My teeth sink into my lower lip, thoughts of wrapping it tightly around my wrist and the sounds she’d make as I did it, looping through my mind.
A knowing smirk whispers along her plump lips, painted a soft, mauve color this time.
My eyes drop to the dress.
My god, the fucking dress.
Blood red and mermaid-shaped, the top wrapped around her throat, creating an ache in my fingers, dying to take the material’s place now that I know she likes it.
Craves it.
She lifts a brow as the sight of me slowly begins to disappear.
“Oh shit.” I thrust a hand out, stopping the elevator doors from closing me back inside.
Her husky chuckle reaches me, her almond-shaped cat eyes blinking slowly and coated in a thick, naughty, layer of black liner tonight.
She allows herself to look me over, zero hesitation as she loops her arm through the one I offer her. “All black. Interesting.”
We reach the entrance to Red Pepper Steak House, and I lean closer, whispering into her ear, “What’s interesting is you chose to wear your hair up, knowing good and well my marks are showing on your skin.” My knuckles glide along the base of her neck and down her spine, caressing the places I kissed last night.
She lifts her chin, so I lower my ear to her lips. “As a good woman would if trying to please her man, yes?”
My chest rumbles, and she pulls back, eyes dancing with humor, but she quickly faces forward.
“Manuel.” She beams, and I want to yank back the hand she offers him. “The place looks gorgeous.”
The man bows his head with a smile. “Thank you for trusting my team to set up for tonight’s event, Ms. Aarons. I think you and your fiancé will find your place near the fire to be the perfect place to spend Christmas Eve.”
She stiffens, but keeps her smile intact, though grateful, I’m sure, for the moment the gentleman’s attention shifts to me. “Mr. Dominion.”
“Great to see you again, Manuel.”
“Please”—he holds a hand out—“allow Katie to lead you to your table.”
My palm finds her lower back, and we walk into the room as one. She pretends not to notice the way those around blatantly stare at her, and my chest puffs out with pride.
To them, the beautiful woman on my arm is all mine.
But as she lowers into her seat, the pride is gone, leaving behind a bitter tang in my mouth, as the only person who matters does not agree.
Confusion draws creases along Noel’s brows, but as I look around the table, the same feeling settles over me.
I planned to take the seat opposite her. That way, she was in my direct line of sight, the center of my attention, but the table reserved for two is set for four.
“Expecting company?”
I had clung to the idea of having her to myself, of a night out together, just the two of us, like we’ve done a thousand times, but have been deprived of these last five years.
I settle into the seat at her side, and she grins, nodding her thanks at the waiter as he fills two wine glasses before silently slipping away.
“Disappointed?” she teases, her delicate fingers wrapping around the stem of her glass.
“Yes.”
Her eyes widen, but quickly glitter with humor, and she shifts in her seat, angling her crossed legs toward me.
The urge to run my palm from her knee to her thigh, up under the slit there, is heavy, and the moment of pause that follows tells me she knows it.
She swallows. “We said no work, so we’ll call this dinner a celebration.”
“Of?”
“I’m taking the Rileys’ offer,” she rushes, her expression hardening, daring me to challenge.
Instead, I blindly reach for my wine, lifting it to softly clink against hers.
“You’re not going to argue?” she says slowly. “Demand to review the offer and terms and write up your own in return?”
“Not today.”
“I won’t allow you to block this,” she promises. “Due diligence will be done, but this is—”
“An unfathomed outcome? A best-case scenario?” I reach out, brushing my knuckles along her cheek. “A dream you never dared to dream come true? I know what that offer means to you, and I knew the moment it was given, our answer would be yes.”
She sighs, her brown eyes luminous, her smile bright and beaming, pleased by my understanding and appreciation of the outcome.
“I missed this smile.” My thumb brushes the corner of her mouth, and as I knew it would when the words escaped, it grows taut.
A wistful cloud covers her, her happiness tainted by our broken bond, her heartbeat calling out to mine, begging me to heal its torn pieces, but her mind contradicting the notion in an effort to shield her from it shattering all over again.
“I’ve missed you, Kitten. So fucking much,” I murmur, pain lacing my every word.