Page 9 of Stealing Cinder

"But the one that I thought I was resolving tonight was an easy one to mark off my bucket list, so to speak." I’m pretty sure I’m glowing red by now. He flushes my face and there’s no way he doesn’t see it.

He waits for me to continue, offering me silent comfort where other men would probably tell me to hurry up already and spill it. Not Samuel Payne, I’m learning. The rumors of his unshakable patience seem very true.

Using the pad of his thumb, he traces slow circles over my palm, of all places.

"You met my date for the night. He was my ticket to losing my virginity." I hold Samuel’s gaze and keep my voice level. "It's about the only thing I have control over right now."

My knight’s expression doesn’t shift to mortification or shock. I’m sure he’s heard worse. I look on as this complete stranger places a second kiss on each of my knuckles. The brush of his mouth against my skin is warm, deliberate, and the heat flows over my skin and warms me in ways that have me clenching my thighs.

"Now, you have a choice to make, princess." His lips move against my fingers. "Come with me and I will show you how a real man should treat a lady."

Fuck. Yes. Count me in! “Or?” I lift my lashes and follow his movements as he stands. He holds his hand out, palm up. An invitation and a dare wrapped in one gesture.

“Or don’t and lose out on the best night of your life.”

Burning waves of arousal fill every part of my body. His scent surrounds me.

My hand slides into his. His smile is slow, sexy as fuck, and has my insides quivering. His larger fingers engulf my smaller ones. The difference between us is hard to miss.

All five feet of me next to his six feet four inches forces me to tilt my head back just to meet his eyes.

I take a shaky breath. The distance between his mouth and mine is a vertical mile.

"Do you want to tell your friend we will be going?" he draws out in a knowing tone.

"You're very perceptive."

He tucks a wisp of blonde hair that slipped from my bun behind my ear, fingertips grazing the curve of my cheek. A ripple of lust runs down my spine and pools between my thighs. If he were to touch me right now, he'd find me wet and ready.

And mortified to my soul.

He leans in. Close enough that I catch his scent, cedar and black pepper and underneath, a warmth, male and clean and raw, that bypasses my brain entirely.

"I've noticed a lot about you, my princess."

The hunger in his voice is a low vibration against my ear, and my thighs clench before I can stop them.

He pulls back just enough to watch my face. Whatever he finds there makes his dark eyes go half-lidded, and the grip on my hand tightens a fraction.

Samuel tucks my hand into the bend of his elbow and walks me through the lounge. His stride is long and I have to take two steps for every one of his, my heels clicking fast against the marble while his footfalls land steady and sure beside me.

The neon shifts from amber to deep rose as we pass the alcoves, washing us both in warm color, and the weight of his arm against mine radiates heat through the thin fabric of my dress. My shoulder barely reaches his bicep. Every person we pass drops their gaze or turns away.

He guides me past the mirrored corridor, through a black door etched with an "Exclusive Members Only" plate in gold, and into a private elevator lobby. The air is cooler here, quieter, the bass muffled behind thick walls. He presses the call button without looking and his free hand settles at the small of my back. Warm. Heavy. The heat of his palm seeps through my dress and spreads up my spine.

The elevator chime is a single soft tone. The doors open. “Shall we?”

This is my last chance to walk away.

Heat flows through my body, stopping at each point of pleasure before moving on. I draw in a shallow breath and let it out slowly. “Yes.” I want to know what it is like to be obsessed over. To feel the touch of a lover. To be wanted.

Samuel guides me inside and the second the doors close, he circles my waist with a powerful arm. I mold myself against his front, feeling every inch of his hard body with mine.

God help me, but I would do anything he asks of me right this second.

The elevator is smaller than I expected.

Or he is bigger. Both. Ohh, sweet heavens above. Definitely both.