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“Okay. You ready to get out of here, then?” He nodded toward the end of the hallway. “Or do you want to finish dinner?”
“What would be the point of finishing dinner?” she asked in a monotone that pricked the hair on the back of his neck.
This strange mood went well beyond her normal reserve. When he’d labeled her demeanor as brittle earlier, he’d had no clue how much more so she could actually become, as if he had to watch how heavily he breathed for fear of shattering her into a million pieces.
“The point of dinner is so I can spend time with you,” he said. And...some other agenda items that had somehow slipped his mind in favor of the woman herself.
That earned him a sidelong glance. “I told you I wasn’t a fun date.”
“I’m having fun,” he told her automatically and then had to clarify. “Well, I was. And then you disappeared.”
Physically and mentally.
“That was fun?” She tilted her head toward the dining room, her eyes incredulously wide. “I made you drink wine, which you hate, and then foisted a teenagers’ sleepover game on you. Which part did you find the most entertaining?”
“All of it.” He grinned in spite of her mood and accepted her scowl with a nod. “You heard me. I have legs and I know how to use them. Trust me, I’ve got no problem walking out of a restaurant in the middle of a date. I don’t waste my time on things that aren’t fun.”
“Really?”
“Honesty. It isn’t just for breakfast anymore.”
And finally, he scored a small laugh. Why did that make his chest feel so tight and full?
“I guess I’m done with dinner.” She sneaked another glance at him and he pretended not to notice.
“But not with spending time together?” He resisted the urge to reach out. He wanted to touch her but he couldn’t gauge if her mood had shifted enough to welcome it.
“Well...” She crossed her arms, hiding her hands underneath, as if she’d sensed that he’d been contemplating taking one of them. “We were supposed to be talking about the leak. I think we have to do that together.”
Which wasn’t an answer at all. “You know dinner wasn’t about the leak. Don’t be dense.”
“I was giving you the benefit of the doubt,” she countered. “I’m well aware that you’re playing all the angles.”
And that was the opportunity he’d been waiting for. Since her hands were still locked behind the cross of her arms, he opted to slide one chunk of hair from her cheek and lingered at her neck. Touching that beautiful alabaster skin had suddenly grown more important than breathing. So he indulged himself, letting his fingers play with her neck. And then he tipped her head back so he could meet her gaze.
A shield snapped over her expression. That look he recognized. The ice goddess returneth. Excellent. Now he could get started melting her, like he’d planned. Though the reasons that had felt so necessary at the beginning of the night weren’t the same as they were now. At all.
“No angles,” he murmured and drew her face closer. Almost within kissing distance. But not quite. “I asked you to dinner because I wanted to. You...interest me. I want to find out how you’ve changed since college. Discover what’s still the same.”
Cass didn’t look away, challenging him with merely the glint in her eye. “So you can use it to your advantage.”
God, that was sexy. In-charge, take-no-prisoners Cass was something else. His motor started humming. “Absolutely. I fully intend to use every scrap of information I learn to seduce you.”
Not even a blink to show she’d registered that he’d shifted away from business and zeroed in on pleasure. Which was where they’d keep it if he had his way. Oh, he’d eventually wind his way back to the formula. But for now, it was all about Cass.
“I think you’ve forgotten that I specified this dinner should be strictly business. I was about to thank you for sticking to it.”
Ah-ha. Her voice had grown a little huskier and it skated through his blood, raising the heat a notch. She wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted him to believe.
“Sorry,” he apologized without a shred of regret. “I never agreed to that. But we’re smart people. We can keep business and pleasure separate. Like we did in college.”
He watched her expression smooth out, becoming blank. Which meant he’d hit a nerve.
“I can,” she said firmly. “I’m not so sure about you.”
