Love Beyond Words (City Lights, #1)(48)

He stared at her with those radiant eyes of his, drinking her in.

“Usted es la mujer más hermosa que he visto.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

“I was thinking the exact thing about you.” She smoothed her dress down. “Is this all right? I feel like it’s too simple. Or like a costume…”

“It’s perfect. It’s you. You belong to that era but I have you now. I have you…”

He leaned close and kissed her cheek, taking his time, his breath hot over her skin. She closed her eyes and felt him lay another kiss near her ear, then another at the corner her eye. His breath, warm and sweet, wafted over her as he moved his head and kissed her other cheek. His lips brushed her skin, sending slivers of pleasure skimming along her neck and over her arms.

“Julian…” Her eyes fluttered closed. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Just kissing you. Sólo besos, mi amor.”

He found her earlobe next and he drew it between his teeth, grazing her flesh, before he laid his mouth to the hollow beneath her ear.

The sensations sapped the strength from Natalie’s legs. She clutched his arms at the elbows to steady herself, a soft mewling sound of want escaping her. He continued slowly—agonizingly slowly—down her neck, now flicking his tongue in soft, feather-light touches as he went. He circled her, lifting her hair so that he could trail kisses around the back of her neck. She gasped sharply and arched her back, as his touch there sent sudden, powerful shards of electric ecstasy radiating out, down her spine.

“God, Julian…”

“An erogenous zone,” he whispered between his kisses. “I’ll have to remember that.”

He continued his journey around, his lips moving gently, up her neck and along her jawline, until he reached the corner of her mouth that was open and waiting. She tilted her head so that he might kiss her lips…and then he pulled away.

“Wouldn’t want to ruin your lipstick,” he said, smiling slyly, though his voice was thick.

“Oh, you scoundrel.” Natalie clutched his arm until she could get her bearings. “No fair. No fair at all…”

“I know,” he said. “I can hardly see straight, but it’s time to go.”

He offered his arm and she took it but before she let him take a step she said, “I love you, Julian, scoundrel that you are. I really and truly do. And I just want to tell you that now since I’m certain to be incoherent later tonight.”

He ran his tongue over his lower lip, as if he could still taste her there. “I guarantee it.”

#

A limousine instead of a sedan awaited them, and Julian poured champagne from a minibar that wasn’t quite so mini.

“I never get this extravagant,” he told her as the city glided past them on the other side of the tinted windows. “I’ve never had cause to, but tonight I figured, why not?”

Natalie shook her head. “I have to be in class tomorrow. This will all feel like a dream.”

“Don’t think about it now. Just stay here, with me. Tonight.”

She turned her head to the watch the city go by. Tonight and forever…

#

The restaurant was called Saison, and Natalie had never seen anything like it. A gorgeous motif of exposed brick, warm wood, and hard cement, rife with industrial elegance and permeated by mouth-watering aromas coming from the kitchen that opened on to the dining area.

They were seated at a wooden table next to a decorative stand of potted plants and antique-looking books. The ma?tre’d gave them the day’s menu and engaged Julian in a brief conversation about wine pairings and other particulars Natalie didn’t quite understand.

Then the ma?tre’d bid them have an enjoyable experience and retreated, taking the menu with him.

“Wait, don’t we need to order?” Natalie asked.

“Not necessary.”

Natalie frowned. “What do we eat?”

“Everything.”

She soon understood what he meant. This restaurant was above and beyond anything she had ever encountered. The meal unfolded as a series of small courses in which they tasted everything under the sun, food Natalie would never have known to order in a million years. A different wine accompanied every dish and she thought the presentations were almost too beautiful to ruin with her fork. Abalone with a nettle puree stood out as her favorite, though every bite was extraordinary.

It took hours to complete the dinner and when they stepped outside to wait for the limousine, she was sure it was midnight.

“Only nine o’clock! We’ve been in there for ages.”

“Did you enjoy it?” he asked, unsure. “I know, it’s a bit much…”

“It was amazing. Everything I eat from now on is going to seem bland and naked after that.” She snaked her hand into his. “Speaking of which…”

“Oh no, not yet.”

“What? There’s more?”

The limousine took them back down Market Street, and Natalie clapped her hands together when the glowing sign came into view.

“Café du Nord! Julian, how did you know?”

“How did I know you’d like a throwback speakeasy that plays swing? Hmmm, let me think.”