“I mean…a little bit,” she says, hanging a dress back in its place. “I think some pictures came out yesterday, so word has had a chance to get around.”
I laugh. “Well, it’s done wonders for sales, hasn’t it?”
“No kidding. Maybe you should make out with Ace Kingsley more often.”
“Who said I made out with him?”
She gives me a look from around a mannequin. “The pictures were of the two of you dancing, but it looked pretty hot, so….”
There is one issue with this, which is that the Swan generally frowns upon people posting pictures from inside its walls. My guess is that this scenario won’t play out again—they have their ways of finding out which member is the culprit—but it’s a kick in the ass for me to get on this, and soon. If everybody’s going to be talking about me….
“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. I’ll never tell,” I tease.
I’m going to have to get serious about these rumors. Especially if I’m going to be dragged into the fray.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ace
After having lunch with my father—during which he harasses me endlessly about the woman I’m interested in, and I tell him virtually nothing, because I’m still not certain this won’t crash and burn, the memory of Elisa constricting my throat more than once—I rethink the idea of sending Carolyn a filthy text. The weekend was hotter than I ever could have dreamed. If she was anyone else pre-Elisa, I might not give a fuck, but with Carolyn, it matters.
It might be a good idea to think about turning the heat down a bit, as much as my cock disagrees.
We exchange a few flirty texts on Monday—nothing too heavy, and she seems a little distracted—but on Tuesday evening, I run into her in the lobby.
Her cheeks are flushed and her hair is a little disheveled—nothing compared to how it looked after we got out of bed on Saturday—and she’s got a satisfied smile on her face.
A hard knot forms in my gut before I can stop it. Is she seeing someone else? It’s not like we’ve made any commitment to each other—not really—but if some other man has had his hands on her, I’ll—
“Ace!” she says, catching sight of me. “I’m sorry I didn’t message you all day.” She comes quickly across the lobby, catching up with me at the elevators. “The boutique has been crazy.” Her eyes shine in the light, and she looks so fucking beautiful, I can’t resist.
“Hi, gorgeous,” I say, and then—audience be damned—I put my hand behind her neck and pull her in for a kiss. It’s slow and hot and perfect, and it stops only when the arrival of the elevator car interrupts us.
“Whoa,” Carolyn breathes. “Did you miss me that much?”
My cock stirs. “More. Come have dinner with me.”
She hesitates for only an instant, her forehead wrinkling, but then the smile is back on her face. “Okay. But I’m not staying the night.” Her cheeks go a little pinker. “This is pathetic, but I’m actually…I’m actually pretty tired.”
I move my arm lower to wrap it around her shoulders, and we step into the elevator together. “What do you think I am, some kind of sex addict?”
“Maybe. I am pretty hot.”
I laugh out loud. After two full days of missing her, it feels fucking great—this calm, peaceful feeling.
It would be a little more peaceful if my cock wasn’t already pulsing with need for her, but that will have to wait.
I order from one of my favorite Indian places, and while we wait for the food to arrive, Carolyn curls up on my sofa, her feet on the ottoman. She gasps a little when I emerge from the kitchen with two glasses of wine.
“A man after my own heart,” she says, taking one from me and sipping it. Her eyes go a little wider. “This is so good.”
My heart skips a beat at her words, then it recovers. It’s true. I am after her own heart. And more than anything, right now, I want to know more about her. Anything more. Everything more.
I sit in the silence with her for a few moments.
“What made you decide to open a boutique?”
Carolyn purses her lips, considering. “I was tired of my old job. I was pretty high up in a marketing firm here in the city, but it was just…wearing on me. The day-to-day.”
“And you love fashion?”
Carolyn’s mouth quirks into a smile. “I enjoy fashion. It’s not something that makes me go crazy with lust, though.”
I lean in and kiss the line of her jaw.
“That might make me go crazy with lust.”
“I’ll stop,” I say with a grin, pulling back.