Page 29 of Hollywood King
Eleven
Heath
Dresseslike that were made for women like her. Holy hell, how did I think I would get through this night in one piece? She stepped from her landing to the street in sky-high red heels, bare smooth legs which seemed to go on forever, and the shortest red dress I had ever seen. I’d bet only an inch of fabric separated her sweet core from my eyes. Every teeny, tiny bit of that dress would be in shreds if I had my way.
She approached the car, and I opened the door for her to climb in. All while scanning every bit of her I could see. It had been so long since I glimpsed this much of her body.
Ten long years.
Not that I’d spent the decade celibate, but none of those women were her.
I walked around the car and slid in beside her. She tensed and leaned the other way. No doubt assailed by the same memories nipping at the edges of my mind. The driver pulled away, and she cleared her throat softly. “Where are we going?”
“One of my restaurants actually. The best bet for some privacy.”
She fidgeted further, continuing to shift and move as we rode. At least we had reached a companionable silence. Nothing like the oppressive regime of our first and second car rides together.
“You do remember this is a business meeting, right?” she said as if she were reminding herself as well as me.
“If you wanted to discuss business, you shouldn’t have worn that dress.”
She glanced over at me and then back out the window, and I took triumph in the small smile she tried to hide.
My mind cascaded through all the things I wanted to do to her right now, including stripping away that scrap of material and laying her bare for me to inspect every inch.
I adjusted in my seat, my erection pressing painfully into my tailored pants. At least her aversion to looking at me meant she wouldn’t notice.
We arrived at the restaurant quickly, and I again reached her door before the driver could exit the vehicle. Her warm hand curled around mine as I helped her to standing. I extended my arm, and after a moment of hesitation, she curled her hand underneath so I could lead her inside.
The shift came over her immediately. Only someone who'd known her as long as I had would have seen it. The mask she slid over her features and into her spine, all the way down to how she carried herself from one point to the other. I'd seen this change more than a few times growing up. But there was something slightly more sultry about it now.
I led her down the long hallway to the back, a small private room with an already laid table. I pulled her chair out for her, and she sat. I forced my gaze away from the tops of her shoulders and took my own seat across from her.
"Considering the last time we had a meal together you weren’t able to drink, I don't know your preference."
She shook out her napkin and laid it across her lap. "Was there a question in there?"
The waiter entered a moment later, hands clasped behind his back. She clipped her gaze from mine and gave the waiter a smile. "I'll have your best bourbon, neat, with a splash."
He left after her order, the entire staff already knowing my preference. She plucked the menu from under her plate and begin to look it over. It gave me the chance I needed to catalog at her further under glistening candlelight. It danced across her skin and met dips and hollows I wanted to trace with my teeth and tongue and lips.
"If you keep staring at me like that, we will never get any business done."
I sat back in my chair. “Well, let's just get that taken care of first. Tell me how much you want."
She canted the menu back so she could meet my eyes over its edge. "I'm pretty sure that's not how you negotiate."
"You're right. That's not how you're supposed to negotiate. But you have me at a disadvantage."
"What's that?"
I made sure she couldn't take her gaze away from mine. "You have everything I want. And I have anything you could want."
She narrowed her eyes and tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. If I didn't know her better, I would think it was a distraction technique. "I'm also pretty sure that's not how you negotiate as well. But since you're thinking you want to be so generous, I'm curious whatyouactually want from this.”
“Besides controlling interest in a billion-dollar company? Hmm…what else could I want?”
“You’re toying with me now.”
