Part-Time Lover (Part-Time Lover #1)(25)

“I like your tats . . .” I say, trailing off, then staring quizzically, moving away from the business offer. “Do you have any?”

“Don’t you know the answer to that? You took my photo, little mermaid.”

I quirk up my lips, feeling emboldened, my resolve turning into sexy strength. “I looked at your photos the other night, as a matter of fact.”

“My full monty?” He raises an eyebrow playfully, as the background music shifts to Ravel, reminding me again of the belle epoque feel of this salon.

“Yes.”

“Did you like what you saw?”

“I did.”

“Did it make you want to see more?” He shifts closer, runs his finger along my shoulder, over my collarbone.

I shiver, and my bones warm. “Perhaps it did make me want to see more.”

He drops his mouth to my neck, kisses me lightly, then nips my jaw. “I like that you’re starting to see the light about getting under me and climbing over me. But I don’t want to just fuck your body.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to know who you are, Elise.”

“Why?” I tense. I don’t want closeness. I’m not keen on emotional intimacy.

“Because then I can give you even more pleasure.”

“Don’t ask for my heart. It’s not for sale.” I cross my hands over my chest, as if protecting that precious organ.

He brushes his mouth against my neck again, his tongue flicking against my skin, licking me. “If you don’t want me to, I won’t even try to rent your heart.” He nips my earlobe, and I drop my hands. “But I want to know your mind. I have no interest in sex being only physical. I want to know who you are and why you’re here.” He pulls back, his cool eyes locked with mine. “Why is it that you like this little Friday-night arrangement?”

I draw a deep breath and resolve to be honest with him. To clearly delineate the boundaries of my heart. They are uncrossable, and they are guarded with a wall so high he ought to at least know why he can’t scale it.





15





Christian





I wait for her answer. I’m as curious about her mind and her heart as I am about what’s beneath her clothes. You can’t just make love to a woman with your body. You need to understand what’s inside her head. Give her pleasure by knowing what she needs, where she’s been, and what will bring her the bliss she deserves.

Already, I can sense Elise has had her heart broken.

She lifts her chin, a little sign of her toughness. “I like our arrangement because I don’t believe everything needs to be over-the-top and all-consuming. I think sometimes things should be planned out and scheduled. Less heartbreak that way.”

“Did someone break your heart?”

She looks away, and that’s my answer. “Doesn’t someone always break our hearts?” She turns back, her brown eyes searing into me. “What are the chances you can skate through life and not have any sort of heartbreak? Except you probably don’t have any. There’s no way anyone can be as happy as you are and have had heartbreak.”

I scoff. “You really think I haven’t had my heart broken?”

“Have you?”

“Of course I have.”

“Who hurt you? I’ll kill her.” She holds up her hands, fashioning them into fists. I laugh, loving her fiercely protective side, and I’m not the least bit surprised she has one. It suits her.

“I think we broke each other’s hearts, mostly because we drifted apart. That’s a kind of heartbreak, isn’t it?”

She nods. “I don’t really think we should judge heartbreak. One isn’t necessarily worse or harder than another. What happened?”

“I was married.”

Her eyes widen. “You were?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“It does. You seem the consummate single man.”

“I do enjoy my single life, but I also loved Emma. I met her my last year at university. She was in London on an exchange program, and we fell for each other. The way you can only be in love when you’re twenty-one.”

“The stupid, foolish kind.”

“Exactly. But it felt like the real thing. She moved back to the United States, and I had a job on Wall Street, so it all felt like . . .”

Amused, she quirks her lips. “Like fate?”

I laugh at how easily she calls me on it. “I suppose it did.”

“What happened? What cratered?”

“That’s the thing. Nothing and everything. We didn’t work out. We were married for about a year, and I think we both realized we were too young. We didn’t really know what we wanted. I was getting started in the finance business, and she wanted to be a ski instructor and live in Colorado. That’s not to say you have to want the same things to last, but we wanted opposites. She wanted an easy life. I wanted a challenging one. I’m not sure you can truly be with somebody unless you have similar ambitions, or a complete understanding of each other’s hopes and dreams. Neither one of us possessed that.”

“You didn’t understand her, and she didn’t understand you.”

“Exactly.”