The Allure of Julian Lefray (The Allure #1)(65)

“I know it’s more than that,” he said, just as I heard our drinks placed down in front of us.

I sipped mine like a man dying of thirst, hoping the burn of alcohol would quiet my nerves.

“What’d you think of the show?” I asked, trying to keep my gaze on anything but him. Not that it mattered; his entire appearance was already burned into my memory. That slicked-back dark hair, tan skin, defined jaw. There was no point in reminding myself of how hard it was to deny my desire for him.

“The show was lovely, but I didn’t care to watch anyone but you,” he replied before taking a long sip of his drink.

I looked over my shoulder, careful to see if anyone was watching us. We were in the corner of the venue, by far the least entertaining people in the room, and yet I felt like we were on full display.

“Julian, is this a good idea?” I asked.

He arched a brow.

“Is what a good idea?”

“You and I testing the limits like this? Things worked best when we were just keeping things platonic. Wouldn’t it be easier that way?”

His jaw clicked in annoyance at my questioning and instead of answering, he finished off his drink, took my empty cup, and dropped them both on a table beside us.

“You know what?” he asked, skimming his hand down my arm until his fingers were entwined with mine. “I don’t think I care anymore.”

He gripped my hand and dragged me out of the room after him, almost too quickly for me to keep up. I had to pick up my pace and even then he wouldn’t slow down.

“Julian. Slow down. Seriously.”

He acted as if he couldn’t hear me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He didn’t reply and he didn’t let go of my hand. We stepped through the door of the club and were met with brisk night air. I crossed my free arm over my chest, trying to shield as much of my skin from the chill as possible.

Julian walked to the line of cabs, nabbed the first one, and held the door open for me.

“Are you getting in?” he asked with a dark gleam in his eye. There was no please, no sugarcoating. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going and he wouldn’t promise to be a perfect gentleman when we got there.

I could get in the cab and see where he’d take me or I could step away and go back into the party, maybe even push Julian away for good.

The edge of his mouth curved up as he watched me wrestle with indecision. I think he knew I’d already made up my mind. What was there to decide anyway? How many times could you deny yourself a craving that you fantasized about day in and day out? Why should I care about keeping my life on a perfectly straight course when it kept throwing wild curves at me?

Instead of giving him an answer, I stepped closer, wrapped my hands around his neck, and kissed him. Hard. I tilted my head and bit down on his bottom lip. He wrapped his arms around my biceps and held me against him. His tongue slipped into my mouth and I moaned, pressing even closer to him. I could feel his heart beating in time with mine. This was it. I was getting in that cab and I’d find out if Julian Lefray was worth the days and days of agonizing over him.

“Are you two getting in or what?” the cabbie asked.

I pulled back, out of Julian’s reach, and pressed the back of my hand to my lips. Julian smiled apologetically at the driver as he ushered me into the back seat. He held my hand, assisting me as I slid to the opposite side and watched him slide in after me. The scent of his cologne swept in alongside him and I had to grip my hands together in my lap to keep from mauling him.

My dress rode high on my thighs, just inches away from revealing too much. Julian directed the driver toward his hotel and I skimmed my finger along the hem, wondering just how long we were going to have to contain ourselves in the back of the cab.

Then again, why did we have to contain ourselves?

I didn’t want to stop. Who knew how long it’d take us to get to his hotel. I’d just had the best kiss of my life and I wanted more. I knew we couldn’t have sex in the back of the cab, but the driver was more than occupied with his eyes on the road. Short of slipping off my dress, I knew he wouldn’t notice what we were doing. I could tease Julian a bit, just enough to drive him mad.

As soon as we pulled out into traffic, I dropped my hand to Julian’s knee.

He shifted an inch closer and met my eye. He didn’t speak, but the question lay in his eyes all the same.

What do you think you’re doing?

I smirked and let my hand drift higher.

He gripped my wrist to stop me, but I pushed on, dragging my nails along the inseam of his suit pants.

“Have a fun night?” the cabbie asked.

Julian cleared his throat and nodded.

I smiled and inched farther up his leg. I couldn’t unzip his pants—it’d be too loud—but I could drive him crazy through the thin material just fine.

“What was your favorite part?” I asked, wanting to hear the lust in his voice again.

He slid his gaze to me and narrowed his eyes. His grip on my wrist lessened, but I could still feel my pulse against the pads of his fingers. It was my tell. Each thump let him know just how much I was craving him. My heart rate was frenzied because of him.

“I don’t think it’s happened yet actually,” Julian replied, watching me with interest.

“Oh, is there another party or something?” the cabbie asked.