Victor’s jaw works. “Damn it, Myers.”
“This dress is pretty short, too.”
Flaming blue eyes bear into mine. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Am I? Or are you?”
He smiles, a barely there curl of his lips that sends heat through me. The first half of dinner is uneventful, except that Victor’s arm is draped behind my chair. Every time his hand brushes my shoulder, left bare from the strapless dress, my attention zeroes in on the small point of contact.
I wouldn’t have believed we’d be here six months ago. That I’d be sitting next to him at a fancy restaurant, and feeling less like a trophy wife, and more like a businesswoman.
Like someone who goes after what she wants. Someone who doesn’t care what her past, judgmental self would have thought about this arrangement.
“It’s a pleasure to have you here,” Carter says. He’s shot me speculative looks all evening, and more than once, I’ve seen him note Victor’s hand by my shoulder. “Married life seems to be treating you well.”
Mr. Simmons, owner of a national media conglomerate, looks up from his steak. “I heard something about that. Congratulations, you two. Where did you go on your honeymoon?”
“Oh, we haven’t, yet.” I put a hand on Victor’s chest, looking up at him. “Neither one of us has had a chance to get away from work. But we will.”
“We’re thinking Barbados,” Victor says. His gaze flicks down to my hand and the two rings glinting in the light. Am I overdoing it? But then his lip curls. “Have you been, Simmons?”
Small talk. He’s engaging in it, and the edge I’d noted in his voice earlier is gone now. We’re halfway through a discussion of the merits of the Caribbean when something on my leg makes me pause, fork halfway to mouth.
Victor’s hand beneath the table.
He slides my hem up, inch by inch, until his long fingers curl around my bare knee. “I heard you’ve branched into Spanish media as well,” he says to the men across from us.
My brain tries to focus on Simmon’s reply, but it’s more occupied with his fingers tracing patterns on the inside of my thigh. Thank God for fancy restaurants and long, linen tablecloths.
Victor keeps his hand there, leaning back against his chair with smooth professionalism on his face, as the rest of us finish up our food. And little by little his thumb inches upwards.
Abort mission, I think. Because he still looks like the cool, calm sculpture of control, while I’m the one burning with need. Memories of his fingers between my legs yesterday combine with the public aspect of today, and if he reaches the spot between my legs, he’ll feel just how much I want him.
I cover my mouth with a napkin and lean his way. “Victor…”
His thumb double-taps against my inner thigh. An acknowledgement, before it continues to smooth upwards.
“What about you?” Simmons asks me. “What did you do before you married St. Clair over here?”
The fingers pause, as if he wants to give me a chance to respond without distraction. I’m glad for it, launching into an explanation of my virtual assistant start-up. Simmons nods throughout.
At his side, Carter looks impressed. “This sounds brilliant,” he says. “You’d essentially be selling the solving of tasks and letting clients pay through a subscription. Victor, are you considering investing?”
“Potentially,” he responds, voice giving nothing away. “If she’d allow me, of course. It’s not something we’ve discussed yet.”
“It’s early days still,” I say.
Carter nods. “Of course, of course. But if he doesn’t want a piece of it, I might.” He gives a crooked, wolfish grin to Victor. “Don’t scowl. I’m always on the lookout for good companies to shepherd, new entrepreneurs to mentor.”
“I’m mentoring her,” Victor says.
I clear my throat. “Thank you, Carter. At the moment I’m not considering outside investment, but if I reach that stage, I’ll definitely bear it in mind.”
Victor’s hand tightens around my thigh at my words, and I close my legs in response.
A few seconds later I feel it. The soft, apologizing circle of his thumb. I open them again and his hand slides higher, only an inch away from where I need his fingers. One brush over my sensitive skin and I’d—
“Well, I have to get going,” Simmons says. “This has been lovely, gentlemen. Acture Capital has a lot to recommend it.”