Chapter 10

“Hi, Alec. I missed you today. Want some dinner?”

Alec grins. It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile this wide, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. His gaze is full of unconcealed longing, and it makes me feel like I’ve done something heroic already.

“Only if I can have you for dessert.”

I open my mouth to respond, but he sweeps me in his arms and kisses me with desperation and urgency. Dinner is forgotten as I climb him and wrap my legs around him, giving as much as I’m getting.

Who is this woman that has taken over my body? I hardly recognize myself. The intensity of my feelings for Alec should frighten me, but I don’t feel scared. In fact, I feel secure in the knowledge that he won’t hurt me … at least not intentionally. Never intentionally.

My arms tighten around his neck, and I shamelessly grind on his crotch. But instead of tearing my clothes off, he chuckles against my mouth and squeezes my thighs. “I want to take you out on a date.”

My chest heaves, a swirl of emotions threading through my body. A soft breathy sound comes out of me, and I bite my lip. “Now?”

“Yes and don’t look so disappointed.” He untangles me from him and smacks my ass. “Now go change.”

My gaze strays to what he’s wearing—black shoes, black dress pants, and his usual crisp white shirt with high collars and the sleeves rolled. It’s his eyes that make me rub my thighs, though. It blazes with heat—something I’m sure he sees in mine too.

Damn. We’re crazy for each other, and I don’t mind that one bit.

Alec takes me to a fancy restaurant that he says his family owns. When he mentioned his family business, I was blown away. Owning one hotel was already unbelievable, but a chain of hotels? It’s batshit crazy to me. My parents are pretty well-off but so far from Alec’s level.

When I found out about their family business, I was sorely tempted to put my sleuthing skills to use, but something held me back. I couldn’t do it. It didn’t feel right. It felt like I was betraying him by going behind his back. I didn’t think Alec would appreciate my online snooping, so I resolved to let him take his sweet time to tell me everything about him and the Fieldings.

Even though they didn’t show off, there was something about Alec and his siblings that screamed old money. Maybe it was the way they carried themselves, the quiet air of confidence, like they knew they didn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

It’s hard to believe that this normal guy who lives in an apartment building with a broken elevator is filthy rich. The rest of his brothers don’t even act like the typical privileged boys I’ve met. They’re as normal as can be, which is both intriguing and refreshing.

The restaurant is on the top floor of a twenty-story building. Half is indoors, and the other half is outdoors. Alec takes me outdoors, which has a panoramic view of the whole city. The sun is beginning to set, and we’re bathed in its golden glow.

I turn to thank Alec, only to find him studying me, like he’s hungrily devouring every detail. God, I burn with desire for this man. And with the way he stares at me, I fight to find my breath. Flames dance through my belly, and the bolt of longing going through me has my toes curling in my shoes.

But whatever filthy thoughts I have are interrupted by my empty stomach, the sound making Alec smile. Rude.

Dinner is delicious, and I’m already mentally planning to tell Mom all about this place so she and Dad can dine with me here next time. Maybe we can dine with Alec. I’ve never introduced anyone to them, so if I do, they’ll definitely know it’s serious.

Then again, nothing about me and Alec so far says ‘casual’. We haven’t even talked about us—labels and all.

“Alec, dance with me.”

He scrunches his face and darts his eyes to the growing number of couples on the dance floor. “No, baby, please. Ask anything of me but that.”

I pout and run the tip of my finger along the rim of my wine glass. “Then, I guess you don’t mind if I dance with someone else?”

Alec’s face darkens, his pupils dilating and his nostrils flaring. With a resigned sigh, he growls, “Fuck. Let’s go.”

His hand rests on the small of my back as he leads me to the dance floor, the pain in his expression making me giggle. I’ll be sure to give him his reward before the night is over.

With my hands around his neck and his on my waist, we sway to the music. It starts innocently enough, but the longer we stand there, I notice Alec running his hands up and down the sides of my body, brushing the exposed skin as his gaze drops to my mouth. “God, you’re beautiful. Have I ever told you that?”

“No, but you make me feel it.”

“You are beautiful.” His voice turns thick with lust, and my body hums in anticipation. I guess he’s having me for dessert all right.

“Have I ever told you how hot and handsome you look?”

At this, his eyes sparkle with mirth, and he lifts a brow. “Not yet. Thank you, baby, but I’m genuinely wondering if people have been looking at us because they find you extraordinarily beautiful or if they’re wondering why you’re with someone like me.”

“Why shouldn’t I be with you?”

He throws me a Really? look. “Come on, baby.”

“No, I don’t know. Explain it to me.”

He looks over my shoulder, and darkness briefly crosses his face. “When I was in boarding school, my classmates called me Two-Face after that Batman character. I refused to leave my room for weeks until Jameson came and talked to me.”

My heart breaks for the child Alec was. Other kids can be mean and cruel. I can’t imagine how Alec felt when they ganged up on him and made fun of his trauma. “If I was there, I would’ve punched each of their faces.”

He laughs softly. “I can totally see you doing that. But my point is, I know and everyone knows that you’re way out of my league. It’s like one of those movies where the loser guy gets the most popular girl on campus.”

This makes me perk up, and my spine straightens. I glare at him. “Take that back.”

There’s tenderness in his face but also raw pain. That memory must still haunt him, and it bleeds into every other aspect of his life, including me. “No.”

“No?”

He starts to shake his head but grinds his teeth when I press against him. He tenses under my touch, and it doesn’t take five seconds before I feel the hard ridge of his thick girth against my stomach. Even then, I smirk and rub against him.

The pained expression is back, and he warns in a low voice, “Zara, I’m wearing thin pants. The moment we go back to our table, everyone with eyes is gonna see my hard cock.”

Hard cock.Those two words.

Arousal pulses through me, making me wet with need. Is this an inappropriate place to tease him? Yes, it is, but I can’t deny the small, secret thrill of having this kind of effect on Alec. Unflappable, nonchalant Alec.

A rush of cool air brushes the skin on my back, and I kind of regret wearing something with a low scoop. When his gaze turns hazy with lust, though, it warms me. My breaths come in short pants, and I want nothing more than for him to relieve the terrible, empty ache within me.

I have to tamp it down first because this conversation is important to me. To us. “I won’t stop rubbing against you unless you take that back.”

“Take what back?”

“You saying I’m out of your league.”

“You are.”

I sway my hips. To everyone else, I’m just sensually dancing, but upon closer inspection, they’ll see me teasing Alec and his body responding.

He throws his head back, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Jesus, fine. I take it back.”

“Now say, ‘You deserve me, Zara. We deserve each other.’ Go on, say it.”

“Fine.”

“Say. It.”

He groans. “You deserve me, Zara. We deserve each other.”

“Good boy.” Running my hand along his chest, I lift myself and brush my lips softly over his. “Now take me home.”