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We stayed just like that, wrapped up in each other as we recovered our breath.
He threaded a gentle hand in my hair and pulled me down for a kiss a few moments later, an embrace that made me blink back tears because it was so full of reverence and devotion.
“I think we’re definitely going to be late,” Chase said in a lazy baritone after he released my mouth.
“That’s what you get for being so bossy,” I said with a snicker.
“Had to,” he said with feigned defensiveness. “You and that ass-hugging dress almost destroyed me. If youhadtouched me, it would have been over.”
I smiled softly as I ran my fingers through his hair, savoring every second of that raw intimacy before we finally had to get up to salvage dinner.
Chase
“That was probably the most incredible dinner I’ve ever eaten,” Vanna said with a sigh as she pushed away her empty dessert plate. “Thank you for the beautiful flowers you gave me earlier, and for this gastronomic delight this evening. I think I’ve been to every really nice restaurant in San Diego now. Is there any eatery in this city that youhaven’tbeen in yet?”
She’d suggested dinner at home because we were going to be late for our reservation, but I wasn’t having it.
Maybe I couldn’t keep my damn hands off her, but I wasn’t missing a dinner this important.
I was so damn proud of Vanna, and I wanted her to know that I supported every aspect of her career.
It was a big deal for her to sell her first independent piece of work, and I wasn’t going to let my horny ass spoil it.
I’d read that story on the Darien Gap several times, and it was so incredible that I wasn’t surprised that she’d sold it almost immediately with multiple offers.
In the end, I’d called for a later reservation, and since I knew the guy who owned the restaurant, it hadn’t been an issue.
Vanna loved every restaurant we’d been to so far. Because she’d been traveling for years, she usually asked me to choose, so I’d taken her to most of my favorites.
“Probably not,” I admitted. “From fast food and cafés to Michelin star, there’s not many I haven’t tried.” I liked my food, and since I was unattached, I’d eaten out a lot. Wyatt and I also ordered out for lunch most of the time, too. “I’m glad you liked this place. That’s probably high praise since you’ve been all over the globe.”
She shook her head slowly. “I’ve never really gotten to see the sights or experience the cuisine during a lot of the assignments I’ve done. Either the location was too remote, or we were on a tight time schedule because of the budget. We arrived, we worked, and then we left. We usually ate whatever was available. I would have gladly spent my own money if I’d had time to explore some of the countries I’ve visited, but we were usually due at another location right after the previous one. It never stopped, really. That’s why I rarely got home to San Diego.”
I really hated the fact that they’d pushed Vanna so hard that she’d never gotten a chance to enjoy the places that she could. Cheap bastards!
“We can go anywhere you want just for fun,” I told her. “Make a list, and we’ll make sure we find time for those vacations. Even though we relocated our headquarters back to the States, there will be occasions when I’ll need to go to France, too. I’d be happy to introduce you to my second home.”
Her face lit up, which automatically made my damn chest ache. It was humbling how open she was with me now, and how eager she was to do almost anything if it involved the two of us together. Vanna had the same amount of enthusiasm, whether I suggested a trip for ice cream or an excursion to Paris. It didn’t matter to her.
“I’d love that. I’ve been to Paris, but I never even got to visit the Louvre, much less the Eiffel Tower,” she said with regret.
I had no fucking idea how someone could send an employee to Paris and not give them a little time to enjoy the City of Lights. It seemed downright criminal to me. However, that did mean that I’d get to see her face when she saw all of those places for the first time. “I’ll take you all over the country,” I promised. “I love Paris, but there’s other places that you should see in France, too.”
She swallowed the last sip of her wine and put her empty glass beside her discarded dinner plate. “You do realize that you’re going to spoil me, right?” she asked teasingly. “Actually, you already have.”
Spoil her? Hell, I planned on ruining her to the point where she wouldn’t ever consider being with any man but me for the rest of her life.
Vanna was a woman who deserved to be treasured wholeheartedly, and I was the perfect man for that job.
“It’s about time that someone does,” I grumbled after I’d drained my own wine glass.
I wondered how I’d gotten lucky enough to capture and keep Vanna’s attention, but I wasn’t going to question the best damn gift I’d ever been given. All of those other idiots who had dated her before me and let her go had to have a screw loose somewhere.
Miracle or not, Vannawasmine now, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep it that way.
“I hope Axel is okay at home by himself,” Vanna fretted. “I’ve never left him alone this long before.”
“He’s fine. He’s a trained protection dog, Vanna,” I reminded her, secretly pleased that she cared about the canine so much since she’d gotten Axel to appeasemyconcerns.
