Chapter 17

Despite beinglate February and a moonless ten at night, the warm evening made Natalia leave her jacket in the car. In a sleeveless black dress that left her shoulders tantalizingly bare, she intended to make it hard for Dr. Reyes to keep her train of thought from derailing. Maybe she’d spontaneously offer her the book rights. That’s what all of this was about, anyway. As soon as she had the book for Zoe, she’d go back to her normal life.

Confident, she started toward the boutique hotel with the hidden gem of a bar tucked inside. Built during Prohibition, the hotel’s ornate French colonial exterior concealed a rumrunner’s paradise. Lost to time, the lavish bar had been rediscovered and brought to gleaming life.

“Natalia!” a voice shouted behind her before her hand landed on the ornate brass door handle.

Turning toward the sound, she realized it was her brain train she’d have to wrestle to keep in place. In a loose v-neck t-shirt and black jeans, most of Samantha’s arm sleeve was visible. Voluminous short hair swept back. Samantha was sleek and sexy and smooth as she strode toward her.

Fuck.

“Hey!” Samantha’s smile beamed from within.

How did she do that? How did she smile with her skin and her eyes and the way she walked?

“Fancy meeting you here,” Samantha said when she reached her. Arm around Natalia’s waist, Samantha pulled her in and kissed her cheek. Enveloped in her smoky scent, Natalia didn’t resist the embrace. Eyes closed, she lingered, fingers automatically finding the back of Samantha’s neck and the soft, freshly buzzed hair.

Forcing herself to break their contact before it became over-indulgent, Natalia stepped back. “Isn’t having children a requirement for cringey dad humor?”

Samantha chuckled, energy blinding. “I refuse to be put in a box, Natalia.”

Rolling her eyes, Natalia turned back toward the door before she did something stupid, like smile. Samantha’s arm, the one adorned with what Natalia realized was a highly abstract image of an elephant, appeared in front of her. Before Natalia could, Samantha was opening the door for her. A move Natalia refused to respond to.

Natalia stepped into the elegant art deco lobby, heels clicking on intricate tile work. Dark wood paneling and dramatic chandeliers hinted at the hotel’s glamorous past.

Samantha followed, gaze roaming over decorative moldings and arched doorways. “Swanky. Though I feel underdressed.”

“You’re fine,” Natalia dismissed, noticing Samantha’s bared arms again. She led the way to an unassuming door near the front desk labeled “Staff Only.”

Without hesitation, she opened the door, revealing a dim stairwell. As they descended, jazz music and laughter floated up to greet them.

At the landing, an ornate mahogany door engraved with a lion’s head awaited. Samantha’s eyes lit up as Natalia pressed a discreet buzzer.

A slot in the door slid open, a gruff voice demanding, “Password?”

“You should have told me we were meeting at a sex club.” Samantha smoothed down her t-shirt. “I left my leather and chains at home.”

Natalia blinked at her and then provided the password. “McCoy.”

They stepped into an opulent underground bar, chandeliers glittering. Leather booths and a billiard table hinted at its speakeasy past. Patrons laughed and mingled over Prohibition-era cocktails.

“Well, this is damn cool.” Samantha’s approving gaze returned to Natalia. “How did you know about this place?”

Hiding her smug satisfaction, Natalia started for a round booth and left Samantha’s curiosity unsatisfied.

They sat across from one another in the dark bar, the candle between them doing unfair things to accentuate Samantha’s warm brown eyes and the razor edge of her jaw.

“Do you bring all of your dates here to impress them?” Samantha asked, sliding around the half-circle booth to sit next to Natalia.

Natalia hesitated at her sudden proximity. At how good her body felt next to hers. At the way it was so natural to be with her. She should move away. Should create distance, but her traitorous body refused to bend to her will.

The server appeared, and Samantha ordered a spicy-sweet concoction of cinnamon whiskey, apple cider, and lemon juice. Natalia went for a luxurious champagne cocktail with St-Germain, a hint of gold leaf, and a sugar cube soaked in bitters. They both arrived promptly.

“I know I should stop using the D-word around you,” Samantha said, lips quirking. She’d misread Natalia’s silence. “But I’m having trouble thinking of a better term for these completely non-business related outings we’ve been having. Classics are classics for a reason, right?”

Natalia took a slow sip of her drink, never breaking Samantha’s gaze. “I prefer to think of them as strategic negotiations.”

“Of course you do.” Samantha’s eyes danced with enthralling amusement. “Well, in that case, when you agree to marry me, I promise not to refer to it as our legal domestic partnership for optimal tax benefits and probate purposes.”

Natalia nearly choked while swallowing. She glared at Samantha, but the effect was somewhat dampened by Samantha’s mischievous laughter.

“You’re incorrigible,” Natalia accused instead of telling her she didn’t believe in marriage. But she couldn’t ignore the unfamiliar warmth spreading through her chest. It was maddening. And exhilarating. And alarmingly addictive. Rushing up to the line without crossing it was giving her a high unrelated to IP acquisition.

“So I’ve been told.” Samantha’s gaze softened. “But I like to think I’m growing on you.”

Natalia’s heart stuttered, but she quickly schooled her features. “Like mold, perhaps.”

Samantha’s answering laugh lit up her entire face. Natalia had to look away from the radiance of it. She took another long drink until her glass was empty. This simply would not do. She was dangling off the side of a crumbling cliff, fingers and toes desperate for purchase while the unsurvivable fall threatened.

“You asked me to be real the other night,” Natalia said when their second round of drinks arrived. “But I don’t know that you’ve ever told me a single real thing about yourself.”

Samantha raised both dark brows and reached for her fresh rocks glass. “That can’t be true.”

“What do I know about you? You’re a successful academic and are involved with the various communities to which you belong. I know your family’s immigration story from your talks.” Natalia picked up steam, emboldened by being right. “Everything I know about you, Professor, I could have learned after an hour on Google.”

Samantha sipped her drink, but couldn’t conceal her surprise behind the glass. She wasn’t the only one who could wield curiosity like a dagger. Natalia could push too. Could show her how uncomfortable it was when they ventured away from being more than unattached sex partners.

Leaning against the booth, Samantha turned something over in her mind. Something Natalia wished she could hear.

“Shit, you’re right,” she said simply instead of getting defensive. “What do you want to know?”

Natalia hadn’t expected such an open-ended question. There were a million things she wanted to know, but she couldn’t admit that. Couldn’t fling her cards across the table like that.

“What do you want me to know?” She turned the question right back around without doing the professor’s heavy lifting.

Samantha leaned back against the booth and shifted her glasses as a way to buy herself time. “Shall I break a dating taboo with a stereotypical lesbian move?”

Intrigued, Natalia cocked her head to the side. After a beat, she tipped it forward, indicating that Samantha should go on.

“How about my last girlfriend?” Samantha’s lips were pink and playful.

Whatever she was going to tell Natalia wasn’t deep or emotional. She wouldn’t be exposing her soft, nougat center. Unsure if she was relieved or disappointed, Natalia listened.

“It ended a year and a half ago,” she started, as if setting the scene. “She was a sociologist I met while attending a conference in Vancouver.”

“The start to any great meet-cute.”

Samantha laughed. “Oh, yeah. We talked until the hotel bar closed.”

“And then where to go other than your hotel room?”

“Naturally.” She agreed without suppressing her grin. “And we talked until the sun came up.”

“And spent the next day together?”

“Next day?” Samantha repeated, as if offended. “I told you this was a real gay lady scenario here.” She laughed. “We spent the entire week-long conference together.”

“And then eloped while driving the U-Haul and rescuing a three-legged dog?” Natalia sipped her gold-flecked drink.

“Now you’re getting it,” Samantha agreed.

“So where is Mrs. Prof. Samantha Reyes after this whirlwind love affair?” Natalia pressed, growing impatient with the dribs and drabs.

“I did say she was my ex, didn’t I?” Her elegant fingers danced along the edge of her glass in a hypnotic and surprisingly alluring motion. “After she went back to Phoenix, and I went to Miami, we instituted nightly phone calls and weekly video chats until we could schedule a time to see each other in person again.” She tipped her glass to one side, ice ball sliding with a clink. “The time never quite materialized before we realized it was over.”

Natalia watched Samantha like she was searching for a diagnosis. She’d listened carefully and disagreed with her assessment. “You failed, Professor.”

“Failed?”

“You could have told me anything, and you chose your last girlfriend.”

Samantha nodded, openly unsure of Natalia’s point.

“But you didn’t tell me about a girlfriend. You told me about a hot hookup. A fling. If you consider that a relationship, Samantha, you’re fooling yourself.” She leaned closer, the surge of winning like drugs in her blood. “But maybe we have the potential to repeat our evening together. You’re obviously capable of indulging without the trappings of formality.”

Samantha watched her for several loaded seconds, probably wondering how she was going to talk her way out of her misstep. And then she laughed, eyes crinkled, teeth gleaming laugh.

“That’s the first time you’ve ever called me by my first name.”

Natalia had no intention of letting her slip away. “You really think we’re so different? Because you smile easily and unleash your charm, you think you’re so open?” She picked up her glass, gaze pinning Samantha against the leather upholstery. “Because I think you’ve just learned to hide in plain sight. At least I’m transparent about being opaque.”

Samantha might have backed off. Might have been offended or uncomfortable by her directness. But Natalia could only describe her expression as delighted.

“Is there anything that gets past you?” Samantha leaned forward like she was in love with being called out. Like it was a kink Natalia wasn’t aware of. Samantha was impossible to predict, and it only made Natalia want to figure her out despite every alarm screaming for its life.

“I’ll tell you what.” Samantha perched her arm on the back of the booth. “How about we agree that we’re dating and drop the bullshit?”

“Dating now?” Natalia laughed. Samantha really didn’t know when to quit. “I don’t know that I’ve ever agreed that we’ve been on a single date.”

“You want to get to know me. I want to get to know you. What else should we call this?”

Natalia didn’t have an immediate response. She didn’t have the words to explain that it was something she couldn’t want. Getting close to someone could only result in handing over the keys to her heartbreak. She’d sworn to herself that she’d never do that again. And she’d kept that promise for nearly thirty years. But maybe she could find a safe zone. A way to get what she wanted without risking herself.

Too soon, the last call was announced. Natalia blinked, surprised to find the club emptying out. When had it gotten so late?

Outside, the sultry night sparked with possibility. Without discussing it, Samantha followed Natalia to her car. Walking close to her, almost protectively, the ghost of Samantha’s touch lingered on Natalia’s lower back. Did Samantha really think her so fragile? Sirens sounded in her mind. The moment felt dangerously close to intimacy.

At her sleek Jaguar, she turned to face Samantha. “Well, good?—“

Her words were cut off as Samantha’s mouth captured hers. Natalia froze, shocked by the kiss. Hand cupping her neck, Samantha drew her closer as her lips coaxed Natalia to move.

Yielding, helpless to resist Samantha’s intoxicating taste and warmth, Natalia indulged. She moaned into the kiss, the sound lost amid the distant throb of city sounds.

The sea-salt breeze drifted over them and Samantha deepened the kiss, her body pressing Natalia back against the car. The cool metal grounded Natalia even as her senses swam. She clutched at Samantha’s hips, aching with longing.

In the shadows of the palms rustling above them, Natalia could almost pretend they existed in a secret world of their own making. No past or future, just this electric now.

As Samantha’s tongue caressed hers, deepening the kiss further, Natalia felt the precarious cliff’s edge disappearing beneath her feet. She was plunging into dangerous waters, no steady shore in sight.

But she couldn’t bring herself to tear away from Samantha’s embrace. The tastes and textures of her were too intoxicating, like the most luxurious champagne. Natalia clung tighter as she sank deeper, powerless to resist the riptide’s pull.

She let herself get swept away in Samantha’s kiss. Closing her eyes, Natalia let go of the ledge, allowing herself to free-fall into the fathomless unknown stretching out beneath her.

“Come over,” Natalia groaned against her lips, eager for an encore of the night they spent together weeks ago.

Samantha’s kiss slipped over her jaw and found her neck. She held Natalia so close it was almost crushing. It wasn’t close enough.

“No,” Samantha whispered, hands gripping Natalia’s hips like the word hurt to speak. “Not unless you promise not to bolt after,” she added, tone naked and lacking Samantha’s usual joking quality.

Natalia leaned back to look Samantha in the eye. She searched her face. It couldn’t have hurt her feelings that Natalia had left after they’d finished. What had Samantha expected? Sweet nothings while they lay tangled in each other’s sweaty bodies? The image sent Natalia’s heart racing. It was a ridiculous notion.

Samantha leaned in and kissed her again. Softer this time. “Maybe after our next date,” she muttered against her waiting mouth. “Good night, Natalia.”

And then she was gone, leaving Natalia a tangled mess like she’d probably intended. She clenched her jaw, frustrated at Samantha’s success. Shocked that in a moment of weakness, she almost considered accepting Samantha’s terms just to wrap herself around her again.