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Chapter 7

Without asking her for input,Natalia drove them to a Coconut Grove wine bar less than a mile from Sam’s townhouse. A snug little spot next to a park covered in mature shade trees like most of The Grove.

“Should I read into the fact that you’ve picked a place within walking distance of my house?” Sam asked when they pulled up to the valet umbrella.

Natalia shot her a dark, unreadable look. “How would I know where you live, Dr. Reyes?”

Sam smirked and waited for Natalia to meet her on the sidewalk. “You really not going to call me by my name?”

Feigning ignorance, Natalia tipped her head to the side. “Which was wrong? The doctor or the Reyes?”

With a laugh, Sam held open the door for Natalia. “God, you were just impossible as a teenager, weren’t you?”

Natalia replied with an I’ll-never-tell expression, but Sam was sure she’d pegged her right. Stubborn smart-asses recognized each other in the wild.

Low light, dark furnishings, and too many people made the bar feel dark and cramped. Normally, Sam would have preferred a different environment, one quieter and more conducive to conversation, but something about the noise and ambience made her feel closer to Natalia. Made things feel possible.

Finding only one open seat at the edge of the bar, Sam pulled it out for Natalia.

“I’d expect you to believe in women pulling out their own chairs,” Natalia said instead of thank you when she climbed gracefully onto the high stool.

“I believe in manners,” Sam replied, signaling for the bartender while she stood at Natalia’s side. “And good intentions. I didn’t hold it out for you because I think you’re too feeble to do it yourself.” She took the menu the bartender provided and handed it to Natalia. “I did it because I’m very good on dates.”

“A date?” Natalia turned in her seat, back to the bar, and dark eyes on Sam. Her knee pressed to Sam’s thigh. “Is that what you presume this to be?”

Sam dragged her teeth over her bottom lip. She’d never met a human being more combative than Natalia. She didn’t give an inch. It set Sam’s curiosity on fire. It had been years since anyone made her feel so present. So intrigued.

“Two people, mutually attracted, out at a bar after a gourmet meal.” Sam smiled. “Sounds like a date, doesn’t it?”

The very tip of one corner of Natalia’s perfect mouth twitched just enough to tell Sam she was right. She didn’t have to be a human lie detector to read Natalia’s interest.

“Can I get you all something to drink?” the young man behind the bar asked over the noise of a hundred conversations drowning out some distant music.

Neither of them had looked at the drink menu, but Natalia ordered anyway. “I’ll take a cab. Whatever you have that’s bold, broad shouldered, and masculine.”

The bartender nodded like that was a perfectly ordinary way to order anything and he knew exactly what to pour.

“Do you have anything that can be described as complex with a lot of bite?” Sam’s attention darted from Natalia to the bartender.

“I have something that checks both of your boxes,” the bartender replied with a straight face before taking the menu back.

“I can’t remember the last time I had all of my boxes checked,” Sam joked when the bartender was gone.

Natalia apparently had no intention of turning away. Shapely, smooth legs crossed against Sam raised the temperature in the stuffy room. It would have been a challenge to keep her attention off of Natalia’s body if her eyes weren’t completely captivating.

“Now, Professor, modesty doesn’t suit you.” Natalia’s parted lips and vibrant eyes were the racing in Sam’s chest and the heat flooding her skin. “I’m sure your box gets plenty of activity.”

Sam laughed, thrilled by Natalia’s willingness to go along with a crass joke. The inability to anticipate what Natalia was going to do or say was exhilarating.

“Thought a lot about it, huh?” Sam quirked a brow before adjusting her glasses.

Natalia moistened her lips, eyes scanning Sam’s body and stopping at the tattoo sleeve exposed on her forearm before snapping back to her face. “An educated hunch.”

Sam held her gaze. Communicated without uttering a word that she wanted her. That she’d play Natalia’s games all day if she could drop to her knees and worship her body. Locked in a silent exchange, Natalia looked at her with naked hunger. She was starving and Sam was all too eager to satisfy. It only came down to who would take the first step. Who would change the rhythm of the song?

When the bartender returned with two glasses of rich, red wine, Natalia accepted both and turned back to Sam and handed her one.

Sam lifted her glass. “To things worth craving.”

Natalia tipped her head to the side, a lethal glint in her dark eyes. She didn’t look away. Didn’t give Sam the space to take a deep breath. Didn’t pretend that she wasn’t planning to eat her alive for impertinence. Didn’t blink while she clinked Sam’s glass before sipping her wine like she wasn’t trying to drive Sam insane.

The tannins on Sam’s tongue popped, but it wasn’t the bite she wanted to feel. Wine wasn’t going to get her the kind of drunk she so desperately wanted.

“So, what’s your deal?” Sam asked when set her half-empty glass on the bar behind Natalia.

Natalia uncrossed her legs painfully slow. “My deal?”

The thickening crowd pushed Sam closer. Or maybe it was her desire, or the pull of Natalia’s body. But when she slid between her parted legs, Natalia made room for her. God, this woman was going to kill her.

“Are you single?” Sam asked, because being close enough to Natalia that she could imagine exactly what she’d feel like underneath her had made her forget her original question.

Natalia stretched, craning her neck to speak against the shell of Sam’s ear and ratcheting up her desire. “Do you really want to know?”

The question felt dangerous. Like the wrong answer would prompt Natalia to slide off the stool and saunter away from her. Did Sam care if Natalia was seeing someone else? She wanted more than anything to satisfy her curiosity. To know what Natalia tasted like grinding against her mouth. To know what she sounded like with her head tossed back and her body writhing. Damn it, she did need to know. Even if it meant their evening ended there.

“Yes,” Sam whispered, eyes closed and bracing for the worst. “I really want to know.”

“Why?” Natalia took advantage of Sam’s proximity, sliding her open palm up her thigh before stopping at her hip. “Are you going to turn me down, Professor?”

Natalia’s finger hooked into Sam’s belt was a violent rush of ache and heat and pulsing want. It took all of Sam’s self-control not to react. Not to compromise her values. She didn’t let herself imagine what it would be like for Natalia to unfasten her belt. To kiss her exposed skin with her sinful mouth.

Wrestling a whimper, Sam straightened and left the warmth of Natalia’s body, even though all she wanted was to get closer. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“I’m looking at you right now.”

“I mean exclusively.”

Natalia reached back to the bar and grabbed her glass, making a show of forcing Sam to wait for an answer. Pulse pounding, Sam was a racehorse kicking at the gate and ready to bolt. Her muscles twitched, entire body poised to take irreversible action depending on Natalia’s response.

“No,” Natalia replied when her glass was empty. “I’m not in any monogamous relationship, Professor. I find them a bit… pedestrian.” She blinked. “What do you intend to do with that information?”

The crowd melted away, the clamor of discordant conversations morphing into white noise. Sam rested one hand at the edge of the bar and with the other, she found the outside of Natalia’s thigh. Leaning in, she hovered over Natalia’s waiting mouth. Black lipstick still perfect.

Before Sam could kiss her, Natalia floated off of her seat. “Pay for our drinks,” she said, so close to Sam’s mouth that her core throbbed at the proximity.

And then she was gone, walking toward the back of the bar. Instinct told Sam not to waste time. Pulling her wallet out of her back pocket, she found the only cash she had, a fifty-dollar bill, and waved at the bartender like she had a medical emergency on her hands.

“Here,” Sam said when the bartender was close enough.

He looked at the bill in open confusion. “I’ll be right back with your change?—”

“Keep it?—”

“That’s like a twenty-dollar tip.”

Sam was already following Natalia’s path. “Consider it both of our lucky nights!”

Slicing through the mass of people standing around with no other purpose than to be in her way, Sam found Natalia entering one of the single-stall bathrooms in a dark hallway.

Natalia caught Sam’s reflection in the mirror as she followed her inside and locked the door of the fancy bathroom behind her. Turning, Natalia leaned against the sink, making no effort to hide her designs. She didn’t even pretend to be surprised that Sam had followed.

Rushing toward her, unable to play coy a moment longer, Sam wrapped an arm around Natalia’s waist and kissed her. Lips full and wine-sweet met hers with the same uncontrollable desire.

The moment their lips met, a jolt of electricity coursed through Sam’s body. Natalia kissed her fiercely, hungrily, like a woman starved. Her full lips were soft yet demanding, capturing Sam’s bottom lip between her own and sucking hard enough to elicit a throaty moan.

Sam slid her hands to Natalia’s hips, fingers digging into the curve of her waist as she pulled her closer. The feel of Natalia’s body molded against hers was exhilarating, curves fitting together perfectly. Natalia dragged her nails up the back of Sam’s neck, scratching her before digging in with a shock of glorious pain.

When their tongues met, velvety smooth and slick, Sam nearly broke. Natalia kissed like it was a competitive sport and she was vying for the gold — unrelenting, bold, intoxicating. Sam could hardly breathe, could focus on nothing but the slide of Natalia’s lips, the taste of wine mingling with something sweeter.

Natalia nipped at her swollen bottom lip, just sharp enough to border both pain and pleasure. Sam groaned, knotting her fingers in Natalia’s dark hair to angle her mouth more firmly against her own. She wanted to devour those full lips, wanted to drown in Natalia’s embrace, wanted to memorize every sensuous movement of her wicked tongue.

Kissing Natalia was like nothing she’d experienced before — urgent and demanding, laced with an undercurrent of passion. Like Natalia was pouring years of restraint into claiming her mouth. Like it was her creative outlet. Sam clung to her tightly, dizzy with arousal.

When someone tried to open the locked door, Sam remembered where they were. Remembered who she was. Remembered what she’d left unresolved.

“You never answered my question.” Sam panted, chest heaving and body teetering on the verge of spontaneous combustion. “Are you just here for the book? Is this how you plan to change my mind?” She gripped her curved waist and hoped.

“This is just for me,” she growled before biting Sam’s bottom lip. “Take me home. No more questions.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Sam whispered against her lips before kissing her again.

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