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“No, I appreciate it,” I say dryly and clear my throat. I force myself to snap out of the fantasy and smile the same polite smile as before. “I guess I lacked opportunity. Maybe foundation.” I roll one shoulder and start to put away my bow. “Perhaps I listened to bad advice too much. My mother didn’t exactly approve, and she did not encourage my musical habits in any way.”
It’s not a lie. I hope it starts to paint a picture for him that I can use to further my false backstory here as Sofia.
Daniel nods as if he knows exactly what I mean. “I would love to discuss this more sometime.” He rises and holds out a hand to help me stand if needed. “I actually came here with the hopes of finding you. I missed my opportunity to ask you out last night and wanted to remedy that as quickly as possible.”
I want to accept. Ireallywant to accept.
I can’t.
It’s better that nobody here gets to know me any more than they already do. I need to keep reminding myself that it’s best to keep my head down and mind my own business. If I go out to dinner with him and start to let my guard down, then I might make a mistake. I can’t risk it.
“That’s a really tempting offer. Really, you don’t know how tempting…” I graciously decline, but I take his hand and allow his help to stand before I start to put my cello away. “But I just started working here, and I don’t think that forming a relationship with the guardian of one of my students is the best idea.”
Daniel doesn’t look deterred at all. In fact, it looks almost like he expected me to decline.
“Thank you for the offer, though. I’m deeply flattered,” I say with a nod and a flash of teeth. Before he can say anything else, I turn to head backstage where I left my purse and the rest of my belongings.
I hear his steady footsteps behind me just moments after I turned to leave. There is a part of me that wants him to follow. There is a playfulness inside of me that loves the thrill of the chase and wants nothing more than for him to pull me into a darkened corner and convince me to spend my evenings with a man that looks like he does.
I should stop him or tell him not to keep following me.
I don’t.
The moment that we are out of the warm lights of the auditorium his strong hand finds my waist. Fingers indent the soft skin there and crinkle the fabric of my dress as I’m quickly spun into Daniel’s body. He walks the pair of us backward and into the shadows. The smell of old drapes is wiped away from Daniel’s nearness.
Flusteredwould be an understatement. There’s always been something so overwhelming about being in the possessive hold of a handsome man that turns my legs to jelly. My back hits the wall, and I have to fight to keep my hands to myself. I tuck them behind me so that I’m not tempted.
At the small of my back, his fingers splay out until he can push them between my own, holding me there. He pulls me closer, caging me against the wall in such a simple, effortless move. I can’t pretend that I’m not into it. I can hardly breathe. Perhaps I’ve been more touch starved than I thought. That’s the better of the two explanations for my behavior.
He’s exactly my type.Damnit.
“I wasn’t aware that we were finished speaking,” he says in a husky, low tone.
My eyes shoot up to his with a playfully defiant look. “I wasn’t aware that I needed your permission to leave.”
I can’t force the smile from my face no matter how hard I try. It’s a standoff with myself to see how long I can refrain from looking at his lips. What will I do if he kisses me? Will my resolve shatter that quickly? I have to be better than this. One touch and I melt? Yes, of course, I do. The wanton part of me wants nothing more than for him to lift me up against this wall and have his way with me.
What a thrilling way to start an affair…
Only, we can’t have an affair. This isn’t the back room of a club in Moscow. I’m not dressed to appeal to men like him. Sofia is supposed to be nothing more than a demure music teacher and I am hardly playing the correct part right now.
“I’ll only say it once more.” He loses and looks at my lips first. My chest swells with triumph. “How about we discuss what you are and are not allowed to do at dinner tonight?”
I can’t help myself.
I arch myself toward him, pulling against the hold that he has on my hands. I press my breasts into his chest and shake my head slowly. I should have chosen a better bra. I can feeleverythingthrough this one. The friction that the lace cups have on my nipples is divine. I study his face, then I land my gaze on his striking green eyes. I press my tongue against the top row of my teeth for a moment before denying him again. I whisper, “No man tells me what to do.”
The corner of his lip twitches, and I know he’s fighting the urge to smirk. It’s so easy to step back into the role of temptress. I have to stop. Ineedto stop, or I’m going to ruin everything. I don’t even really know this man.
He could kiss me. I can feel the heat of his lips just an inch away from my own as I stare up at him.
“I think you misunderstand. I was not actually giving you a choice in the matter.” The smirk comes out now, and it makes him look even more handsome somehow. There is a devilish glint in his eyes that’s almost hungry as he practicallydaresme to close the distance between us.
He reaches behind him and pulls something from his pocket and presses it into my hands. I look down and unfold the piece of paper he’s given me. It has a cell phone number on it. “Text me your address and be ready at seven.”
I can’t even answer. I want his lips on mine so badly that I barely register what he’s asked meorthe million reasons why that is a terrible idea.
Then he’s gone.
