Page 5 of Playing Hard to Get

“She’s like family.” He shrugged again. “Don’t want to let her down.”

“Ahh, you’re so sweet.”

“I’m very sweet.” Mitch leaned on the bar again. The look he gave me made me doubt there was an ounce of sweetness in his body. It also made me want to lick every inch of it to find out. I threw back a gulp of my drink, and Mitch laughed like he knew what he’s doing to me. “You wanna dance?”

“With you?” Do I ever.

“Well,” Mitch said, offering his hand after dropping to the floor on my side of the bar, “unless you got somebody else in mind.”

Dancing with Mitch was better than sex. I’d only done it once, and I’d been craving it ever since. It was so hot I thought my body burst into flames. Even the fire alarms that went off suggested it. Instead, it was the hotel attached to this bar that was set on fire. The entire building was evacuated. It stopped me from going to the one place I wanted more than anything—and the place I knew I couldn’t go: Mitch’s arms, Mitch’s bed, where I would have let him fuck me senseless.

I threw back the rest of my drink before sliding my hand into his. He pulled me out to the middle of the dark, crowded dance floor, then held me tight against his hard, muscular body. In my Louboutin’s, I was as tall as he was. That didn’t stop him from burying his face in the crook of my neck.

Oh, dear God, I’d missed this. I’d missed him.

Snuggling had always been a foreign concept to me, and I’d always wondered how people could like it so much. Since meeting Mitch, I came to understand. His five o’clock shadow against my throat made me a believer. I’d be willing to let him nuzzle his face against my throat until the sun stopped rising in the sky.

Mitch smoothed his hands down my back to my ass, then pulled my hips tight against his. His thigh rested between my legs, pushing up the fabric of my dress again, like he was a horse I could ride off into the sunset. And, oh, how I’d love to ride him. I felt like I could come right there on the dance floor, and that was no easy feat.

“Tell me where else you’ve been,” Mitch said in my ear. It wasn’t a whisper—the music was far too loud for that—but the way he said it made me feel like this was all a secret. That what we said here, what we did here, was all some clandestine affair.

And maybe it was, because he was off limits. I was headed down a dangerous path, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Oh, I’ve been all over.” I pulled my head back and looked into Mitch’s deep brown eyes. “Before Tokyo, I was shopping fabrics in China and Africa. I was in India for a while. And of course, the usual stops throughout Europe.”

“Which was your favorite?”

I met his grin with one of my own, then leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Definitely Japan.”

Mitch moaned and kissed my throat as he pulled me into him. His hard body led me down a dangerous path. Every naughty thought that had ever run through my head about him raced through once again.

Last year, after the Savory hotel caught on fire, I ended up in Mitch’s bed. Sadly, he wasn’t there with me. I had fantasies about that bed and the things I’d like to do to him in it. Mitch had been to Japan, fell in love with Japan. His room was all red silk and black lacquer, with Japanese stylings throughout. Each minute I was in Tokyo, I thought of him. That was the reason I was here. The bar, Riverside at the Savory, was where Mitch used to work and where we first met. I had hoped to find him but never expected it to happen. That I was in his arms, with his body tight against mine, was a fantasy come true.

We danced for hours under the pulsing blue lights, stopping occasionally for a drink at the bar. Mitch peppered me with questions about my travels, and I indulged him with descriptions of the world I’d seen. It was the only thing keeping me from acting on my urges, and I got the feeling Mitch felt the same way. Our hands roamed over each other on the dance floor, never quite crossing the line between friends and lovers. But our bodies knew no bounds. The thin fabric of our clothes was the one thing keeping us from being obscene. It wasn’t until Carol shut off the piped-in dance music and the room fell silent that I realized how late it was.

I froze in the sudden silence. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong, darlin’?” Mitch asked as he smoothed his hands down my back and cradled my hips.

Spinning away from his warmth, I took a step toward the exit, then turned back to him. Put my hand on his chest, because that distance between us was too much. “I never checked in. I left my bag with the front desk and never got a room.”

“Might be a bit late for that now,” Mitch said, chuckling at me. He pulled me to him and nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. His lips touched my skin and it made me weak in the knees. “Why don't you come stay with me?”

Though I tensed, Mitch didn't back off. He ran his hands up my sides, a slow, sensual pace, before sliding them back to my hips.

“Mitch.” My voice cracked and I had to clear my throat. “I can't.”

“Nonsense.” He pulled back and took my hand. He placed a soft kiss on my knuckle while watching me through his dark lashes. “You can sleep in the spare room. No one’s there tonight.” He turned to the bar and tugged me along behind him, his fingers softly wrapped around mine. I followed obediently, like a puppy. Like I was incapable of saying no.

I was losing control, but I didn't have much of a choice. At least, I told myself I didn’t. Sure, I could have tried to rouse the manager and get a room. But that would call attention to my presence, make waves where there shouldn’t be any. Or I could have called my driver and have him take me to Daddy’s house. But that was a disaster waiting to happen. I didn't tell Daddy I was coming home. Mostly because I didn't want to come home.

What I wanted, what I’d always wanted, was to be right here with Mitch. I’d never let anything stand in my way of my desires before, and I’d never wanted anything as much as I wanted him. After a night of being so close to him, my reasons for staying away were starting to blur.

Mitch turned to me before we left the bar. He was close, so close, and I wanted to reach out and touch his face. “You okay with this?”

“I'm okay with this,” I told him as I watched his tongue trace over his lower lip. I slid my fingers through his and walked with him out to the parking garage. He pulled out his keys and led me to an old-model, black SUV. Slid the key in the lock without letting go of my hand.

“Hop in,” Mitch said as he opened my door and stepped out of my way. When he was settled in the driver’s seat, he turned to me, his dark eyes caressing my face.