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She couldn’t deny that, so she stuck with the line she’d already given him. ‘I’m here on a date. I’m not going to ditch him for someone I’ve just met, okay?’
His response was to reach down and put an arm around her waist, drawing her away from the bar.
‘Hey,’ she protested. ‘I have to order their drinks.’
‘Drinks, plural?’ He swore under his breath. ‘You are retrieving beverages for the entire group?’
‘Just a few, it’s no big deal.’ She waved her hand in the air. ‘I offered.’
It was obvious he didn’t believe the lie. His lips compressed in an angry slash as he lifted a hand and beckoned another waitress with enviable ease.
‘What is your order?’ he commanded, and for a moment she was struck dumb by the sheer authority he exuded from every pore of his body, his comfort with command unmistakable.
‘India,’ he insisted.
She nodded, regathering her wits. ‘Um...a pinot noir, and two beers, please.’
‘Deliver them to that group, over there. With the arrogant blond man holding forth on matters about which he knows little.’
Her eyes flew to Khalil’s face. How did he know? Had he had the misfortune to be stung by Ethan in the past?
She didn’t get a chance to ask. Order handed over to a waitress, Khalil was whisking her further away from the bar, towards the edge of the room. There were floor-to-ceiling windows here, bracketed on either side by a plush velvet curtain made of gold damask. Security guards, indiscernible from the tuxedo-clad guests, except for the little earpieces they wore, stood at each window.
As Khalil approached, one of the guards bowed before stepping back. Another pressed the windows, so India realised they were actually French doors, opening onto a narrow balcony that formed a perimeter around the Manhattan high rise.
The view was eye-watering. Picture perfect, showcasing the glittering city in all its postcard glory. Even now, as someone who’d seen the view many times, she felt a rush of emotions as she contemplated the beauty of the outlook.
‘That’s better,’ he remarked, right beside her, his body so close they were almost touching.
She shivered, not because she was cold but because alone out here she experienced a rush of feelings and they were sending her nervous system into overdrive.
Nonetheless, Khalil shrugged out of his jacket, handing it to her on autopilot, so some part of her responded to his ingrained good manners. It reminded her of her stepdad, and the way he’d always treated her mother. But she couldn’t think of her parents now—it was too sad. Even a year on from their sudden deaths, and the fallout from that tragedy, tears were still too quick to moisten her eyes.
‘I can’t stay long,’ she said, and heard the acquiescence in her voice as he did. She was fighting him as best she could, but it was a losing battle, given that he was right: she wanted to go home with him, to hell with the fact it would never be more than a one-night stand.
‘Why are you so adamant you want to be with him? Is it serious between the two of you?’
She hesitated a moment. ‘No, it’s not.’
‘Surely you can see he’s not worth your time?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
‘Isn’t it?’
‘Khalil.’ Her voice was lightly pleading. ‘You seem to be forgetting we’ve just met.’
‘I’m not forgetting that. Nor am I forgetting how much I’m looking forward to getting to know you properly.’
Her skin flushed all over. ‘You’re talking about sex.’
His laugh was a warm reward. ‘I’m talking about a long, beautiful night together.’
Desire flashed through her—she wanted that. Oh, she wanted it more than she’d ever wanted anything in her entire life. But how could she? It was so outside her experience... ‘I’m sure you do this kind of thing all the time, but I really don’t,’ she said, brutally honest. ‘I know that being here, dressed like this, you might think I’m the kind of woman who...who...’
‘Who what?’ He pushed, but the smile on his face was teasing her innocence and she hated that! She squared her shoulders and fixed him with a cool glance.
‘There’s no need to laugh at me.’
