Black Obsidian(13)

“Ever since you slapped me, I haven’t stopped thinking about you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen—and your palm is even more beautiful.”

I breathed through my reaction, keeping my lips immobile even though there were a few things I wanted to say. Instead, I held his gaze, feeling my body elevate in temperature until even my ears burned. My palms suddenly felt sweaty and my thighs squeezed together under the table.

He hadn’t blinked since he said those words. He stared at me with his piercing gaze, seeing right through me and all my defenses. His eyes slowly migrated across my features, taking in my lips, my neck, and then my eyes.

The air suddenly felt heavy, the nearby conversations turned silent, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world. His natural power and masculine strength made me tense in his presence. I’d never met a man who made me feel like such a woman. I wanted his hands on my body, those lips pressed against my mouth, and his cock buried deep inside me. I wanted all of him—tonight. “Can I buy you a drink sometime?”

His eyes narrowed in response, focusing on mine. “No.”

I stared at him in confusion, assuming I heard him wrong.

“I’m buying your drinks—for a very long time.”



He offered to take me home, and I accepted his offer so I could be with him a little longer. We sat in the back seat of the town car while his driver took us to my address. I sat on one side of the car and he sat on the other.

There was no touching—but there was heat.

Just before we pulled up to my building, I remembered Christopher. I didn’t tell him I was leaving, and now I felt like a bitch for ditching him. I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick message. Sorry, I just left. Calloway took me home.

He responded immediately. Good. ‘Bout time you got some D.

I rolled my eyes and typed back. Hooking up with that woman?

Already did in the bathroom.

I cringed before I tucked my phone into my clutch.

“Your brother seems like a nice guy.” His gaze was focused out the window, so he didn’t peer at my phone while I was typing. It was simply a good guess.

“He is.”

“I like him.”

“Everyone does.” They found his humor charming and even his insults endearing. “Do you have siblings?”

“One brother. Jackson.”

I kept my hands in my lap and stared out the window. My fingers naturally rubbed together, and I forced them to stop so he wouldn’t know I was nervous. He kept his calm and indifferent façade, and I wanted to play it cool as well.

When we arrived at my apartment, we walked up to my floor then stopped in front of my door. The hallway was run-down with torn carpet covered in stains. Most of the light fixtures were broken, so it was unnaturally dark. It smelled damp, like a few pipes were busted in the walls and an entire colony of mold was growing. I knew he was extremely wealthy, so this place was definitely a dump in his eyes.

But he never acted like it.

I got my key in the door with my heart racing, prepared to invite him inside. But reason descended on my shoulders, and I knew I was doing this for the wrong reasons. I finally found a man I was excited about, so I wanted to jump the gun. But in reality, I really didn’t know anything about him other than his charms and his charity work. I had to slow this down before I did something I regretted.

I turned around and kept my back to the door. “Thank you for taking me home.”

He hid his disappointment so well I actually believed it. He must have assumed he would come inside tonight, but he didn’t voice that expectation. A guy like him must get action left and right—without lifting a finger. “It was a pleasure. I’m glad I ran into you tonight.”

“Me too.”

He inched closer to me until I was backed up into the door. My back pressed against the old wood, and I felt his chest move into mine. Both of his hands pressed against the door, on either side of my head. I was caged like an animal with nowhere to run. He eyed my lips before he leaned in and pressed a kiss over my mouth. It was soft, a contradiction to how hard he was, and he didn’t use his tongue. He kissed me slowly before he gave my bottom lip extra attention. He pulled it into his mouth before he released me. His eyes leveled with mine, and he stared me down, the veins in his neck protruding harder than they did before. He took a deep breath to restrain himself, feeling that scorching kiss with the same intensity. “I know you aren’t the kind of woman to sleep with a guy on the first date. So I’m not gonna push my way through this door until we’re rolling around on your sheets.” He eyed my lips like he might kiss me again. “But just know I want to.”