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We walked inside, and he rode the elevator with me up to my door. I turned to him in the doorway.
“Thank you, Ian. I’m sorry anyway. I don’t want to lose you as… a friend.”
He smiled. “You haven’t lost my friendship. But think about tonight. And if I can be selfish for a minute, think about me. We have things in common, and in time we may find out a lot more about each other. I like you, Lily, and I’d like to see you.”
I didn’t understand why Ian still wanted me. He was right about our love of science fiction. He was kind and respectful regarding my issues with Declan. Still, I wasn’t emotionally ready. I still wanted Jonas.
“I’m not past my feelings for Jonas. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
Something else was bothering me and I met his eyes again. “Why aren’t you upset about what I did with Jonas?”
Ian’s gaze was pointed. “I don’t think sex defines a relationship. I would have rather you didn’t tonight, but I understand and as I said before I blame Jonas.”
My lips parted. “It’s not all his fault.”
“I also understand why Jonas lost his head tonight at the idea of me touching you. Anyone touching you… You’re special, Lily.”
I gave him a confused look. Lost his head? I didn’t see that, but Ian knew him better. My cheeks burned, too.
“Having sex in a small room in the middle of a fundraising affair he was still working at isn’t Jonas’s style. Trust me. He lost his head,” Ian said. His hand trailed down the side of my face. “So lovely,” he said. “I’d love to get to know you better, Lily. It must be extraordinary to know you intimately.”
I dropped my gaze from the darkness in the expression on his face, and I held in my breath. I didn’t know how to answer, as what he was saying was well beyond where we had reached together. I didn’t get a chance to ponder much more, though. Ian grabbed my hair tight and tilted my head back to him. He covered my lips with a kiss. He delved his tongue between my lips. Wow. He was going for broke. His kiss was skilled and demanding, and I found myself shockingly returning it.
What was I doing? I moved my head back and Ian let go, easing his hand from my hair, releasing me. I stood there, wide-eyed and panting, unable to say anything.
His eyes were dark as they gazed deeply into mine. “Thank you for that,” he said softly. “That’s a little taste of what you’d experience with me. I would give you time to heal, should you decide to move beyond Jonas. That’s something I would never pressure you to do. I deal with things I see, and I told you what I believed true. Melissa’s intentions are clear, but Jonas’s, as you are aware, are not. I am, though. I’m here and available.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and walked away.
Ignoring the chiming of my phone, which was in my clutch bag that had slipped to the floor, I stared after Ian as he strolled down the hall to the elevator. When the doors opened, he turned back around to me. I felt a flutter go through me at the bright smile he gave. He touched his lips and disappeared as the doors closed.
I touched my own lips and closed my door as well. Why did I let him do that? Bending down, I opened my clutch and removed my phone. There was missed call and a text message from Jonas.
The interviews took a while and I’m sorry I didn’t come back as quickly as I wanted to. I understand why you left. Call me back and we’ll talk.
My heart leapt. I was ready to dial his number when I was interrupted by the sound of wailing. Natasha?
I ran down the hallway, past my room to her bedroom door. I had my hand on the knob and froze as my ears caught a lower toned yelp and the surprise music of… easy listening? I covered my mouth to suppress my laughter. Natasha had been my roommate for almost a year, and she had never brought someone back to visit, let alone stay over. She was too embarrassed of the décor and the fact that she wasn’t living in Manhattan.
Natasha’s boyfriend Ari making it inside the loft and her bedroom here was a huge step forward for her. Although, I knew their relationship was “complicated,” as he was supposedly in the process of getting a divorce from his wife. According to Natasha, this process had been going on for over a year, but she told me she didn’t mind. In fact, she often gloated about being the other woman, something I had looked my nose down at before I found myself in the weird status of being a semi-kept companion of Jonas. This status didn’t sit well with me, but actually made her think better of me. A little.
Ridiculously tip-toeing away, I headed back to my door. I frowned as I pushed it open and found all the lights turned on in my room. Didn’t I turn them off? A bit of annoyance gripped me. Natasha must have come in and left the lights on. Though, in all the months of knowing her, she had never done that before. She never had Ari over for a night, either. My eyes further scanned the room and I noticed the duvet was up on one side. Was she looking for an extra pillow? I used to put them there before we had agreed to put them in the hall closet. I exhaled long and let it go as I went about preparing for bed.
After cleaning up and changing for bed, I knew I put off long enough calling Jonas back. I quickly dialed his number.
“Hello?”
I recognized the voice and eyed the time. Melissa was answering his phone at midnight?
“Hi, Melissa. I’d like to speak to Jonas,” I said.
“He’s busy and we’re going to bed,” Melissa said.
My stomach lurched. We’re? “Oh. Uh. Please let him know I returned his call,” I replied vacantly.
“Do you think that’s wise? I mean, you left and were all over his frenemy, Ian.”
“Ian’s not Jonas’s friend?” I said, surprised.
