The Allure of Dean Harper (The Allure #2)(45)

I smirked. “I’m free all afternoon. I just have to do that property search.”

He nodded, then his brown eyes met mine, and in less than a second, the spark between us was ablaze. I dropped my purse on the floor and crawled over his desk. A ballpoint pen fell off and rolled across the floor as his hands gripped my waist and he pulled me all the way over.

It’d been two weeks since his hands had been on me. Fourteen days to go insane. A clean cut with Dean was never truly an option. I knew it had to be messy. I wanted Dean to kiss me like he was kissing me at that very moment. I wanted his hands searing through my skin. His tongue slipped into my mouth and his finger slipped into my panties. I gripped his hair and spread my legs on the edge of his desk. He stood between them, yanking my dress up over my thighs like the material offended him.

“I’ll never get enough,” he threatened, as I unzipped his pants. I shook with adrenaline as he pushed his pants and boxer briefs down and kicked them aside.

He had me there on the edge of his desk, completely under his thumb.

“You love this as much as I do,” he said, skimming his hands up my thighs.

He smiled with such satisfaction as he slipped into me. I dragged my nails down the back of his neck, trying to throw back some of the feeling onto him. I didn’t want it. I hadn’t asked to have my heart split in two.

He was wrong; I didn’t love it as much as him.

I loved it more.





Chapter Thirty-Seven


Lily





Lily: I’m headed to my blind date right now…

Dean: Where are you meeting him? Don’t let him lure you back to his apartment. Jo probably picked a creeper.



I smiled and shoved to the side of the subway car so that people had room to exit. Every stop we passed, the car emptied out a little more, finally leaving some vacant seats. I nabbed one and turned back to my phone.



Lily: We’re just going to eat somewhere uptown. I’m meeting him at a park first.

Dean: Romantic.

Lily: Are you seeing someone tonight?

Dean: Not sure yet.

Lily: Don’t have sex with her.

Dean: Lily…

Lily: Fine. Whatever. Sleep with whoever you want. Just don’t spoil your appetite.

Dean: I’m not the one going on a date right now.



He had a point, but I was going for a very, very noble reason: I’d been too busy daydreaming about having sex with Dean and then actually having sex with Dean to remember to cancel on Carson. See? I’m sure this sort of thing happens to the Dalai Lama ALL the time.

Whatever. Jo said I couldn’t stand him up and I couldn’t cancel last minute because that was almost as bad as standing him up. Instead, we agreed that I’d go on one date, and give him a chance. She said I needed to test the water with other guys. Maybe I was into Dean because I was lonely in a new city and there weren’t any other guys in my life. I knew better, but she was annoying and I kind of owed her at least one date with a random guy after subjecting her to two weeks of Love Actually on repeat. (Yes, you actually CAN overdose on Hugh Grant.)



Dean: Y’know this guy could probably do better. Does he know how stubborn you are?

Lily: I’m sure he’ll fall in love at first sight and we’ll run away together.

Dean: Hunter will be so disappointed…



I typed back “More than you?” but my finger hovered over the send button. I knew I couldn’t actually send it. Dean and I were in a comfortable limbo; I had to tread lightly.

The subway car screeched to a stop at the next station and my destination was announced over the speakers. I erased the text and pocketed my phone as I stood to exit. The entire walk toward the park, I tried to conjure up excitement for my date with Carson. There was none. Absolutely none. Well, I did smell a pretzel stand, which caused me to salivate, but I couldn’t really attribute that to Carson.

I was almost to the park, when I saw a sign for a new restaurant opening up across the street. I had a few minutes to spare, so instead of taking a right and crossing over toward the park, I waited for the light to change and jogged across the street to investigate. With any luck, I’d have a new restaurant to review soon. Please be another crêperie, please be another crêperie.

The restaurant was still in the construction phase, but the bare bones already hinted at how amazing it would be once they were finished.

I moved around to the front of the building to try to find more details when the name caught my attention. Ivy & Wine was painted in white across the brick, with the words “Coming Soon” beneath it. I squinted and read the name again, trying to draw out why the name seemed so familiar.

I stepped closer, inspecting the printed poster they’d taped to the front door. The owners of the restaurant had printed out a detailed menu so that pedestrians could start to get a feel for the place.

They boasted fresh flavors and seasonal dishes, but when I started to actually read the menu, I could feel the color drain my face. It was one hundred percent identical to the menu Antonio Acosta had emailed us only a few days earlier. Every single detail, ingredient, and flavor paralleled ours, and when I scanned to the bottom where it listed the general manager’s name, I knew who I had to blame.

Hunter was a little rat.