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I shrug. “Lucky guess.”
“And if it wasn’t her? What would you have done?”
I shrug again. “Would it have mattered? The way she was talking down to you was enough to piss me off. Then I heard the little warning you passed on to her date and knew she’d definitely done something to deserve the look of distaste you were casting toward her.”
“I see,” is all he says.
I frown, and he removes his fingers from where they’re buried in my hair to run his thumbs over the lines marring my forehead. “Watching you defend my honor was the biggest turn-on.”
My grin is instant. “Everything turns you on, you horndog.”
“Only when it comes to you. I’m not usually this bad. I swear. I’m sure if you give me a couple more weeks, he’ll calm down.”
Wrapping my hands around his collar, I tug his face to my level. “Now why would I ever want that?” I whisper over his lips then press mine to his.
His hands are back in my hair, tilting my head the way he wants it. I melt into his hard chest, loving every little bit of his attention.
He breaks the kiss, panting against my swollen lips. “I want to take you back to my place and show you just how much I liked that little show. But I promised you food, and I know how you feel about steak. This place has the best steaks in the city. So, I’ll feed you first, then I’ll feast onyou.”
His words stoke my already raging libido. “Okay,” I murmur.
His hands drag over my neck, along my collarbone, then slide down my exposed arms to take my hands. “I like this dress,” he says.
I look at my simple black, strapless dress and the shiny, red-bow belt at my waist that matches my killer heels. “Thanks. Now stop complimenting me so we can go eat.”
Sam smiles and shakes his head slightly. “Yes, ma’am.” He drops one of my hands and leads me inside the restaurant by my other.
The moment we step inside, all eyes are on us—or I should say, me. And not in a nice way, either. I swallow and look at my feet when one woman’s remark meets my ears. “Oh, how sweet, English is slumming it with the help this evening. I heard she works at Thomas’s new establishment.”
Sam’s eyes narrow on the woman, and she meets his stare head-on, no shame in her face. She meant what she said and doesn’t care that I heard it.
It takes me a moment to decide how I want to deal with the crude, assessing judgment of the other patrons. I can either feel ashamed of everything I have worked so hard for, or I can straighten my backbone and show them their words mean as much to me as they themselves do.
Inhaling a deep breath, I raise my head high and smile directly at the woman. Then, I smack Sam’s ass and say, “Lead the way, hot stuff. This two-dollar hooker wants a steak.”
Mouths gape and murmurs ensue as Sam chuckles and tugs me to a table in a dark corner, far away from all the prying eyes.
As soon as we’re seated and our drink orders have been placed, Sam looks at me and, yet again, shakes his head. “Trouble,” he mumbles under his breath, a huge shit-eating grin plastered on his handsome face.
“What a lovely bunch of people you seem to know, Sammy. And their manners. . .” I wave a hand in the air. “I had heard the upper crust attend etiquette lessons as children. You can certainly tell.”
“If I didn’t know better, I might think that’s sarcasm I detect in your tone, Miss Archer,” he muses, finger tapping his chin.
I place my hand over my chest, aghast. “Why, Mr. English, you have offended me, sir. A true lady never uses such crude modes of speech.”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course. My sincere apologies.”
I chuckle and relax into my plush chair. The waiter appears with our drinks and requests our meal orders. I look to Sam as we haven’t even opened our menus yet. He winks at me then hands the waiter the unused menus.
“My usual, thank you, Terrance, by two, please. And the crème brûlée for dessert.”
“Very well, sir,” Terrance says with a slight bow of his head, then he’s gone again.
Over our delicious meals, we make small talk about the weather, my work, his work, and our respective upcoming schedules.
“So, I’m not going to be able to see you this week again?” Sam asks.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to get away during the day. Maybe we could do dinner one night?”
