The Arrangement Anthology 1(66)

My stomach feels like I ate a window—wood, glass, and all—and churns uncomfortably. The waiter appears from nowhere when I take my seat. He pulls back the chair for me and I sit down. Sean orders wine and the waiter disappears.

“Nice dress,” he says, carelessly.

“Nice tie,” I say, leaning to the side, like I don’t care. Sean looks stunning. He’s wearing a black suit with a black shirt. His silk tie is midnight blue which makes his eyes look bluer than I would have thought possible.

Sean smirks. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d wear something like that.” Sean is mirroring me. I pretend not to notice. I sit up and tilt my head, making my hair fall over my shoulder.

“Yeah, well, it turns out that I do.” I lean closer to him and give him a lazy smile. “Before I left, Black stripped me and stole my panties, so half the work’s done for you.” I wink and sit back.

Sean is still leaning forward. His cool façade cracks a little. “You’re not wearing panties under that?” I shake my head slowly and smile at him. It seems to do something to him, but he tries to hide it. Sean’s voice sounds a little too breathy when he speaks. “Well then, it’s only fair to tell you that…” he leans closer. I lean in to hear him whisper, taking a sip of wine as he speaks. “I’m not wearing any panties either.”

I try so hard not to react to him, but I can’t help it. I snort laugh and choke on the wine. It’s so embarrassing. I keep coughing and I can’t stop. Sean smiles at first and then looks concerned. He moves his chair closer to me, leaning in and placing his hand on my back. “Are you okay?”

I punch his arm and he sits back and smiles. Everyone is looking at us. “You’re such an ass,” I hiss.

Sean scoots back to his place. The grin on his face lights him up. I can’t picture him looking more perfect than he does right now. “You started it, Miss Smith. I suggest you only step up to the net if you intend to play hard.”

“Tennis euphemisms? Really? Nothing says highbrow like tennis,” I lift the glass and make snobby face. I suck at not letting him affect me. Within minutes of arriving, Sean cracked my shell and is pulling me out, but I can’t have it.

“Well, the balls are the right size…” he opens his hands like he’s explaining something that would be rational.

I laugh. I can’t help it. “Not for you, they’re not.”

“Flattery will not get you anywhere, Miss Smith.”

“I already have a free pass into your panties after dinner, Mr. Jones. I expect my flattery to get me everywhere and then some.” I sip my wine again with a smug look on my face.

Sean’s expression shifts from neutral to that lazy sultry look that’s so damn hot. “Where exactly is the and then some. It sounds titillating.” He strokes his chin, drawing my eye to his lips as he does it.

“Check my preference sheet. It’s recently been updated.”

Sean’s smirk falters, but he puts it back. The movement is so fast that I’m not sure I saw it. Maybe I just hope that I did. “Is that so?”

I nod and tap my finger nail once against my wine glass. “You can titillate anything you want. No restrictions. No hang ups.”

Sean just stares at me. After a moment, he asks, “Why the change in pace?”

I avert my gaze and trace my finger around the curve of the glass. “Why not? I mean, that is if you’re willing to. Unless, you’re only into fake relationship kind of sex…” Sean stares at my lips like he wants to devour them. He doesn’t speak.

“Oh, come on,” I say, leaning closer to him. I take his tie between my fingers and feel the silky fabric with my thumb. Sean looks at my hand and slowly returns his gaze to my face. “You’ve got to have some fetish or kinky desire, something that you need.” I say the last word slowly, wrapping my lips around the syllables.

Sean sits perfectly still, like he’s under a spell. It breaks when the waiter comes back and puts our food down on the table. Sean lifts his fork. He doesn’t talk about my offer. Instead, he points at me with a fork and says, “Eat.”

Dinner progresses in silence. I don’t like eating with him. It feels too informal, too personal. He knows what food I like. The meal on my plate wasn’t listed on the menu. It’s a salty sweet lover’s paradise with sweet sundried cranberries, sprinkles of feta cheese, and pork so savory that it melts in my mouth. There’s some kind of sweet glaze over the meat. I could die. It’s perfectly delicious. I chew slowly, wishing that Sean’s thoughtfulness didn’t appeal to me, but it does.