“There’s this island party that he mentioned,” Rux said, stirring around the pasta in his bowl. “It's about a week from now. We wouldn’t be able to get a search and rescue team, but maybe it would give us a chance to snoop around a bit.”
Dana was cutting up her slice, then stopped as she considered Rux’s proposal. She was getting into something that she had told herself she wouldn’t. Getting caught by some renowned socialite wouldn’t exactly increase her chances of getting on the Philharmonic Orchestra.
She pursued her lips and wiggled her nose as she continued cutting up her steak. Rux waited, as he did, patiently, a small smile growing on his face. When she looked up, she almost lost her words.
“Rux, um,” she said, stumbling. “I’m not exactly a secret agent here. I’m just a musician and music teacher. I wouldn’t know the first thing about snooping around some rich guy’s place who probably has the latest security devices installed.”
Rux twirled the linguine around his fork and then ate the first bite. He closed his eyes, relishing its rich taste, then returned his look to her. He didn’t look disappointed or even indifferent.
“That’s fine, Dana,” he replied.
They ate their meals, discussing different topics altogether. About the auction, where she had grown up, how expensive seafood is. But Dana couldn’t stop thinking about Jennifer. It was a conundrum, a complication that she truly didn’t need, especially since she was already falling for Rux, the most beautiful complication she had ever run into.
She ate her steak, which was probably the most flavorful meat she had ever eaten, and then downed the mouth-watering asparagus. She ordered another whiskey neat, as did Rux, and they both sat while they waited for the bill.
Dana could feel his eyes on her. They were like headlights in the dead of the night, but not in a way that intimidated her. No one could intimidate her, but Rux certainly made her nervous.
When she met his eyes, he was leaning on his hand. He looked like a cartoon, staring adoringly at his beloved. She didn’t think she had reached that status yet. Those eyes, that face, were encouraging her to jump farther into the deep end than she had ever considered before.
“Fine,” she said with her drink in her hand.
“Fine, what?” he responded.
“You know,” she quipped. “I’ll go with you to the island. Play a spy game. Who knows? Maybe I’m a natural.”
Rux held up his glass, and they clinked together. Her heart was hammering in her chest, not because of how well the date had been going, but because she was thrilled to have met someone who gave a shit about something outside of themselves.
She hoped they could help Jennifer figure out the truth. Dana was digging herself deeper, making her world far more complex, but she had thrown caution out the window.
As they drove back to her place, she felt Rux’s hand sneak over from his side and place it on her thigh. It was bare, so the touch was electric. She had to stifle a gasp because his fingers had never been so close to her core before.
It pulsed for him.
They pulled up to the apartment, and Dana turned to face him, propping up her elbow against the headrest of the seat.
“Hi,” she said in a smoky voice.
Rux was beaming. He removed his hand from her leg, turned, and placed an elbow on the headrest also, imitating her with an endearing grin.
“Hi,” he said, voice as velvety as sand.
Dana had never lacked confidence in her life when it came to romantic conquests. She knew what she wanted and how she wanted it and was always willing to voice it. But there was an anxiety that came with Rux that she felt was meaningful.
She reached out to his hand, which had been resting on her thigh, and returned it to her hot skin. She watched as Rux’s eyes inflated widely, that cartoon wolf with heart eyes coming to life.
“Do you want to come inside?” Dana said, biting her lip. “Come up for a coffee, maybe?”
Dana knew what she was implying, and she knew he was picking it up in spades. She wanted him in the same way she had wanted him on the terrace, except this time, she knew his intentions didn’t trend toward some quick roll in the sack.
Dana was bursting with desire. It was between her legs, moving over her skin in rivets of diamonds. Her heart pumped fast, and she thought she could feel it in every vein of her body.
She needed him to touch her, touch him back, and invite him into her world of unbridled passion that very few had even glimpsed.
She had never been comfortable enough with anyone to be her complete sexual self. Despite her confidence in her body and her sexual energy, no man had taken that on and encouraged it to step forward in its full, dominating glory.
Until Rux.
Dana stepped out of the car slowly with his hand sliding off her thigh, then took it again in hers, guiding him slowly inside to her pleasure oasis.