Roman-2(Lane Brothers, Book 5)(155)

“Oh, so films, acting, that’s all beneath you, is it?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

There he was again. The Thomas Lloyd that argued with her, challenged her for the sake of making her uncomfortable. He had such a talent for inflaming her, for drawing the passion out of her. It was a tactic, she was sure of it. If he could make her angry, he could make her care. He got a thrill out of riding the rollercoaster of emotion and dragging her along for the ride. And Sasha couldn’t help but fall for it.

“Why are you putting words in my mouth?” she said.

“They’re your words, intern. I’m just highlighting their true intention.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“It’s what you are.”

“What I am. Not who I am.”

“And who are you?”

His eyes bore into her. Her heart raced.

“I don’t know,” she said, finally, defeated. “Just a girl with a dream. Getting sidetracked by glitz and glamour.” She gestured to the room around them.

“That’s not what I see.”

Part of her didn’t want to know how Thomas perceived her, but part of her knew that whatever he said would send lightning rods of desire through her whole body.

“What do you see then?” she questioned him tentatively.

“A woman with fierce ambition and drive. A woman who suppresses her desires because she hasn’t let herself explore them. A woman who has had her eyes opened and her mind expanded by mind-blowing sex and who finally knows that she wants a whole lot more than a high-flying job. A woman who knows she deserves more.”

Sasha drew a breath. Just like when they’d spoken on the phone earlier, his voice aroused her. She licked her parched lips. “Then why do you belittle me by calling me ‘intern’?”

Thomas leaned forward, his hungry gaze fixated on her. “Because I love it when you tell me not to. Intern...”

He was so close she could feel his breath on her. Her whole body throbbed with desire, with want.

“Don’t call me that,” she said, her voice a husky whisper.

This time she noticed the arousal in his eyes, the widening of his pupils, and the longing in his facial features.

Under the table, she slipped her shoe off and raised her foot. She rubbed it up the length of his leg then rested it on the bulge in his pants. His lips parted.

“Intern…,” he murmured again.

She put pressure on his cock with the ball of her foot, then tipped her head forward and made her face expressionless. “Don’t call me that.”

He let out a moan and closed his eyes. “Intern…,”

She felt his cock hardening beneath her foot.

A clatter made them both jerk up in their seats. Waiters were bustling forward with their oysters.

Sasha moved her foot back to the floor and subtly angled it into her shoe. Just like her encounter with Thomas this morning, she was alarmed by her boldness, by the way he drew something out of her she didn’t realize she possessed. She had a power over him, one she didn’t fully understand, but one that she wanted to explore. The last thing she cared about doing now was eating.

“You want to leave already?” Thomas said, as soon as the waiting staff had gone, reading into her expression.

“I just can’t wait to feel you inside of me,” she said, boldly.

Thomas eyebrows shot upwards. “Have you not heard of delaying gratification?”

She folded her arms. “Here we go again. You, the great teacher, me the clueless pupil. Well, go on then. Please tell me more, oh wise one.”

He smirked. “Well, if I recall, this morning we were interrupted before I climaxed. I’ve spent all day thinking about you. About your body. About your taste and smell and the noises you make when you come. I’m ready to pop like a champagne cork. And when I do, it’s going to be incredible. So we stay. We eat. We delay gratification.”

Wow, Sasha thought. He even makes the idea of not having sex sexy.

She tried to focus her attention on eating, but her mind kept wandering. Her nerves were on fire, desperate for his touch. It was made all the worse by the fact that Thomas didn’t take his eyes off her once. It was like he was mentally undressing her.

Finally, she put her fork down and looked up. “You like watching women eat?”

“I was just thinking about how you never answered my question,” he replied. “About where you’ve been hiding all these years?”

The abrupt change in conversation took her aback. She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m asking you about your life. Your childhood. Your upbringing. I want to get to know you, Sasha.”