His eyes widened as he softly chuckled, and I joined in with a smile.
“I’m guessing you’re most likely not interested in the party?”
“And what gave me away?” I asked, squinting at him.
He leaned close as if he was about to tell a secret and whispered, “You’ve been standing here since you came in. I was told that was a sign of someone not interested in the party fun.”
“Really?” I widened my eyes in mock surprise, and then I leaned closer to him. “Seems you’ve been misinformed, Armand. I came here to have fun.”
“Perhaps we can have a different kind of fun together.”
My body went into electric spasms at his words. The jolt started from my heart, spreading across every inch of my body until it stopped between my legs, informing me of the exact kind of fun my body was interested in having with this hunk.
I was about to say no to him and then hightail it out of there. My head and body wanted completely different things. But then I remembered why I’d come out tonight in the first place. Living a little dangerously wouldn’t be too bad, would it?
I hadn’t been in a serious relationship for five years. I’d made sure I had only done casual relationships that I ended as soon as things got a bit uncomfortable. My work had come to take so much of my time in the past months that it didn’t allow time for dating.
But now, I had a total hunk standing in front of me, asking if I wanted to have fun.
“By fun, I mean stepping out onto the terrace to look at the city lights tonight,” he stretched his hand toward me, his expression totally reassuring.
“Hmm,” I murmured. Honestly, I would’ve loved it even better if we were going to the terrace to do other things than just look, but I still nodded. “Yeah.” I smiled and took his hand. “Let’s go have fun.”
He laughed in a low sexy timbre, dragged me by the bar, and snatched up a bottle of Vodka. I glanced around quickly to find Maia, but she and Milton were no longer on the dance floor.
When we stepped onto the terrace, we stared at the bright lights for a while without talking, just passing the bottle to and fro and gulping the drink.
“I was looking for another person not drawn in the party fuss with whom I could enjoy this amazing view.”
“I’m glad I am the one.” I flashed him a smile that revealed nothing of the turmoil behind my exterior confidence. The sight of the city from this high was genuinely calming. I could stay here for hours, feeling the wind on my face, having it ruffle my hair as the honks of cars and people sounded so far away. Having a bottle of vodka and a handsome man as company also made the experience worthwhile.
Good Lord, he was gorgeous. The dark shadows of the night cast half his chiseled face in silhouette. The air caressed his coal-black hair, making it a tousled mess of perfection.
The lights set off his eyes that bore straight into my soul. He was leaning against the ledge, his body twisted to face me. He’d removed his suit jacket and rolled up the arms of his shirt. The white vest hugged his chest and muscular arms, his looks alerting all the dormant feminine parts of me.
I was hypnotically charmed by this man.
“The view is stunning,” he said, turning away from me to resume staring over the city.
“Yes.” I sighed. My throat suddenly felt so dry. I grabbed the bottle from him and took another gulp of the drink. His eyes were back on me, but they revealed nothing of what he felt. “May I ask something?”
He nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Why are you over here and not enjoying the company of the women I saw you with earlier?”
“Really wanna know, huh?” He teased me. Licking his lips and then parted them into a sexy smile that revealed his perfect white teeth.
“You could be missing out on a lot there, you know?”
“I’d be missing out on staying with the most beautiful woman in this building if I was inside; it was an easy trade, coming out here with you, in my opinion.”
“Flattery is definitely your forte.” I laughed. I knew I was getting a bit tipsy, but I still had enough of my wits around me. “Who the hell are you anyway?”
He sipped what was left of the vodka. “A man who definitely should be far away from here.” He looked around the rooftop. “But I’m bound by duty and the presence of a beautiful woman. For a while, at least.”
I leaned up against the ledge, letting the crisp air continue to clear my thoughts as I tried not to melt at the fact that he’d called me beautiful for the second time in less than five minutes.
“I guess that means you are leaving town after the party?”