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He squeezes my hand and opens the door to the cab for me before walking around to the other side to climb in.
Kai gives the driver the name of his hotel, and then scoots closer to me and gently places his hand on my leg. My heart beats faster at his touch. My dress shifted halfway up my thigh when I sat down, so his fingers make contact with the bare skin there.
When I look up at him, he’s staring past the front seats and at the road ahead, as if there’s nothing alarming about the way his hand is on me. I study his profile for a moment. A single curl hangs across his forehead, just begging to be touched, and a strong, masculine brow leads down to a long, straight nose and a pair of perfectly full lips. He’s the kind of handsome that can make a girl forget to breathe, and I suddenly realize I’m salivating. I quickly swallow and shift my gaze to my lap.
“I should tell Leah where I’m going.” I clear my throat and pull out my phone, sending her a text. Less than an hour ago, just before Kai and I ventured on our own to the railing of the deck, she whispered in my ear, excited to tell me she was leaving with Drew. I personally wasn’t all that impressed by him, but Leah was. Probably because of the rose-colored glasses she wore for him since long before she stepped into the club.
I could tell she was a bit tipsy, but not drunk enough to make a bad decision, so I let her go, and she texted me the name of his hotel, which is on the other side of town from the one where Kai is taking me. She asked if I was comfortable enough to be left alone with him, and she made sure I was ok with finding my way back to our hotel on my own… “if Kai doesn’t take you home instead” …was how she worded it.
In that moment, I scoffed at her statement, barely believing I’d ever agree to something like that.
But here I am.
I feel Kai’s eyes on me in the cab as I put away my phone. I wonder what he expects from me tonight. Am I really what he wants? I’m not like most of the other girls at the party. I’m not sexy. Surely, I’ll disappoint him.
Kai is still a stranger, but when I turn to him and see the kindness in his expression, just peeking out behind a passionate gaze, I realize he doesn’t scare me. Not in a dangerous sense, at least. The only thing that scares me tonight is the way he makes me feel.
The silence is deafening, so I clear my throat. “So, how do you like Long Island?”
He runs his thumb across the skin of my thigh. “Very much.”
I gulp.
“Tell me, Sophie.” His eyes twinkle as if amused. “How are you enjoying Long Island?”
I blink at him for a few seconds as he drinks me in with his eyes. More than anything, I feel an intense urge to be honest with him. He’s exactly what I want tonight, and he needs to know that.
“I’m actually…enjoying Long Island a lot more than I’d expected.” I purposely bite my lip again, because when I did it before, he seemed to like it.
With his eyes on me, he sucks in a short breath and shifts his fingers. They touch the edge of the black lace of my dress, and he leans into my ear. “This dress…” he whispers. “…is driving me crazy…”
His lips just barely graze my ear as he speaks, and shivers travel down my spine. I turn my head toward him slightly. His nose is just inches from mine as I speak.
“Oh? How so?” I grin.
His deep green eyes stare back into mine as he licks his lips. But he doesn’t say anything. He just smirks at me.
I raise an eyebrow lightly, waiting for his response, but before he has the chance, the driver pulls up to the hotel. His hand leaves my leg, and he climbs out of the cab, taking long strides around to open my door. He places his palm at the small of my back as he guides me inside, through the lobby, and into the elevator.
When the doors slide shut behind us, I shift my small handbag and my coat nervously in my arms and turn to face him.
He rests his hand on my waist as he looks at me. His expression is both gentle and fiery at the same time. He’s quiet, though. Is he watching me for signs that I might back out? Is it that obvious that I’m out of my element? Probably.
I peer up at him, wondering what he thinks of me here tonight, going back with him to his room. Am I a conquest? Do I want to be a conquest?
“You said you fly back to Chicago tomorrow?” I ask quietly.
He nods.
“And when will you return?” My voice is even quieter.
He takes a breath and lets it out slowly. “I have no plans to return any time soon.”
I look straight ahead at his chest. “The point of this isn’t really to know when you’ll be back, anyway.” I say it like a statement, but in my mind, it’s a question.
“No, it’s not,” he agrees.
I lift my eyes to his again, and he’s watching me with interest, waiting for my reaction. One night with him. That’s the offer on the table. I know I should question it, but his expressive eyes tell me not to.
