Dances with Monsters(88)
She slipped her arms into her jacket and he straightened the lapels over her shoulders before taking a slight step back. Drew tightened the jacket around herself and scooped up her clutch. With a final look back at Rocky, blissfully immersing himself in his bowl of dry food, she smiled up at Heath.
"Shall we?"
Chapter Nineteen
Heath couldn't help stealing glances at Drew in the passenger seat of his Charger as they drove toward downtown Pittsburgh. He'd been practically speechless ever since laying eyes on her when she first opened the door of her apartment, but luckily she hadn't seemed to notice he hadn't been saying much so far. She'd kept up a steady stream of idle chitchat, telling him about the progress she'd made on her dance, her day at the café, something funny Rocky had done that she wished she'd had time to capture on video. She seemed to be in a relaxed, contented mood. And she looked beautiful, which was the cause of his sudden difficulty with the English language. He'd never seen her look quite this way—in a soft, sweet dress, with her hair styled into silken waves he longed to touch. He'd seen her look athletic in her workout or dance clothes, casual in her funky street clothes, and sexy when she'd worked at Cliff's, and all of it had been awesome because he'd always thought of her as a beautiful girl. But before tonight, he'd never seen her look this…pretty. And it took his breath away.
She was still chatting away, glancing out the tinted windows of his car at the gray, drizzly early evening. He was half-listening to what she was saying, but it was hard to focus on anything but her legs, now demurely crossed at the ankle. To him, she had the perfect pair of legs. They were curved and shapely, like a woman's should be, but defined with sleek muscle from years spent honing her craft, with hard, defined calf muscles and shapely quadriceps and hamstrings. And in her short dress, they were set off to perfection. He'd noticed the first night at Cliff's that her legs were great, but they were driving him to distraction now.
"…hope you don't mind fusion places," she was saying. "Elements is all sorts of European cuisine. Hopefully that's okay. They do have steaks and sandwiches and stuff there, too. More guy-friendly foods. They're really creative with their dishes and I've never had anything I didn't like there. Not that I go there that often. Their desserts are really amazing too."
"Sounds good," Heath murmured, shifting his eyes back to the road. "Looking forward to it."
Finally Drew glanced over at him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You've been really quiet since you picked me up."
He smiled to himself. If she only knew that it was because her appearance had him tongue-tied. "I'm good," he promised, glancing over at her. His eyes moved over her face. "I'm great."
"All right," she said suspiciously, but let the matter rest. Heath cleared his throat and silently chided himself for making her feel that something was wrong, when it was completely the opposite.
"I'm not much of a 'foodie' but I'm willing to try new things," he commented as he navigated the car into a parking garage. "I'm just so used to sticking with my usual stuff that I forget there's a whole other gourmet world out there."
Drew's smile returned. "Well, then I'm glad I could be the one to guide you through it," she teased. "The first time can be difficult for some."
He smirked, but her double entendre, intended or otherwise, was not lost on him. He parked the car in the first available stall he found, which happened to be close to the elevators. They got out of the Charger and he locked it, hearing the confirmation provided by the electronic beep, and he waited for Drew to catch up to him as she hurried around the car, her feet moving quickly in her heels as she trotted toward him. He winged his elbow out slightly, a silent invitation, and she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm as he led the way toward the elevator. The elevator was connected to a long window that ran the length of the parking garage, looking out over the downtown area. Heath saw several groups of people moving down the street, dressed up in fancy clothing. He heard a sigh, and glanced over at Drew, who was also watching.
"They're probably headed to Giselle tonight," she informed him with a small smile. "That's why they're so dressed up."
He felt a little sense of glee at the surprise he had lined up for her. "Or maybe they're just going to fancy dinner, like us," he replied lightly.
She gave him a half-smile and shrugged. "Maybe," she agreed.
The elevator reached the ground floor and the doors slid open. Drew took his arm again and they strolled down the street toward the restaurant. Heath ignored the outright stares that he received from some of the passers-by, but when a few young men practically stopped in their tracks to stare at Drew, their heads turning, he looked at them steadily and narrowed his eyes. They got the silent message—threat—and kept it moving.