“Say it.” I egg her on, and she laughs, shaking her head. “Say it, Scout.”
“It’s just, it’s super gory… you know, to be a comfort show.” She shakes her head, and I laugh.
“You’re not wrong.”
“Am I ever?” She smirks at me, and I think my heart stops in my chest for a brief second.
I pretend to think about it, not wanting to tear my eyes away from hers. “No.” I finally say. “Not yet.”
“Hm. Don’t hold your breath on that one.” Scout sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, reaching for her wine glass, and the jolt that goes through me reminds me that I need to be fucking careful. Something as simple as her biting her lip has me half-hard under the table, my cock rapidly swelling until I’m starting to think about how I could get rid of my driver long enough to get Scout into the back of my car like we’re fucking teenagers instead of adults with careers and goals.
I’m not naïve when it comes to women, even if I’m not the playboy Antonio is, or the charmer that Romeo is, or the gruff alpha male that Vince is. I’ve had my fair share of women in my bed, and they’ve all enjoyed themselves. Still, something about the idea of going to bed with Scout seems immensely intimidating. She’s said she doesn’t date often, but whoever shehasdated would have to be a hell of a guy, and he probably rocked her world in bed. I know I could do the same, but for the first time in my life, I feel like sex with Scout would be more than just getting off. More than just pleasure. It would be something big, something meaningful, and I can’t drag her into that. Not considering who I am and who she is. The danger I could pose to her and her family.
“Should we go?” I force a smile as we finish the last of the wine, and she waves to the waitress for the check.
“I’ve got this.” I touch her hand accidentally as she rests it on the table, but I don’t pull away, and neither does she.
“I can pay for myself.”
“Scout, please. Let me pay. You’ve worked hard for two weeks straight. We’re ahead of the curve because of it. Just, please.” I take the check from the waitress, and she sits back, watching me pay in cash and leave a substantial tip that I don’t bother to count because I was taught not to. Pops always taught us it’s rude to tip less than half the bill if it was good service.
I stand after dropping the money and wait for Scout to do the same. Her flowery scent drifts in my face as she stands, and we make our way to our cars parked directly beside each other. As we walk, I want to reach for her hand. I’m nearly an inch away from it, but I know I shouldn’t even attempt to. I’ve never had this type of connection with anyone. Our passions, interests, and intellect harmonize perfectly, and I’d rather keep her close than lose her to feelings that change.
That’s it.It hits me like a slap in the face. It’s not just worry that I’d disappoint her or fear that I’d put her in danger. It’s the fear that what we have might not last if we turn it into romance. That somewhere along the way, we’d fuck it up or poison it by accident, and I’d lose this feeling of finally having found someone who seems to understand me at my core. I’d rather keep Scout like this forever than lose her just so I could fuck her. Even if my body is screaming at me to do just that.
“Goodnight.” I let her open her door this time around because it didn’t go over too well last time. She doesn’t get in right away, though, only looks at my hand that I realize is reaching for her waist despite my best efforts to keep my hands to myself. Her eyes are curious, and I’m about to step back, make a joke, and sprint to my car, but she grabs my hand as I retract it and stands on her tippy-toes.
Smoothly, Scout leans up, kissing my cheek quickly. That touch, like every other small one we’ve shared, sends a lust through me that’s disproportionate to the intensity of the gesture. But I can’t help it. Everything between us is electric, and I can’t stop myself. As she starts to turn away, I reach for her, pulling her close as my hands go to her waist and my mouth comes down on hers squarely, without any of the hesitations I had before.
Her mouth is as soft as it looks, and from the way her hands press instantly against my chest and curl into my shirt, she wants this as much as I do. Her lips part and I don’t think, just rush headlong forward into deepening it, my tongue tangling with hers as I pull her against me. I’m holding her small frame as tightly to my body as I can, reveling in the feeling of her as I devour her mouth. When she breaks the kiss, panting, I gaze down into her honey-gold eyes.
“It must be the wine,” Scout whispers, looking up at me. I’m rock hard, and I know she can feel it, but she doesn’t pull away. Maybe she doesn’t want this to end, either.
“Yeah. Must be,” I whisper back, though we’re alone and no one, not even my driver inside the car, would hear us if we spoke normally.
We stand like that for what feels like an eon, Scout in my arms, her lips an inch from mine, but I know I shouldn’t kiss her again. If I do, I don’t know what will happen next. I won’t be able to stop myself from trying to get her into bed, and then….
Then we’ll have to go to work in the morning, in the cold light of day, and everything we have right now might be ruined. All because I couldn’t control myself.
I think she realizes that, too, because she wriggles free of my arms. I don’t want to let her go, but it’s clear what she wants, so I do. Her cheeks are flushed, and I know I’ll be reliving this tonight, hell, for the next week or more, the softness of her lips, the wine and spice taste of her mouth, the trail of chills her fingers left down my skin, her soft flowery scent. Just the thought makes my cock jerk painfully in my jeans, so hard I can barely resist reaching down to touch it if only to adjust myself. I haven’t been this fucking aroused in ages.
“Goodnight, Tito.” She smiles, tucking a dark coiled strand of hair behind her cute ear with a gold hoop at the tip.I want to run my fingers, no, my lips, down the shell of it, but I stop myself. I have to let her go before we fuck it all up.
“Goodnight, Scout.” I turn to my car, slipping inside before my cock takes over and starts making decisions for me. I’ve never been that kind of guy, that’s Antonio’s domain, or at least it was before Stella, but Scout makes me feel slightly out of control.
We won’t talk about it tomorrow,I decide.We’ll act like normal colleagues.But normal colleagues don’t do what I do, which is dial Scout’s number the minute I get back to my suite of rooms at the house.
“Tito?” Her voice sounds genuinely confused, and why wouldn’t it? There’s no sane reason for me to be calling her, other than my desire to hear her voice, except—
“I wanted to be a gentleman and make sure you got home safely.” I let out a breath, realizing that, in fact, I should have offered her a ride home. “Shit, Scout, I’m sorry. You drank a good bit at dinner; I shouldn’t have let you drive.”
“I’ll be fine.” She laughs.
“Shit, Scout.” I feel a lump in my throat that instantaneously forms at the thought of something happening to her. I just met this woman. What is wrong with me?
“I’ll be fine.”
“I think you should stay on the phone with me until you get home.”