“Okay, but you’re not escaping.” He winked at me and my heart fluttered.
Chadwick walked in with a soft knock on the door. He was carrying two bags of food that smelled delicious. “There is an empty break room down the hall. The nurses said we could use it for dinner.”
“That was nice of them.” I took the bag he held out.
“Yep. Now go eat. I’ll sit with Selene.” Chadwick shooed me out of my seat.
“Are you sure? I know you have a long drive home.” I took the bag hesitantly.
“I’m positive.” He pointed at David. “You. Her. Go eat.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” David held up his hands.
“I like him.” Chadwick winked at me. “He doesn’t argue as much as Samantha.”
David slapped Chadwick on the shoulder. “I’ll try harder.”
“That wasn’t a challenge,” Chadwick tsked. He started unloading his bag of food onto the little table next to the bed.
The smell of the food made my stomach rumble and I decided I didn’t need any more urging either. David opened the door and we followed Chadwick’s directions to the break room.
I took the food out of the bag while David purchased two drinks out of the machine in the corner. I wasn’t sure how Chadwick had managed to get us Chinese food, but I wasn’t going to complain. Since there were no plates, I undid the boxes so they lay flat. We’d just have to share.
I sat down and broke apart my chopsticks and picked up a piece of lemon chicken.
“No forks?” David looked around, worried.
“I didn’t see any.” I smiled. “Don’t like chopsticks?”
“I’ll just avoid the rice.” He sat down and propped the sticks clumsily between his fingers. I tried not to laugh when he picked up a piece of chicken, but when it shot across the table I couldn’t help it.
“Here.” I reached across the table and repositioned his fingers. “Try this.”
“I’m still going to fling food at you.” He shook his head. “I’m terrible with these things.”
With careful fingers, he picked up a piece of chicken and managed to get it in his mouth. “I’d be better off just stabbing the chicken.”
I laughed. “Whatever works.”
“There have to be forks in here somewhere.” Getting up, he rummaged through the cabinets. “Aha!” He held up a box of plastic utensils.
“Lucky.” I chuckled, but declined the fork he offered me.
“Good. Now spill.” He sat back down.
“What do you mean?” I looked at him innocently.
“Why did you think I was going to cancel?” He took a bite of rice, but kept his eyes trained on my face.
“I thought you were going to cancel.” I spit the words out before I could rethink it. “Because . . .”
“Why?” He looked confused and I felt like the biggest idiot.
I took a deep breath. “You know, considering that we haven’t gone on our actual date yet, we sure have talked about it a lot.”
“I don’t know. Seems like this might actually be date number two.” He cocked his head to the side. “And I’ve enjoyed getting to know you any way I can. Now, back to the question.”
“Damn.” I muttered, even though I was feeling tingly from his admission.
“C’mon.” He raised one eyebrow and flashed that slow smile that I was a sucker for.
“I was worried that you were only taking me on a date out of a sense of chivalry.” I bit my lip and looked down at the floor.
“You thought what?” He reached out and tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “You thought I was taking you out to appease my sense of guilt?”
I didn’t respond, just met his eyes and held my breath.
“Let me explain something.” He set his fork down and I knew he meant business. “I don’t feel guilty about what happened that night. In fact, leaving you that night was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
“Then why did you?” The shame from that night rushed back and I leaned a little further away from him.
“Cathy, you deserve more than a one-night stand or a quick tumble in the sheets.” His eyes narrowed and his voice dropped an octave. “You deserve to have it all—to experience it all. One step at a time. The teasing touches, the almosts but not quite. And then I want to make love to you. Not scratch an itch or check something off the list. I want you ready and willing, begging me for what you need.”
The food I was planning on eating was halfway to my mouth when I froze. I had no words, only thoughts of how he might leave me begging.
“Um.” That was the only working syllable I could squeeze out of my lips.
“And most importantly, I want you to decide that you want me to be your first for the right reasons.” He paused. “That you want me as much as I want you. All of you, not just your body.”
“I—I didn’t think that would be an option for me.” I set my food down and decided to be a big girl. “That’s why I thought a one-night stand would be the way to go.”
“I’m not saying that a lot of girls don’t use that very tactic, but wouldn’t you rather it be with someone you like? You could decide you hate me, or that I drive you crazy. Then you’d regret it and I don’t want that.” One of his eyebrows rose as his eyes traveled over me. “Well, I want something, but not for you to hate me.”
“You’re making me blush on purpose.” I shook my head.
“I’m just getting started,” he replied. His smile grew and I looked down at my makeshift plate.
“Okay, so this is our second date then?” I shook my head before popping my food in my mouth. “This is a pretty weird conversation, don’t you think?”
“Nah. I’m sure there have been weirder ones.”
“Like what?”
“Killing zombies, for one.”
“Okay, so my track record for date conversation isn’t so great.” I laughed.
“Actually, it’s fun and different.” His smile went all the way to his eyes. “You’re different.”
“That’s a good thing, I guess.”
“It’s a good thing.”
“Well, you’re not so bad yourself.” I narrowed my eyes and decided to change the subject. I wasn’t sure what would happen if he kept talking about making me beg. “When you talk about yourself, anyways. If you want me to get to know you, you’re going to have to divulge more information.”
“Ask away.” He motioned with his fork for me to go on.
“If Sam hadn’t asked you to come to the FBT, what would you be doing?”
“Looking for a job.” He chuckled. “No, really. You’d think a doctorate would guarantee a job, but most of the good positions are filled by lifers.”
“Lifers?” I asked.
“People that snap up a great position and never leave.” He frowned. “I did have an offer from a university, but I’m not ready to go straight into teaching full-time.”
“That makes sense. Want to see and do a little more first.” I nodded my head.
“Exactly. Then I can decide where I really want to be.” I finished off the last of the chicken and moved on to the noodles. “It must be hard for you to not have a choice.”
“I have a choice,” I argued. “Well, with some limitations, but really, most people have limitations and certain expectations. Being a princess is my job. I love it most of the time, but everyone has bad days or days you just don’t want to go to work. Then there are bad parts to every job, and you just have to work around them. This week has been tough. I thought I was going to go insane at a plaque unveiling. It was for a great cause and the people were wonderful, but all I could think about was getting back to make sure Selene was okay.”
“That’s understandable.” He nodded in understanding. “I love working with birds, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t days when I want to beat my head against a wall.”
“Exactly. Today was one of those days.” I frowned. “The media has been ridiculous. They’ve even calmed down when it comes to Sam and Alex, except for the wedding, but lately they are everywhere. I don’t usually rate this much attention.”
“That is a lot to deal with, but you’re a pro.” He reached out and touched my hand. “I’ve been watching and I can see how you work the crowd. It’s so natural, I imagine most people don’t notice when you turn it on. Turn on the princess.”
“That’s exactly what I do,” I said. In less than a week, David had noticed more about me than most people. “I turn on Princess Catherine and do my duty.” I shook my head. “That makes it sound like I don’t enjoy it and I normally do. But I have to be so careful and follow certain protocols. There are days that I just want to be Cathy.”
“I get it.” He frowned. “I don’t mind teaching, actually enjoy it when the students are interested, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to just be David. It’s why I turned down the professorship.”
“I think you’re going to like the FBT. You’ll get the best of both worlds.” I stood up and started cleaning up the trash while he got a rag to clean off the table. “I think we’ve left Chadwick alone long enough. Who knows what type of things he’s planned for you.”
“Scary.” His voice was odd as he turned and looked at me. “I’m thinking . . .”
“You’re right. That is scary.” I threw the trash away and watched him as he walked toward me.
“We agreed that this was our second date, right?” His hand cupped my face while his thumb rubbed along my cheek.
“Yes.” My voice came out husky as he leaned a little closer.
“Then I think a kiss is in order,” he said. His free hand moved to cup my hip and pulled me a little closer. “I’ve been dying to since the other night.”
I went willingly, eager to taste his kiss once again. He didn’t rush the moment, dragging out the wait as his lips neared mine, but still didn’t touch. His breath washed over my face and I leaned forward even more. When his lips finally touched mine, it was the softest whisper of a kiss, brushing against my lips like a feather’s touch. While his lips moved slowly, there was a barely contained heat behind his touch. His fingers tightened on my hip and his other hand dipped my head back so that he could have better access to my mouth.
I ran my hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders, enjoying the slow kiss that ignited fire in my veins. When he slowly pulled away, I kept my eyes shut, savoring the moment. It was the best kiss I’d ever experienced.
“W
HERE ARE MY
nude heels?” I got down and looked under the hotel bed. Pushing the extra pillows out of the way, I made sure they weren’t hiding.
“I think they’re out here,” Max hollered. “If by nude you mean beige.”
“What the hell are they doing out there?” I mumbled as I ran into the living area. “Thanks.”
I plucked them from his fingers and ran back to my room. David was supposed to be here any minute and I still wasn’t finished getting ready. Sliding into the bathroom, I grabbed the curling iron and added a few loose curls to my hair, giving it that careless look that was anything but careless. I checked my makeup and spritzed on a light perfume. Nothing too heavy, but just enough to know it was there.
Turning, I looked at my outfit and frowned. I didn’t have a lot of options at the hotel and no time to shop. I’d picked out a pair of jeans, a dressy tank top, and a blazer. The shoes and some jewelry pulled it all together. It wasn’t exactly my best outfit, but it was comfortable and I liked it. It also wasn’t too dressy for the movies, but not so comfortable that it looked like I hadn’t cared what I was wearing tonight.
Voices coming from the living area made me hurry, and I grabbed some lip gloss quickly and threw it in my bag. I rushed out, to save David from Max. I wasn’t sure if my brother would give my date the third degree or not. He usually didn’t seem to care if I dated someone, but he’d been much more interested in David for some reason.
“Where are you going?”
“The movies and dinner.” David’s voice was calm and polite.
“Which theater?” Max asked.
I rounded the corner in time to see that Max hadn’t let David very far into the suite.
“I’m not sure exactly. I believe the bodyguards chose the one they felt was most secure.” David tucked his hands in his pockets. He had dressed up, still in jeans, but in a button-up shirt under a light sweater. He had shaved too, which was the first time I had seen him that way. I liked it just as much as I did when he had a five-o’clock shadow. No matter how you cut it, the man was mouthwatering.
“Max,” I warned. He held his hands up in the air in mock surrender.
“You look great.” David smiled at me.
“Thanks.” Smiling I walked past Max to stand in front of David. “So do you.”
“Have her home by midnight,” Max grouched from behind me.
I rolled my eyes and held my hand out to David. His warm fingers wrapped around mine, and the familiar feeling of heat from his touch traveled up my arm and over my body.
The car was waiting downstairs, but at an employee entrance instead of out front. I wondered if the press would have caught on to our sneaky attempt, but there was no one with a camera in sight. Of course, that didn’t mean someone with a telephoto lens wasn’t hanging out in a tree.
“How did we manage to escape the press?” I wondered aloud.
“Jameson’s idea. He has the car I came in idling at the front entrance.” David sat next to me and turned so that his long legs were tucked into the backseat comfortably. “You know, the last time someone drove me on a date was back in middle school. Feels like I should be asking my parents to extend my nine o’clock curfew.”
I laughed. “Well, despite Max’s demands, I don’t have a set curfew.”
“Good to know.” His hungry eyes ran over my face and down my body. “I want to keep you to myself for as long as possible.”
A slow smile pulled at my lips. “That sounds like a good plan.”
Reaching over he wrapped his fingers around mine. “Do you care what movie we see?”
“Hm. I like funny movies, action movies, or romantic comedies.” I paused. “Nothing that is going to make me want to cry or want to hurt the actors.”
“Right. No Nicholas Sparks movies.” He nodded his head.
“Most definitely not.” The last thing I wanted was to be snotty and miserable while on our first “official” date. Tear-inducing movies were out of the equation.
The ride to the theater was comfortable, and except for the driver and bodyguard it almost felt like the normal dates I had read about in books. We joked about movies, talked about our favorite actors, and even argued about music. And yet, the whole time his thumb traced circles on my palm, sending electric tingles up my arm. I’d never thought that someone who could affect my body in the simplest way would actually match me in other ways. And even the things we disagreed about seemed to make us fit. He hated pizza, I couldn’t imagine life without it. I loathed country music and it was all he listened to. He thought Donatello was a turtle, and I had no idea who Bob White was, but it didn’t matter.