Beside her, the humping couple had reached a bit of a fever pitch. Sasha realized that they were going to full on start shagging, right there in the dark corner of the night club. The whole thing was throwing her body into overdrive. Thomas’s voice on one end of the phone arousing her, reminding her of his hot breath in her ear, his hard cock inside of her…the revelation that she’d been wrong about him adding a whole new level of wanton desire…the undulating bodies beside her…it was all too much.
She needed sex. She needed Thomas. And now.
“So?” Thomas said. “Will you meet me?”
Sasha bit her bottom lip. “I…”
“... have somewhere better to be?”
She glanced round at the dingy club, at all the people sharing passionate embraces. Then her gaze fell to the barman. He was cleaning a glass, and his angry eyes were fixed on her. It was a dangerous look. He pointed to the clock and sneered. It was time for his break.
“No,” she said finally. “I can meet you.”
“Dinner?”
“Dinner sounds good.”
He gave her an address. “I’m…looking forward to seeing you again,” he finished.
“You, too,” Sasha replied, but her voice was a girlish squeak.
The phone went dead, and she let out a deep breath of air. Then she stood, finding her legs wobbly and barely able to hold her weight. Every nerve was alive with anticipation.
She pushed her way past the bodies of people towards the exit of the club. Just as she started to ascend the steps, a person sidled up to her. The barman.
“Changed your mind?”
She gave him a look. “Not in a million years.”
He glared at her, his face filled with hatred. “Stuck up bitch. Good luck getting laid.”
She swirled out of the club, a smile on her lips. That same Thomas Lloyd magnetism that had led her to his bed was pulling her towards him once again. And if her body had any say in the matter, this night was not going to end at just dinner.
Chapter Three
“I didn’t think I’d hear from you again,” Sasha said, twiddling the fork in front of her.
Across the other side of the table, Thomas’s penetrating gaze was locked on her. It made her feel naked. It made her want to be naked. Sitting through dinner with Thomas was going to be an exercise in self-restraint. It was already taking all her power not to fling herself across the table at him, and they’d only just taken their seats in the ridiculously posh restaurant.
“Why not?” Thomas said. “I told you I’d call, didn’t I?”
Sasha squirmed in her seat. “I suppose I didn’t believe you.” Because I thought you were a sex addict who used women then tossed them aside. “I mean, it ended rather abruptly earlier,” she said aloud.
A small smile flitted across Thomas’s face. “Yes. Crystal. She has a knack for timing.” He reached out and touched Sasha’s fingers. “She spoiled the momentum. I had so many more things that I wanted to do to you.”
Electricity raced up Sasha’s arm, reminding her of the feeling of Thomas inside of her. She tried to force her blush away and calm her ragged breath. She moved her hand out from under his and picked up her glass.
“Some water would be nice,” she said, craning her head round and looking for a waiter, looking anywhere but at the man who made desire thrum in her breasts.
“You Americans have no patience,” Thomas said. Then he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “We’re not in a rush to get anywhere. Are we?”
Just your bed, Sasha thought.
The waiter arrived with a bottle of water in an ice bucket, and Thomas leaned back, creating some breathing space between them. Sasha took a deep breath. She was feeling suddenly oxygen deprived.
“Thank you,” Thomas said to the waiter. As the waiter left, Thomas poured Sasha a drink. “You really thought I was the kind of man who’d pay for sex?” he said. “You can’t think much of me.”
“I didn’t. At the time.” She thought shamefully of the vitriolic article sitting on Kelly’s desk in the Atomic office.
“And now?”
“Now…well, now that I know you don’t schedule your women for sex, I feel a little warmer towards you.”
Thomas let out a bark of a laugh. He swilled his water in his glass like it was a fine whisky. “So your opinion of me has improved somewhat. That’s good to hear. How can I make you feel more than just luke warm towards me? Because earlier today I would say you were scolding hot. Tepid is a bit of a step down.”
Sasha’s heartbeat was racing. Talking to Thomas now was just like before in the hotel room, like an interrogation, like he was attempting to read her mind and cleave his way into her soul.