Angel After Dark (20 page)

Alex leaned across the table and took her hand. “Let’s share something. I rarely indulge in dessert, but I feel like it tonight.” He wanted to talk to her more, to get closer to her physically as well.

“Am I not sweet enough for you? You have to fill me with sugar?”

Alex chuckled softly.
Oh, beautiful girl, what I would love to fill you with.

“Yes, sweet and sour. My favorite flavor, so come on,” he coaxed. “Just a couple of bites. I love the almond cake with vanilla custard, but if you’d prefer something else…”

His eyes implored her and a small smile played on his full lips.

Thud
. Alex was lethal. No woman could deny him anything, if her own reactions were anything to go by. “Okay. A couple of bites.”

He placed his napkin on his chair as he stood and offered Angel his hand. “Dustin, in the lounge, please.”

“Yes, sir. Right away.”

Alex’s hand fell again to the small of Angel’s back as he led her into the bar area. While the dining room was light and filled with white, the lounge was plush black velvet seating, gleaming marble tabletops, and very low lighting. Again, votives twinkled everywhere, and there were splashes of magenta and white in the extravagant flower arrangements.

Just before they were seated, Alex ran his thumb down her bare back from her neck to her dimples, and then spread his hand out on her lower back. It sent electric shocks through Angel instantly. She stiffened in response and felt his breath dance on the back of her neck as he leaned down to whisper to her. “Sorry, I absolutely couldn’t help myself. I’ve been aching to touch you all night.”

Angel wasn’t sure what to say, or if she should say anything. The pull between them was palpable. She wanted him to touch her… even if it wasn’t smart. Alex was already making her feel things that she didn’t want to feel, and knowing it, she still couldn’t help herself. This was one time when her head wasn’t in complete control. Not even close.

They were ushered to a half-moon booth, and when Alex moved in beside her, her pulse quickened. Dustin came back within a few seconds and set the dessert down on the table along with clean wine glasses and another bottle of the expensive white wine. It was wrapped by a linen napkin in a silver ice bucket near the edge of the table.

Angel smirked at Alex. “Now it’s two years for that village in Africa.” She was nervous at his nearness, could feel the heat radiating between them, and she didn’t like feeling out of control.

“Done. Anything you want.” The velvet quality was more pronounced because his voice was quieter. She closed her eyes briefly, suddenly imagining that voice making love to her in the dark, his body moving over hers, filling her, his mouth exploring her skin.

Anything I want?
Her imagination took off like a rocket, and she felt slight heat rush to her cheeks.

Alex picked up a fork and dug into the white cake with chocolate ganache, cherries, and almonds. It looked delicious and he held a bite in front of Angel’s mouth, his eyes dropping to her luscious lips at the same time. She opened her mouth, watching his face as she took the cake from him.

It was delicious. The almond cake was slightly bitter, which was a perfect foil for the sweet milk chocolate.
An exquisite and sinful balance
. The words raced through her mind as Angel applied them to her situation with Alex, like the war between Heaven and Hell, angels and the demons.
Was
there a balance? Could she spend time with this man as she ached to do, without losing herself or her heart?

Alex’s pulse was pounding equally hard. He took a bite of the cake from the same fork he’d given to Angel. It wasn’t much, but the small intimacy made his heart race.

She turned toward him slightly. “What is it you want from me, Alex? Are you trying to get back at me?” she asked boldly, needing the answers.

Alex set the fork on the plate, picked up his wine glass, and met her eyes with his own. “For what? Running out of Home Depot before I could get your number?” He smiled softly, a devilish glint in his green eyes.

“Well, for speaking to Whitney; for the end of that relationship.”

So much for leaving Whitney out of the conversation
, Alex huffed softly. “She didn’t end things, Angeline.
I
did. So, no, I’m not mad at you.”

She was surprised. “You did?”

“Yes. It wasn’t working. I was bored, and Whitney wasn’t happy either. I hadn’t touched her in more than a month. I had someone else on my mind, I suppose.”

His arm was leaning on the back of the booth and his fingers brushed along Angel’s shoulder in the lightest of touches, gently tangling in the silken strands of her hair. It might as well have been a lifeline surging energy from one to the other. “Seriously, I’ve thought about you so much.”

“Why didn’t you speak to me? You just handed me the tarp. I felt silly standing there waiting for you to say something.”

“I had laryngitis, but I wanted to. Badly. But also, I was with Whitney, and you know my rules. No point in starting something I wouldn’t be able to finish. It would have been torture.”

Angel swallowed and drew in her breath before she nodded. Integrity didn’t fit into her womanizer idea of him, and she didn’t know how she felt about that. “So what do you expect out of this?”

“I’m trying not to have any expectations, Angel. I find you extremely stimulating—” He paused when she smiled and looked down at her hands. “—in so many ways.”

“So…” she paused just a beat before taking the plunge. “You want to fuck me.”

Brilliant green eyes contemplated her for a few seconds. “Wow.” Alex ran his free hand through his hair. “You cut right to the chase, don’t you?”

He leaned in closer to her, the gesture so intimate, like they were a couple and he had every right to invade her space.

“Well?” Angel demanded. “Do you?” She knew the answer but wondered if he’d be honest.

“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t fantasized about it ever since I heard your voice the first time. Even without a visual, I was fascinated by just the thought of you, imagining how you’d feel under me and having you moan my name as you came.” Alex smiled when she gasped. If she was going to cut to the chase, so was he. “I can sense that you are just as fascinated. This thing between us is stronger than I’ve ever experienced. And yes, I’m dying to know how it would feel to be with you. But…”

Again, he surprised her. Was this real or some ploy to suck her in? “But?”

“You’re amazing, and I don’t want to screw this up.”

Dark brown eyes starred into his brilliant ones. He met her gaze without flinching and soon she felt his fingers brushing against her cheekbone, his face only inches from hers. Angel drew in a deep breath and still Alex’s fingers slowly explored her cheek and then her temple. She was losing the battle.

“Angeline… you’re
so
beautiful. What
do
you have going on under that dress?”

Warmth was flooding her body and settling in a tight throb in the pit of her stomach. Her hand reached out for the front of his shirt and he slid in closer. The lounge was dark and intimate and the booth that they were in was in a back corner, completely secluding them from others.

“A blush silk and lace thong and a Brazilian wax,” she breathed out, knowing full well the effect it would have on him.

“Oh, my God…” he groaned and leaned his forehead on hers, his arms gathering her close, his fingers burning the skin of her back. “And is your body reacting like mine is right now? If I reached up under your dress, would my fingers find that silk damp?”

“Uhhh… Alex…” she breathed. Suddenly, they were alone, with no comprehension of anyone else in the room and totally consumed with each other.

“Let’s have a taste. Just a little taste…” His voice was raspy and rough in his desire.

Angel’s mouth parted and she licked her lips, lifting her chin so her mouth was a mere whisper away from his. It was all the invitation he needed. His lips brushed over hers, nudging them apart and licking at them softly until she moaned and she opened to him fully. He groaned into her mouth as they both gave into the want, the kiss deepening, and their tongues sliding against each other again and again.

Angel thought she’d died and gone to heaven. Her chest tightened up and her heart felt like it would fly from her body. He was divine; his mouth devouring and then ghosting, lifting and coming back for more, like he couldn’t get enough. His hand slid up her thigh and just underneath the edge of her dress, and her hand moved up into his hair to pull his mouth closer, forgetting where she was.

“Jesus, Angel,” he breathed against her mouth and then dragged his lips up to kiss her temple. “We have to stop. It’s getting out of control. We have to remember where we are.”

Angel’s hold on him loosened, but she didn’t let him go, her glazed eyes looked into his. “Uh huh…”

“Shit… I’ve totally screwed my good intentions.”

Angel was left trembling, and Alex was clearly moved. “Didn’t you expect to kiss me tonight? We both knew this would happen, Alex,” she breathed.

Would this insatiable preoccupation go away if they had sex? Would the want go away? She sure as hell hoped so, because she couldn’t afford to risk her heart on a man notorious for not falling in love. Not when he was so incredible. Every minute she spent with him only shattered the image Whitney’s words planted in her mind. Was he really the selfish, unfeeling user the other woman described? Was his behavior with her tonight an act? Or was this really him?

What the fuck am I doing?
She made the decision. She wanted him but she didn’t want him to own her. She had to take control of herself and of him or she would lose huge.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah?” Alex asked and ran his index finger down the side of Angel’s face.

She nodded. “Yes. But, we have the wine.”
A $3400 bottle of wine just barely opened.

“
So? It’s only money, and I can’t wait to be alone with you.”

*****

In the limo, Alex held Angel’s hand, his thumb rubbing over the top of her fingers. The briefest of touches between them was enough to set them both ablaze. She sat close to him in the middle of the seat, and electricity raced between them like a closed circuit.

“Angel, I want to kiss you, but I’m just going to take you home tonight.” Alex pulled her hand up and ran his nose from her palm up her middle finger, then placed his open mouth on her palm. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from his and her mouth fell open.

“If you want to kiss me, then do it,” she urged softly. “
Do it
.”

“No.” He shook his head and inhaled deeply. “The next time my mouth is on yours it’s going to end in an orgasm or two. Otherwise, I can’t go there.”

“Oh, God.” Angel’s fingers closed tightly around his as her bones turned to jelly.

“That’s why Becca’s at your apartment, isn’t it; to keep us on the straight and narrow, tonight?”

“I keep a room for them at my apartment because I love seeing the baby, but tonight… I thought it was wise to have her there, yes,” she admitted.

He sighed again. “Yes. I’m wishing we would have stayed at TRU and finished the wine now. I’m not ready to let you go yet.”

“I do have to work tomorrow, so I should be home in a couple of hours, but… we could always go to your place,” Angel suggested, the words ripping from her chest almost against her will. Her eyes closed, not believing she’d just said it out loud. It had taken her six months to go to bed with Kenneth, and with Alex, she was acting like a wanton.

“Um…” His body was tormenting him—heart racing, groin aching, mouth going dry. He wanted her, but as a rule, he didn’t fuck at his apartment. Women weren’t allowed to invade his personal space. He always went to them so he could get up and leave whenever he wanted. It kept the control in his court.

“Angeline, are you sure?” This woman blew all his rules out the window and he didn’t give a flying fuck. “I’ve made no secret how much I want you, but I’m trying so hard to take this slow. After that kiss, I can’t promise I’ll be able to resist.” Alex’s eyes searched hers.

“I’m not asking you to promise… or to resist. As you said, we’re both adults.”

His eyes burned into hers, searching to see if this was truly what she wanted, because amazing as the revelation was, what she wanted mattered. “Martin, take us home, please.”

“Yes, sir,” he answered. Alex resisted the urge to close the partition that separated the couple from the driver, also the urge to pull her onto his lap and explore the treasures beneath her dress. His hand still held hers and he lifted it to his mouth again. It was important that she know that he respected her and wanted more than just sex.

“Angeline, this evening was not intended as a seduction. It was intended to make up for Darian’s bullshit and to get to know you. Truly.”

Angel saw the sincerity in his expression, and she reached out to touch his face with gentle fingers. The slight stubble was already felt under her fingers and pointed out the level of testosterone that surged through this man. He was all man. He was fucking perfect; so male and strong. He made her glad she was a woman.