“Unfettered access to my credit card and all you got was a dress, sweat pants, and three sets of lingerie,” Ghost teases after we’ve ordered our drinks and food.
But I can see something’s eating away at him. That even being in a place as luxurious as this, he senses danger. He expects it. Guess it makes sense. He’s been tense since we left the safe house.
“I’m a girl of simple tastes,” I chuckle awkwardly. Coming from little keeps my wants the same. Nothing fancy or over the top. Needs over wants.
Not that this dress or the matching lingerie beneath it is anything less than extravagant. Considering it’s our first date, I opted for a cocktail dress. Sleek and elegant in design, tight around the hips, and a deep V in the front to expose as much cleavage as possible. A treat for his eyes until we get back to the privacy of his bedroom.
“Then I’ve got bad news for you, baby girl. There’s nothing simple about me.” He’s trying to loosen the stern look gripping his face. Trying to smile. But it won’t budge. His eyes continue wandering. Hunting. As if whoever’s causing this nightmare could jump out of the shadows at any moment.
Well, if he’s not going to lighten up for our date by himself, I’ve got just the thing.
“Is that so?” I slip a hand under the table and rest it on his knee. “No little pleasures?” I walk my fingers up his inner thigh. “Or simple wants?”
Maybe this wasn’t the right idea. Instead of getting comfortable, his muscles flex against my fingers. But the whole way up, his pants start to tighten and tent.
He steeples his fingers in front of his face as if to hide it. Probably feeling naked without his mask.
“You’re playing with fire, baby,” he mutters under his breath. “Don’t think a room full of people can stop me from taking you.”
Never mind. He’s not trying to hide his face. He’s trying to hide the widening smile.
“Who says I want them to?” Butterflies explode in my belly, making me squirm as I get close enough to brush his throbbing manhood with my knuckles.
Ghost chokes on a breath. A shiver rolling down his thighs.
I’ve got him right where I want him.
Before I get a chance to take it one step further, two waiters stop at our table. I yank my hand away, face burning at the thought of them noticing, and Ghost groans in disapproval.
The waiters drop off our drinks, place our food in front of us, and shuffle off. Yeah, they definitely know something was going on. I’ve never seen two guys more uncomfortable in my life.
“This looks amazing.” I’m drooling at the mountain of prawns waiting in front of me.
“Not as good as you,” Ghost says, and it snaps me away from the food.
“You’ve gotta be careful with talk like that, mister,” I scold him playfully. “You’re going to have me redder than that tomato.” I gesture with my eyes toward the side salad.
“Have you?” He grabs his drink, a whiskey-something, and takes a sip. “You already are, baby girl. Now go on, eat up. You need your strength for later.”
We eat. Well, I eat. Ghost’s more interested in licking his lips at me and savoring his drink. Apart from a few fries and three cuts into the fish he ordered, he barely has anything at all.
How he has a physique like that while eating so little is beyond me.
“Excuse me,” someone says at the side of our table. Both Ghost and I turn toward him lazily, thinking it’s a waiter. But from the suit he’s wearing, adorned with gold chains, an Italian flag pinned to the lapel, and earrings, I quickly realize he isn’t.
He’s looking at me. Straight at me. Not even giving the monster sitting at my side a single glance. But I do. And Ghost’s face says it all. Even in its naturally stern state, I can see the cracks forming.
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” our unwanted guest asks.
That voice. It takes my brain a second to put it together, but when it does, fear tightens my muscles into one big knot.
It’s him. The man I heard the night Ghost saved me.
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.
“I think you’ve got the wrong person,” Ghost cuts in. “So, how ‘bout you get going and let us enjoy our night?”
“Not looking to cause a fuss, my man.” There it is. The cocky confidence of a man who hasn’t earned it. “But I’m gonna have a chat with this lovely lady here. Then you two can go on with your date, ‘kay?” His eyes finally turn away from me and settle on Ghost. A fearful yet silent sigh slips out of me in the brief respite. “Come to think of it, something about you looks awful familiar, too.”
