful, the reminded me Vance teased all women, that I was nothing special. The cocktails had put that voice to sleep so Vance’s compliments slid through me, beckoning me, letting me believe them for a while.

“You don’t drink much, do you?”

“Not really,” I admitted.

“Why not?”

The drinks allowed the words to slip from me so easily, as if I couldn’t hold them all myself. “Alcohol makes people out of control, and I don’t like to be out of control. It’s not safe.”

“Not safe? That’s why you shouldn’t drink alone, not unless you’re home. I’ll take you drinking whenever you want, love.”

Love? The word glided from his lips like the best promise, like he whispered it into my ear when we were naked and pressed against each other.

I like that. It was dangerous, sure, but I couldn’t help enjoying the way it sounded.

The thought of drinking again with Vance, of letting my guard down, it tempted me. My head spun, my heart racing, and I couldn’t tell if that was because of Vance or the alcohol at this point.

All I knew for sure was that I needed some air, to cool down my heated cheeks. I got to my feet, stumbling slightly when it seemed I’d thrown off my alcohol-to-heel height ratio.

Yet, I didn’t topple. Instead, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and pinned me to a solid body.

“Easy,” Vance said. “There’s a patio space. Let’s take you out to sober you up a bit, hmm?”

I nodded, letting him take my weight, walking far easier as I leaned against him.

The patio was lovely. Strings of lights looked like fireflies and were strung up above a stone floor. In the corner, a water feature bubbled, the sound relaxing.

A cool breeze stroked across my heated cheeks, and when I went to pull away, Vance tightened his arm around me.

“You’re not steady yet, so just stay here a little longer.” His fingers pressed into my side, his arm wrapped around me, the touch like a safety net that I’d wanted so badly.

It felt like when the Quad used to tuck me in as a child, when I’d thought someone could keep the whole big bad world away, when I’d trusted others to do that.

Vance caught my chin and tipped my face up toward him. It let me stare into his eyes, drawn in by the bright blue. How could a man have eyes that pretty? The blue wasn’t silver like Nem or Jarrod’s. Instead, it was vibrant, standing out due to his blond hair.

He rubbed his thumb along my jawline, a smile tugging at one side of his lips. “Don’t drink with other men.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want anyone else to see this face. Turns out I’m a pretty selfish man, huh?” He laughed softly as if to mock himself and his own foolishness.

Yet it had me set a hand on his chest, the thumping of his heart heavy against my palm. He was an artist, yet his physique showed he worked out. He wore a sweater so soft I fought the urge to rub my cheek against it.

He really was handsome, wasn’t he? It was easy to forget, but right now? Between the lights strung above us and the bubbling fountain and the alcohol, I forgot all the reasons this was a horrible idea.

I wanted to be a normal girl, just for a little while. I wanted to have dinner with a cute boy who liked me, to behave foolishly, to do things for no reason other than I wanted to.

A flash to the left made me frown.

“Showtime,” he whispered, the words making no sense right away.

“What’s that?” I asked, pushing back slightly, a history of watching out for danger screaming in my head.

“We’ve come to a busy, romantic, famous restaurant. A tip to some tabloids let them know. Now Lorien will know who bought you and why.”

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