The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires, #1)(37)

I swallowed hard. “You have no idea what I do or don’t like—yet.”

A grin spread across his face. His eyes lit with challenge—and heat.

The waitress broke in to remind us that we could pay through the device on the table, or she could bring us a check. I wasn’t ready for lunch to end, but I reached for my credit card.

Sebastian was faster. “I’ve got this. I asked you.”

“I just don’t want you to think . . .”

He paid the bill and stood. No, I don’t want lunch to end.

Since stomping my feet and announcing that would have been awkward, I let him guide me back to the parking lot. Standing between our cars, I practically hummed with sexual anticipation. This is happening. It’s really happening.

Will he ask me to go with him or just pull me back into his arms, whisk me into his car and off to somewhere private? I’ve made no secret about what I want. Hell, I sent him erotic dice.

I’ve never had hotel sex.

Right now I’d take back-seat sex.

I should tell Teri to cancel my afternoon appointments.

Shit, why didn’t I put condoms in my purse?

I swayed closer to him. He took both of my hands in his.

Okay . . .

“The next few days will be busy for me.”

Wait? What? Had I imagined the sizzle? He was frowning at me again, the way he had the first night I’d met him.

I groaned. I had put that look there. It wasn’t really shocking considering my choice of topics. Death. Death. Death. Why couldn’t I stop talking about it? Your wife. My friend. Oh, for a real turn-on, let me remind you I don’t want you around my kid.

My hands tightened on his. He couldn’t leave if I didn’t actually let go of him, right? A memory of the first time we’d met and I hugged him out of gratitude came back to me. Did I really want to relive the feeling of being pried off him? I released his hands. “Me too. I’m swamped after missing so much time last week.”

He leaned down until his mouth hovered above mine. Honestly, it made me want to slug him. What does a woman have to do around here to get a little action? You’re making me crazy.

“How about this weekend?” he murmured.

“I have Ava.” My automatic response—mostly because I couldn’t think straight with him standing so close. Wait, did his eyes just spark with interest at my refusal?

Maybe, just maybe, this would go better if I didn’t rush it.

I counted to ten and pretended that having his lips close enough that I could flick my tongue across them was not affecting me.

“I’m a patient man when it comes to something I want,” he said in a voice that definitely belonged in my bedroom. I’d never thought talking dirty was much of a turn-on, but I was pretty sure I could masturbate to him reading a dictionary. “And I want to see you again.”

I swallowed hard. I was tempted to cave right then and announce I’d find a babysitter, but what had Erica warned me not to do? Bore him into finding someone else? That was how she’d convinced me to pursue him, but the look in his eyes made me think Erica might have gotten it wrong. People did best when they played to their strengths. I wasn’t a very good seductress, but if playing hard to get turned him on—hell, I was the queen of saying no. “Then you’ll find a way to make it happen,” I said and stepped back. “I really need to get back to the office. Thanks for lunch.”

I turned, opened the door of my car, and slid in. Breathe. I waved at him as if we’d met for a business lunch. I didn’t know what to make of the smile he shot me. It made my heart race, though. Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this flirting thing after all. I tried to give him a similarly enigmatic smile. A series of beeps returned my attention to the parking lot and the fact that I was about to back up into another car.

I didn’t look back at him again until I was just about to pull out into traffic. He hadn’t moved from his spot, watching me go. If I could have pulled it off without him knowing, I would have loved to have taken a photo of him like that.

When Erica asked me how we ended our date, I didn’t want to muddy my retelling of it. I wanted to say—Oh, yeah, I left him wanting more.

And a photo of him like that would have been glorious proof.

See that beefcake of a man? I’m the one he’s looking at that way.

And pointing.

Wait, why is he pointing?

I looked forward again and realized another car was cutting in front of me. A young woman. Jerk. Couldn’t she see that I was having a moment?

When our eyes met, she flipped me off.

Me—a person who is known for being a considerate and careful driver.

I threw my hands up in the air.

She peeled out onto the road.

I glanced back at Sebastian. Come on, lady, tell me you would be in a rush to drive away from that.

Sebastian was still watching me. He had his arms folded across his chest, and he looked angry. Angry?

Because I’d let that woman go first?

No. That couldn’t be it.

I waved again. He didn’t wave back.

With a shake of my head, I drove off.





CHAPTER NINETEEN



* * *



SEBASTIAN

I had never come so close to pulling someone out of a car and demanding they not drive. Once again, Heather had revved my engines, made me smile, and left me in a tangled mess.