His honesty continued to knock meoff-balance. I scooted closer to the table, and my foot hit his. “You seem to be doing just fine. I’m here,aren’t I?”
Theair ofguilt remained, but a small smile crept upon his face. “You are, but I had to resort to sexual extortion.” He downed the rest of his wine and poured another glass.“When you left the stage, I don’t know what came over me. I was in that dressing room before I knew what I was doing.” He blew out a breath and looked up at the ceiling, wiping a hand down his face. “Then your friend walked in on me—Oh, god.”
That did it. I fell into a fit of laughter.
“What?”Luca’s eyebrows pulled together, and he set down his wine glass.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I tried to calm down. “You’re not what I expected. You’re so terribly sweet. Innocent.”
“I’m sorry if I don’t go around fucking women in public. I’ll try to do better.”
I onlylaughed harder.
Standing to his impressive height,hecame around the table and pulled me from my chair. My body shook with laughter, even as his hands smoothed down my back. Gripping my ass, he pressed me to him, trapping my hands on his chest.
“I love your laugh, Sasha, even if it’s at my expense.”My laughter died down, but my smile remained just as big as his.
I wrestled my arms free and threw them around his neck. “You say that now.”
“I know a few things that won’t make you laugh.”He leaned down, putting his face an inch from mine.
Going to my tippy toes, I tried to close the distance, but he pulled back,smiling. “Let me get you dessert.”
His hands left my body, and I sagged with disappointment. “I thought that’s what you were doing.”
Walking back to the kitchen, hetsked. “Ms. Mitchell, you’re going to have to work a little harder than that to get in these pants again.”
Plopping down into my chair, I huffed. “Challenge accepted.”
THREE
Luca and I laid on the couch,pretending to watch whatever movie he put on, our hands skimming each other’s bodies. Tracing his jaw with my fingertips, I kissed his chin. “It’s our third date.”
Placing another soft kiss on his scratchy cheek, I felt a smile spread across his face. “It is.”
“If you count the burlesque show, we’ve seen each other every Friday for four weeks.”
His hands skateddown my back, coming to rest on my ass with a light squeeze. “Correct.”
“So that begs the question, are you putting out tonight?”
A laugh burst from Luca’s mouth, vibrating through my chest and startling Ryan off his cat tree. Growling and flipping his tail with annoyance, he strutted from the room.
I had to agree with Ryan. This was no laughing matter.
Leaning up on my elbow, I glared down at his grinning face. “What’s so funny?”
His silk sock brushed against my foot as he hooked his leg around mine. Rolling me, he pinned me against the back of the couch.With his body pressed against mine,the beginnings of what I was after nudged my hip.
Lucacaressed my cheek, and I leaned into his warm hand. The smile on his face slowly faded as he gazed at me. “Sasha, I want nothing more than to give you whatever you want.”
I turned my face, smiling as I pressed a kiss to his palm. “Great. Take off your pants.”
He chuckled,shaking his head. “No.”
“What do you mean, no?”I complained, my smile falling.
Luca placed a sweet kiss on my nose and pulled back so our chests were no longer pressed together. Like the desperate bitch he made me, I dug fingers into his shoulders,trying to close the distance he created.