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Chapter Eleven
“Hello, Tricia,” I said. My deadpan tone gave away none of the chaotic hormones that ran through my veins. My hungry eyes soaked her in and from the way my cock instantly hardened, it loved what they saw. A reluctant smile tugged at my lips when I saw she wore her wavy hair down because it was the look I liked best on her.
My gaze narrowed and I tried to hide my true feelings as I looked into her incredible eyes. They popped appealingly, enhanced by the dark green bodiced dress she had on. Despite wanting to resist her, I felt myself immediately drawn in, mesmerized by her gorgeous features because she looked even better than I’d remembered.
Before I’d thought better of it, I delicately traced her jawline with my index finger because I felt compelled to touch her. The instant my skin was on hers, she placed her warm palm over my heart and I wondered if she could feel how hard it was beating. We were never really together, yet every single time we locked eyes we found the other irresistible.
“We have five days here. Are we supposed to pretend we don’t know one another?” Her question dragged me unwillingly from my reverie of being lost in her, and I considered what she had said.
“Perhaps,” I murmured honestly, “especially since what we were never amounted to much.”
“That’s rich, James. You never called me back.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shrugged, “I could see where we were headed.”
“Headed?” she repeated, a small shrill in her tone.
“Yeah, I was fed up being used. Wisdom comes with age and at one time I’d have happily gone along with an occasional delicious hookup, that day I walked away I’d decided I wasn’t that man anymore.”
“We only had what we had because you didn’t push for more, so don’t go giving me the jealous, spurned partner routine. I wasn’t going to chase you, James… it was up to you to demand more of me.”
“Demand more of you? You kicked me to the curb. I think we’re done here, besides you’re already here with someone.” I knew I’d shown my hand when I mentioned the guy I’d seen her with. Despite trying to walk away, my body stayed paralyzed to the spot when her stare grew more intense. Fuck.
“Drink for the lady?” The bartender’s voice interrupted the silence that had fallen between while we took each other in again. Taking a breath, I reluctantly turned and looked at him.
“Large vodka, ice, with a slice of lime.” Not hesitating when I had requested Tricia’s favorite drink. Straight after, I grabbed my scotch and quickly threw the contents down in one. “And the same again for me,” I demanded, slamming my whiskey tumbler back on the counter.
“I’ve missed seeing you,” she mumbled, lifting a hand to my cheek and my heart skipped a beat in reaction to her touch. The smell of her sweet floral fragrance surrounded me. Smoothing the hand that still rested over my heart, I figured she’d felt my heart rate when her eyes grew softer, but continued to stare into mine.
“I guess you missed me too,” she whispered, with a sad smile before she leaned in and pressed her mouth to my other cheek.
With the chemistry between us, I felt bewitched as my mouth gravitated toward her warm breath and hovered temptingly over her lips. Sliding her hand down from my chest to my hip, I felt it curl over my belt buckle and she pulled me closer.
“Sorry, I know I can’t help how you make—”
“I see you two found one another, then.” Rhea’s amused tone hit my ears at the very moment I had been about to respond to her apology with a kiss. As she had turned to look at her friend, my kiss brushed the side of her mouth. Straightening my stance, I stepped back, both grateful for the interruption and crushed I’d been denied her taste.
Fortunately, the awkward moment was missed when the barman returned with our drinks. “Thank you, can you add…” I gestured at Rhea because I had no idea what she drank.
“White wine spritzer, please,” she informed the bartender, before casting her eyes around the room. “It’s starting to fill up in here,” she noted, nodding toward the tables around the dance floor.
“Indeed,” I replied, following her gaze, suddenly faking my interest in the other people in the room.
When I glanced back toward Tricia, I noticed she was micro-focused on the small cocktail stick and lime in her glass, and I knew she didn’t have as much confidence as she’d have liked me to think she had about seeing me again.
“Should we grab a table before they’re all gone?” Rhea suggested. She lifted an eyebrow toward me as if to say ‘what’s up?’ I stared at Tricia for a long moment as I considered her comment about spending five days at the conference. She was right, there was no way I could avoid her for that amount of time, so I nodded.
“Good idea,” I replied, waving to the barman. Catching his eye, I asked for a fresh round of drinks to be brought to the empty table Rhea had already seated herself at. Before joining her, I threw another whiskey down my throat as Tricia moved in front of me to head over.
Tricia and I had almost reached the table, when Bradley, the good-looking guy I’d seen her with in the restaurant came to join us and immediately made a beeline for her.
“Hey, doll, started without me?” Tricia flashed him a genuine grin and threw her arms around his neck. My jaw clenched as wave of envy immediately rose from within, because he’d already given her a nickname, and from how they hugged one another they appeared to have no physical boundaries.
Breaking away from him, I noted no shame or embarrassment from Tricia when Rhea looked from Bradley to me.
“Bradley this is James Wild, Ronald Wild’s son,” Rhea informed him. Bradley lifted his brow and extended his hand. I guessed he knew of my father when no further introduction had been necessary.
“Pleased to meet you, James. Your father’s a great man, I have a lot of respect for him.”
