Iris
Ifelt like I was in high school.Or at least what I imagined high school was like for normal girls whose dads actually allowed them to have some independence.
Ronan was picking me up for a date. He’d insisted on calling it that and not just dinner. Most likely it was because he thought calling it a date would drive me insane and he’d get to rescue me from my anxiety spiral.
Little did he know, I was all butterflies, no moths. I kept pulling back my curtains, checking if his car was out front, then heading back to the mirror to examine myself.
I wore a dress for him. A silky, eggplant-colored slip dress that skimmed my curves. My hair was pinned behind my ears and fell in a curtain down my back. My eyes were smoky while my lips only had a little shine from Vaseline. I was anticipating being kissed and kissed a lot, so lipstick was a waste.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Ronan let himself into my apartment and suddenly appeared behind me in the reflection, but I jumped out of my skin when his strong arms wrapped around my middle. He laughed and nuzzled my neck.
“I’m sorry, pet. I did say your name. I thought you heard me.”
“I didn’t. You just shaved at least five years off my life.” I spun in his arms, and he immediately cupped my ass.
His eyebrow shot up. “No panties?”
I shook my head. “I can’t with this dress.”
His finger traced the valley of my ass and caressed each cheek in a slow, circular motion. “Wish I didn’t know that. I’m going to be hard through dinner.”
I dragged my nails along the sharp planes of his cheeks. “You didn’t have to feel me up, you know.”
“Yes, I did.” He took a step back, holding my hips at arm’s length. “You are absolutely exquisite. This is all for me?”
I held up two fingers, an inch apart. “A little for me. But mostly for you. I thought this was how women dressed on dates.”
“I’ve never seen a woman like you,meala.”
Sucking in a ragged breath past the lump swelling in my chest, I looked him over. He was more casual than when he was working, but still sharp as hell in a pair of gray, tailored trousers and a crisp, white button down open at his throat. I pressed my lips to the warm V of exposed skin there, and he hummed, pulling me flush to his body.
“You are exquisite too, Ronan. They’re going to be dropping like flies when they see you, but they can’t have you.” I pinched his chin to tilt his face down, making sure he heard me. “You’re mine, and aren’t I lucky?”
He was hard against my belly and had lengthened as I spoke. “Possessive little kitten,” he growled.
“I think I am.” It was an entirely new feeling, but not unpleasant or unwelcome. To be honest, it was a revelation to want Ronan like this, after years of lukewarm feelings for the people I became involved with. “But I’m also not worried.”
“Good, because you have nothing to worry about. There can’t be anyone else, not when you’re occupying every corner of my mind, whether you’re in front of me or not.”
I kissed him again, this time longer, being careful not to get carried away, which wasn’t easy. I wanted this date, and I wasn’t missing it for sweaty sex. That would come later, and so would I.
Bill drove us to the restaurant, and if he had an opinion on Ronan sharing the back seat with me this time, he didn’t give it. He just talked about baseball like it was any other day while Ronan inched my hem up until I had to slap his hand away.
The restaurant we went to was much more low-key thanLa Nostalgie. A quaint little sushi bar that could have been lifted straight from Tokyo. There were no frills, but the sushi was damn good.
We were tucked in a small, private booth toward the back of the restaurant. No one paid us any attention as we walked in, though Ronan stayed right behind me, my hip firmly in his possession until he had to let go to sit down.
In the center of our cozy table was a boat of sushi and rolls. My eyes had been big while ordering, but I was certain what I couldn’t finish, my giant of a man would.
Ronan picked up a piece with his chopsticks and immediately dropped it back onto his plate. I sputtered a laugh but tried to cover it with my hand. His eyes flared.
“Am I a clown to you?” He tried to look insulted, but he was playing with my hand on the table, so I didn’t believe him.
“Never.” I bit my bottom lip. “Let me show you how to do it.”
I picked up my chopsticks and met his eyes with determination. Then I tossed them on the table, selected a piece of tuna sushi, dipped it in soy sauce, and stuffed the entire thing in my mouth. Ronan laughed softly, watching me chew with sparks in his eyes.
“Oh, is that how you do it?” he asked.