Page 18 of Sin City Dark
Jannie swallowed back a nervous little laugh. She, usually full of sass and comebacks, seemed to have misplaced her tongue around Nick 2.0.
His dark eyes held hers, and again, she marveled at how the iris was nearly indistinguishable from the pupil. It didn’t help that his pupils were now dilated as he regarded her with a focus she’d never seen from any man.
Except … a vision of that identical expression flickered across her mind; Nick, at seventeen, had looked at her the exact same way. At the time, she’d dismissed those flashes in his eyes as he passed her in the hallway. But now …
He leaned toward her. “Have dinner with me later.”
A request and demand at the same time. His scent, manly, aromatic, and woody with a hint of green, drifted toward her like some intoxicating sex potion. She inhaled deeply of that cologne and decided she needed to know what it was. She wanted to smell it on his bare skin.
She thought of Blake, asking the same of her. And suddenly, something bold overtook her.
She’d go to dinner, damn it.
“What’s on the menu?” she asked.
He leaned back again, his dark eyes gleaming, keeping her gaze captive as he fingered his glass, and Jannie felt her head begin to spin. She knew enough about the female anatomy to know exactly what he could reach and do with those long fingers.
And, oh, he knew she knew. Because he flashed a sexy smile and said, “Whatever you want. But I propose a decadent dessert. And there’s no rule that says we can’t have that first.”
He was too much, but then again, he seemed exactly what she needed right now.
“Ah. You’re a dessert man.”
“I am. One of the reasons I chose this hotel was because I heard the pastry chef trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris.”
Oh, he really meant dessert, as in food. “You checked out the pastry chef? Most people check the location and whether there’s Wi-Fi and parking.”
“Those are important too.” When she shook her head and looked at him in bemusement, he added, “That’s why I work out”—he lowered his voice— “so I can eat whatever I want.”
Was he still talking about food? Jannie didn’t doubt that if she went up to his room, she’d be naked, likely before room service arrived. She wasn’t a prude; she’d had her share of hookups in college before Blake.
Blake …
Blake hired call girls, idiot.The nasty little voice slithered through her thoughts like a fork-tongued venomous snake.He’s not your husband anymore. Get over it.
“So, what’ll it be? Dinner all by your lonesome or with me?”
She wanted to spend more time with Nick. But … not like that.
Not yet.It just didn’t feel right; after all, she was carrying another man’s babies.
But the thought of being alone in that huge penthouse with only her dark thoughts was not appealing.
“With you. Upstairs.” She looked him in the eye. “At the rooftop restaurant.”
If he was disappointed, he hid it well. On the contrary, a triumphant smile spread across his face. “Great.” He checked his watch. “It’s a little after three. How about, say, six?”
“I can’t at that hour. I have to attend a welcome cocktail party.”
“Have to?”
“Yes.” The event was starting in two hours, and Jannie wanted to mingle despite her fatigue. There were people attending whom she only saw at these gatherings, and she looked forward to reconnecting.
He grimaced. “If you must.”
“I must. People will be there who want to see and talk to me.”
He groaned exaggeratedly.
