She glared at him as he burst into a full belly laugh, gasping for breath as he answered. “Seriously? From a drink or two?”
“It’s not funny. I don’t drink much,” she told him defensively, suddenly feeling pretty damn unworldly and out of place sitting across from a billionaire who had been around the block a time or two. Or three.
Simon grinned at her. “I know. Try it. If you don’t like it I’ll get you something else.” His expression sobered, his eyes alight with heat and something else that she couldn’t quite define. “And I definitely promise that you will not dance naked on the table, unless it’s at home in a private performance.” His voice was gruff, his expression heated, as though he were imagining exactly that scenario and was looking forward to it.
She refused to meet his eyes, the lump in her throat feeling as big as a baseball. Hell, why not? She could use a drink after the morning she had just been through. Sipping cautiously, she let the liquid flow over her tongue and down her throat, swallowing hard to get by the knot that had formed from Simon’s sexy comment. “Not bad.” She licked her lips. “It doesn’t really taste all that strong.”
He shot her a wicked smile. “It’s deceiving. They’re pretty potent.”
They enjoyed their drinks and dinner with companionable conversation. Simon talked about his family and told her about some of his projects. Kara shared funny stories from her career as a waitress, and a few from her years in nursing school.
Simon destroyed his entire plate of chicken parmesan and finished hers when she couldn’t eat another bite. He ordered them each a tiramisu and a second drink. The dessert was delicious, but she couldn’t finish it. Of course, he was willing to polish that off for her, too. The man could put away a lot of food. Maybe he needed it to fuel that big, sinewy, sculpted body that never failed to leave her panting like a dog after a tempting treat.
“How do you maintain such an incredible body when you eat like that?” she asked him, wanting to kick herself for wording it quite that way, knowing that it was the alcohol that was twisting her words.
Note to self: Do not drink more than a watered down glass of wine from now on.
His eyes shot to her face, his expression mischievous. “Incredible, huh?”
She shrugged. What was the point in denying it? His body was incredible. “Well, it is.” Incredible. Rock-hard and sexy as hell. The hottest body on the planet.
“I work out in the gym at home every day. If you think I look good, I guess it’s worth it,” his incredulous voice informed her.
Oh, hell yeah. Way worth it.
“It shows,” she choked out, trying not to be obvious about the fact that she wanted to jump his bones in about a hundred different ways. “It’s one of the reasons that women like Kate fall all over you. Not the only reason, but one of them.” Oh, shit. Had she really said that out loud? Damn alcohol! She needed to bite her tongue.
“Women don’t admire my body, my personality or anything else about me except my money,” Simon told her in a matter-of-fact tone.
Kara looked at him, flabbergasted. Did he really believe that? “Oh, so it doesn’t matter that you’re insanely handsome, a genius, funny and extremely kind? Women just want the cash?” God, he really was infuriating. Didn’t he know? Didn’t he realize that he had so much more to offer than just his money?
“Yes.”
Her heart ached, knowing that he really did think that money was his only asset. Hard to believe, especially when she had been on the receiving end of his generous nature so many times. Also difficult to comprehend as she glanced yearningly across the table at the most handsome, desirable man she had ever laid eyes on. “I do.” He looked at her with a bewildered expression as the words slipped from her mouth in a heated rush. “I want you. And it has nothing to do with your money.” The words spilled from her lips without pause, uncensored. She looked away from him, slightly mortified at what she had revealed, but his constant refusal to realize his own value made her insane. “I don’t give a shit about your money.”
“Yeah…I noticed that,” he said in a graveled voice.
Finally, she looked up at him and his expression was unreadable. Confusion? Disbelief? Distrust? Hope? They were all there, but she had a hard time figuring out which one took priority.
She tipped up her glass, finishing the last of her second iced tea. “I’m done.” If she had another drink, she’d be stripping off her clothes and begging him to take her. Right now.
Kara wondered if she would regret her spontaneous outburst later, and decided she most likely wouldn’t. Somehow, she needed to get through to Simon, even if it was uncomfortably humbling. He was so self-contained, so controlled, but there was an underlying vulnerability lurking beneath the surface. That self-doubt that she occasionally spotted in those gorgeous eyes should never linger there. No man as handsome, kind and generous should ever know a moment of uncertainty.
Simon was, without question, an alpha male, but she had to question if his need to have a woman helpless and blindfolded during sex was a domination issue. Certainly, that type of domination was erotic, so hot that she creamed her panties every time she thought back to the night before, but she hated to think that Simon was constrained to only one type of sex because of distrust. Unfortunately, that was her suspicion. Gut instinct was clawing at her insides, telling her that his issue had nothing to do with domination and everything to do with some type of trust issue.
They stood and Simon pulled out his wallet, dropping some cash on top of the check. She sighed as he grasped her hand tightly, tugging her gently through the door. It was early evening and the cooler air helped clear her foggy head. She couldn’t remember every one of the ingredients in the drinks, but they had certainly loosened her tongue.
The drive back to the condo was only a few blocks, but it left Kara squirming in her seat. Simon was too close and smelled way too tempting, and she was still embarrassed about the fact that she had basically spilled her soul to him. Oh, maybe not everything, but admitting how much she wanted him and getting no real response was pretty deflating.
What did I want him to say? I want to help him and that means expecting nothing back. He never promised anything except for mind-blowing sex. And he gave me that. In spades!
Really, she hadn’t expected anything, but having him say that he wanted her too would have been nice. She felt raw, exposed. And being in his company was anything but comfortable at the moment.