AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You aren’t answering your phone.” I shake my head and keep staring at her. I can’t take my eyes off her face. If my lack of a phone is what delivered her here to me, I’ll happily never touch it again.
“Forgot it. You look beautiful,” I say, and I’m charmed at the tinge of pink that rises on her cheeks before she breaks eye contact and looks down at her hands clasped in front of her.
“I’m sorry to tell you that your date is unwell and can’t make it.”
“And you’re here as her messenger?” I ask, putting a finger under her chin and raising her eyes to mine again.Please don’t only be here as the messenger.
“I… I…” She looks flustered, and I’m gutted. This strange new possessive spark inside me flares again. I want—noneed—to be the reason she’s here. “I’m sorry, Dean, I know you must be disappointed. The poor woman is really sick… food poisoning by the sounds of it. I came as soon as I could.”
“No, you misunderstand me,” I say, my voice almost betraying the anguish I feel. “Why are you here? For her or for me?” I’m walking on a tightrope, strung high over a canyon, standing on the edge of a cliff. That’s how monumentally risky this feels.
Realization flares in her eyes, and she doesn’t look away this time.
“For you,” she breathes, and just like that, the tension leaves me.
Thank fuck.
I reach out for her and finally, finally touch her, although chastely, just above her elbow, steering her in for a kiss on the cheek. Her skin is the softest thing I’ve ever touched, and up close, her scent wraps around me. In that moment, she could lead me around on a collar, and I’d happily follow her.
“Dean. Pleased to meet you,” I say, as she gives me a matching peck on the cheek that I may never wash off. She giggles. It’s a nice sound. A happy sound. Infectious, too, because when she answers, my own laugh rings out.
“Abbi. Pleasure’s all mine.”
All the tension of the last two weeks bleeds away. I glance around and signal the waiter as I steer us back to the table where I was sitting.
Time to get this date on the road.
Abbi really did her homework. But more than that, she’s been observing me over the last two weeks, and I’m starting to think she knows me better than I know myself.
Or maybe she’s just my perfect match.
Everything about the date has been perfect, so finely tuned to my tastes I can hardly believe it. But I realize I couldn’t have planned such a perfect night, it could only be her. The bar is right up my alley, and from our rooftop perch, we’ve actually spotted John’s helicopter flying in and landing on top of a building a few blocks away. She said she hasn’t stopped thinking about that flight, and I make a mental note to take her flying up to the mountains for a weekend away together once the wedding is over.
We even had a private session behind the bar to mix a special drink and ended up with something that’s spicy and includes whiskey. It’s delicious, and we’re lingering over it now. We’ve moved from the bar table to a loveseat, somehow tucked away at the side, screened by a plant installation but still with a killer view. I’m just in that nice zone, relaxed but not buzzed. Abbi looks to be the same. Not at all like my terrible night out earlier in the week.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I sent you on all those dates,” Abbi laments. I laugh but let it die, and her face grows serious as the mood suddenly changes. I don’t want to dwell on any of that. All I want is to enjoy this date and what comes next. She studies my face, trying to get a read on me.
“Can I kiss you, Abbi?” My voice sounds a shade uncertain. Even though it’s been a fantastic night, and I’m seriously smitten with this girl, it’s not exactly a straightforward situation. I don’t want to pop the little bubble we’re in by talking about my other dates, her job, or what this will mean.
She watches with hooded eyes and puts her now-empty glass on a nearby table and pushes it away. The way I’ve asked, out in the open, clear and obvious, requires an answer in the same setting. There can be no mistake what I’m asking for or where this is going to go. It’s not an accidental meeting in the dark.
It’s much more than a kiss.
But it’s ultimately up to her to take the next step.
At first, she stays completely still, not pulling away or leaning in, holding her ground and watching me. My bravado falters, just for a moment. Then I see her pulse hammering in the delicate hollow of her throat, and I know she’s just as affected as I am.
That makes me smirk, and at the curve of my lips, Abbi makes her move.
She keeps her sparkling brown eyes open and comes closer, shifting across the leather seat until a hand rests on my thigh. I keep perfectly still, appreciating the gold flecks in her irises, highlighted by her eye makeup. Then the first brush of her mouth sends my eyelids drifting down so I can savor the firm warmth of the lips I’ve been dreaming about for days.
My eyes flutter shut, and I thread my fingers into her hair, the other hand going to where she’s touching my thigh, holding her in place.
She lets her head tip back, and I take the weight, deepening the kiss at the same time, tracing the line between her lips with the tip of my tongue, lightly, not invading, just stroking and letting her know I’m there.
I can feel Abbi’s warmth as she moves up against me, but she doesn’t press herself into me. I pull back, my nose brushing against her cheek, her scent wrapping around me again. Then I angle her head until her cheek is flush against mine. She’s so soft and shivers a little as my day’s growth lightly scrapes against her. She sighs when I brush my lips against her ear.
Our bodies are barely touching, but I want more.
