Chase Me (Broke and Beautiful #1)(29)

One of her knees inched up the outside of his thigh without any conscious thought on her part. She only knew she wanted to get closer, wanted to feel him move against her in the best way possible. The way she was suddenly craving, as if his mouth were an aphrodisiac.

Louis made a tortured noise and shoved her leg back down. “Next time you wrap even one of those legs around me, I swear I’m going to f*ck you like a madman.” He pressed their foreheads together. “Unless you want what I’ve got right now, on this street, keep your thighs under that dress.”

Roxy’s knees threatened to give out. This wasn’t the first time she’d experienced this aggressive side of Louis. Hot damn, she liked it. Liked being the person making his teeth clench, making his usual cool-guy fa?ade desert him. She wanted more of it, but reality started to reintroduce itself around her. People whispered as they passed, laughing when they thought they were out of earshot. She needed to stop acting like a hormonal high school sophomore. Kick it up to at least junior year, bare minimum.

“I got carried away.” She forced her lungs to accept a slow breath. “Sue me.”

When his hand released the material of her dress, she realized he’d still been clutching it hard. “I did, too. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, it was good stuff. I liked it.”

He dropped his head onto her shoulder with a groan. “You’re trying to kill me, huh?”

“That would suck. I kind of like having you around.” It was the simple truth. After dinner, she’d avoided the reason for her bad mood, but the phone call had jolted her into remembering them for what they were. She’d thought about Louis’s friends and family knowing her identity, what she’d nearly done, and she’d felt momentarily embarrassed, which had royally pissed her off. She resented that feeling. Didn’t want it. Unfortunately, she wanted Louis. For more than just his apparent penchant for manhandling her. She enjoyed being with him, talking to him, listening to him. Kissing him. Oh yeah, she liked that, too.

“A few minutes ago, you were trying to get rid of me,” he said, staring just over her shoulder. “Did something change?”

“No. I just decided to admit it.”

“Okay.” The poor guy looked like he was silently praying for patience. “You, uh . . . sure it had nothing to do with that phone call?”

“Phone call.” God, she’d been more wrapped up in him than she thought. “You’re not going to believe this. That was Johan Strassberg’s assistant. The indie filmmaker who wrote Bangkok Boogie? He wants me to read for a part on Monday.” Excitement fizzed like champagne in her chest, mixing with the warm sensations left over from their kiss. At this rate, she would need that dip into the river to cool off. Followed by an ice bath. “Some casting director I auditioned for recommended me, sent him my headshot . . . I can’t believe it. This kind of thing never happens. At least, not to me.”

His smile looked strained. Sexual frustration? Had to be. She hadn’t known him long, but she already knew he was the kind of guy who would be happy for her to have this opportunity. He’d literally growled at her on the way here for inferring she might strip again.

He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “That’s great. You’re going to knock them dead.”

“You really think it’s my goal to kill people, don’t you?”

“I’m living proof.”

“Not for long.” She gave an evil cackle, which eased some of the tension around his eyes. “So am I ever going to see the rest of this date?”

“Yes, if we’re not too late.” Louis grabbed her hand and took off heading east again, pulling her along behind him. She had to speed walk to keep up with his long strides, but she decided not to comment on his suddenly weird behavior. As soon as they crossed Second Avenue, she saw a crowd gathered near the Queens Midtown Tunnel entrance, snapping pictures. They seemed to be looking over the wall at something below . . . something that was illuminated by several giant spotlights. A film shoot?

A loud animal noise had her stumbling. “Was that an elephant?”

He sent her a grin over his shoulder as they reached the crowd. “Yup.” All she could do was stare at his broad back as he bypassed the crowd and led her to a bench area that was recessed in from the sidewalk. She didn’t understand why he was leading her away from the action until he boosted her up onto the bench. From her vantage point, she could see over the retaining wall to the tunnel entrance beneath. It took her a few seconds to believe what she was seeing. Elephants, walking in a line, out of the tunnel. At least ten of them had already exited, and they kept coming, one after another. Each one held the preceding animal’s tail with its trunk, making a big elephant daisy chain.

“What is this?”

Roxy didn’t realize Louis had gotten onto the bench behind her until he spoke against her ear. “They walk through the tunnel once a year when the circus comes to town. It’s tradition.”

“I can’t believe I never knew about it,” she murmured.

He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. “I’m glad you didn’t, or it would have been a lame surprise.”

“It’s the opposite of lame. It’s un-lame.”

They stayed silent for a while, watching as the procession of elephants finished passing through the tunnel. She let herself relax against Louis’s reassuring chest, stopped thinking about what it meant to stand there with him holding her, as if they were a couple. Or why it felt so good and natural. Once the last elephant came out of the tunnel, the bright spotlights began going out one at a time, the crowd dispersing and heading in all different directions. In a matter of minutes, Roxy and Louis were bathed in darkness, mostly alone on the street. Tucked away from the sidewalk as they were, the way he held her from behind went from comforting and sweet to something else entirely.