Page 4 of You Are Enough

He tore his thoughts from across the room and turned his attention back on his date. He shoved the last bite of cake in his mouth. “This is delicious. Do you think there’ll be any left?”

Using the cake knife, Desiree slid another piece onto his plate. “Shouldn’t be much. It doesn’t matter. You won’t be needing cake.”

He raised his brows.

Desiree laughed and bumped him playfully. “Anyway, Leila’s doing a great job of making sure everyone eats. Usually there’s so much cake left because no one takes it.”

“Leila?” Adler asked as he scooped up a bit of icing from the cake onto his finger and offered it to Desiree, who licked it from his skin. That small movement sent blood straight to his cock and put it at attention.

He placed the finger she’d licked into his own mouth and winked.

“You’re too much.” She shook her head. “Leila, the girl I’ve introduced you to at the bakery. The one you were just ogling as she delivered cake across the room.”

What? Adler turned all his attention to Desiree. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t ogling anyone. I don’t ogle. If I want to watch, I watch. I stare. I’ve even been known, as presented before, to study. But ogle?” He shook his head, wrapping her in his arms. “Now you, I stare at and watch. I study. I’ve been studying you all night as you’ve been working. Okay, I might have ogled you a little, trying to picture you skinny dipping in my pool later. I like what I see. I like what I’m imagining, and now I’m wondering if there is anything creative we can do with this extra icing. It’s good. I like it.”

“I’m glad. It’s my secret recipe.”

“Hmm, I like secrets. And since it’s that amazing, it really would be a shame to waste it.”

“I think we can figure out something to do with it.”

Damn. This was one of the many things that made Desiree so intriguing to him. She had a dirty mind that rivaled his own and was up for anything.

“Save it, then.” He winked. “Now, do you think you can pull yourself away to dance with me? We haven’t danced all night.”

“I know. I’m almost done here.” Just then, Leila came back with an empty tray. “Here Leila, I’ll take that from you. I need to clean up, anyway. Could you do me a huge favor and occupy my date? He needs to dance.”

Leila looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide.

He searched her face as she talked with Desiree. She looked endearing and sweet. Innocent even. He usually liked them tattooed, loud-mouthed, and wild—like Desiree. But endearing and sweet, something about those qualities suddenly grabbed his attention.

Change may not be a bad thing.

“Come on.” He offered Leila his arm. “Let’s dance and let Des finish cleaning up.”

“You want to dance with me?” Leila’s gaze traveled down his body, then back up without a bit of interest.

Okay, this might be a challenge. Her face sure didn’t light up like a woman’s usually did when admiring his body. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Adler placed her hand on the crook of his arm.

Again, Leila eyed him, then shrugged. Adler led her to the dance floor.

A new slow song started when they got onto the floor. Adler held her at a safe distance to help her feel more comfortable. “So, Leila, I know we’ve sort of met before, but never officially. Nice to meet you.”

Leila smiled. “You too. I’ve always thought Adler was a unique name.”

“It is. My parents are unique people. They knew what kind of son they were going to have and named me accordingly.”

“What kind of son is that?” Her voice was short and static.

Her body stiffened under his touch.

He backed up and scrutinized her features. Her hair blew slightly in the night breeze as they danced in and out of the crowd. He had an overwhelming desire to touch it and see if it was really as soft as it looked. Her eyes, an enticing hazel, glimmered under the lights and held him in their grip. His pulse picked up its tempo, and his suit jacket became constricting. Suddenly it was as if it was only the two of them on the dance floor. He tightened his hand around her waist and her back straightened under his grip. Time to lay on the Adler charm and get her to relax.

“Well,” he cleared his voice and regained his composure, “Adler means eagle, and it just so happens, I’m laser focused and can see what I want from miles away. When I go for what I want, like the eagle, I hardly miss.” He shot her what he considered his “melt their panties off” smile. It usually had girls falling at his feet, but all he got from Leila was more space between them and a raised brow. His mouth became dry. A drink would be great right now.

“Here’s what I know about you,” she started. “I know you’re from a rich family. You enjoy women—lots of women—and you think very highly of yourself.”

A smile ticked at the edge of his mouth. Maybe she was a little interested. “You’ve been asking questions about me?”

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