Mr. Big(22)

The feel of his tongue touching hers and moving in tandem with hers created a heated ball in her belly, and as their kiss grew deeper, the heated ball began to grow swiftly and fill her with desire and need. His kiss became a little more urgent as well; his mouth moving more firmly against hers, and she sighed softly, knowing that the man who was arousing her so easily and deeply would be an incredible lover for her.

She trailed her lips hungrily over his cheek to his ear and whispered softly, closing her eyes in amazement at the feel of his lips on her neck. “Alexander… I know it’s soon for us, but it’s been so perfect tonight… it’s been like a dream, and this feels so incredible with you. I don’t want this night to end. I don’t want to let you go home right away. Will you stay the night with me?” she asked, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

Mia trailed her kisses back to his mouth and kissed him once more on the lips before looking at him. He gazed at her through his thick lashes, his lips parted, his breath ragged and she knew she had him.

He closed his lips and held her face in both of his hands, his eyes moving slowly over her features until he met her gaze again. “Beautiful lady. I am so flattered by your request. I would love nothing more than to spend the night with you.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly once, and then looked down at her again. “But you’re right, that this is early for us, and I wouldn’t want you to look back on this night and regret any part of it. I think it’s best for us both if we abstain from spending the night with each other tonight, as much as I wish we could indulge in what I am sure would be one of the best nights of my life. I appreciate you asking.” He leaned forward and kissed her again, but his kiss was soft and subtle, and then he let her go and his hands fell away from her.

Mia was stunned. She had never been turned down by any man when she had asked. Not in her whole life. She managed a smile and a nod, and realized that the remainder of the ride back to her apartment was going to feel awkward for her. Heat rose to her cheeks and she felt flushed with embarrassment, though she was grateful that the interior of the limousine was mostly dark.

He brought up moments from the evening, making the conversation light, and she answered him back here and there, but she knew that something had gone very wrong at some point in the evening and she was going to have to have another date with him to figure it out and make it work on a second date. She wasn’t about to lose her ticket to Rome.

They arrived at her apartment and he walked her to her door and hugged her there, wrapping his arms snugly around her and holding her close for a moment. She was sure she was never going to forget his scent.

He looked down at her then kissed her softly once more; a long, slow, lingering kiss, and for a moment she thought he might have changed his mind, but then he let her go and gave her a smile.

“Thank you again for such a beautiful night. I loved every part of it.” He spoke in a quiet voice. He turned then, and went to the elevators, giving her a last smile over his shoulder as she entered her apartment and closed the door behind her.

Shutting her eyes tight and scowling, she huffed in frustration and then opened her eyes and smiled at the amazing night she had had with him. He was right, she realized, every part of it had been beautiful. Every part except the part where he didn’t come into her apartment with her and make love to her.

She pulled her high heeled shoes off and walked down the hall to her bedroom, a smile on her face as she thought back over the evening. She readied herself for bed and by the time her head was resting on the pillow, it was only a few minutes before she was fast asleep. Her dreams took her right back to the moments she had spent dancing with him, being held in his arms, and kissing him, and in her dreams, he did much more than kiss her.





Chapter4

Mia woke up with Alexander on her mind, and for the next few days following their date, he was all that she could think of. She did everything she could to push him from her thoughts, trying to focus on her work and anything else that she could distract herself with, but he hovered there at the edge of her mind and stayed there.

She met her friends for cocktails the third day after her date, and though she had expected to hear from Liam about it before then, he had been mindful of Ava and Maddie and had not asked her about Alexander, sticking to other subjects in all of his emails and texts. The waiting had made them all anxious; her friends wanted to hear what had happened, and she was on the edge of her seat, ready to tell them.

The moment their cocktails had been brought to them and the waiter left, every eye at the table was on Mia, and she knew exactly what all of them were so anxious to hear.