“I took you out last night, and you didn’t give me a good-night kiss.”
Ah, so he felt like it was a date too. That was good to know, since the whole time they were together, she couldn’t stop thinking it was.
It was one of the best dates she’d ever had.
“I thought we just went out as friends,” she supplied.
Tate smiled and slowly shook his head. “You and I both knew it was a date the moment you stepped out of that room with this dress and those heels on. You were trying to impress me.”
Audrey eyed him as his smile widened. He wasn’t wrong, she had wanted to impress him, and she knew she had by the way his eyes stay glued to her the whole night. “Maybe I was.”
“It’s the truth.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe.”
Tate smiled, then brought his lip between his teeth while giving her a long, heated look. He moved his hands beside her head, dropping his face to be closer to hers. “Kiss me, Audrey.”
“No way,” she said, shaking her head, “not in this bed.”
“Why not?” he asked with a not so innocent grin.
“Because we both know it won’t stop at a kiss.” When he didn’t disagree, she laughed as she pushed him off her. He landed beside her and smiled, stretching his long arms. “Maybe if you are a gentleman and walk me to my room, I might reward you with one.”
He looked at her and said, “You ready to go?”
Laughing, Audrey said, “Yeah, I need a shower, and I’m pretty sure my breath stinks.”
“Not too bad,” he said with a smile.
Audrey returned the smile before rolling out of bed and sliding into her heels. Before thinking, she had run her mouth, and now she was nervous and second-guessing herself, like this was going to be their first kiss or something.
Not looking at him, she pulled her dress down and fixed the top. By then Tate was standing by the door, pulling his shirt over his head.
She made her way to him and lifted the shirt up over his chest, exposing his tattoo. When he didn’t stop her, she laughed. “Sheesh, I could take advantage of you and you would let me, huh?”
“Oh yeah, are you doing that now?” he asked playfully.
She shook her head, running her fingers along the birds, feeling his hard chest. “No, silly. What are these? Names?”
In an instant Tate’s playful smile was gone, his mouth a tight line as he pulled his shirt down. “Yeah, my mom, dad, and sister.”
“Aw, wow! That’s awesome. I love that tattoo, it’s beautiful.”
He glanced away and nodded. “Thank you. Come on, let’s get you to your room.”
It was clear as they walked down the hall that Tate’s mood had changed. She didn’t know what happened but had a feeling it was about the tattoos. In the elevator, she asked, “Did I make you mad?”
Tate looked up at her and shook his head. “No, love, not at all.”
The door dinged, and Tate led her out with his hand on her lower back. It felt so nice to have someone hold her there, but that wasn’t what made her smile. It was the “love.” She had never been called that before. Sexy, baby, babe, cupcake, you name it, she’d been called it, but never love. It was sweet, and it made her belly do flip flops, especially when hearing it in his accent. It truly made her heart skip a beat.
Making their way down the hall to her room her heart beat faster. He was going to kiss her, and she couldn’t wait. Wasn’t that supposed to be bad? Because at the moment she wasn’t thinking it was. Eek! What the hell was wrong with her? Was she doing the right thing? Ah, there was her door. Reaching into her bra, she pulled out her room key. Tate chuckled beside her.
“That’s been in your bra?”
She flashed him a grin. “Yeah, I have lipstick in there too, and my bank cards.”
He smiled as she pushed the door open. She turned in the doorway, biting down hard on her lip. She didn’t know what to say and was freaking out inside. Tate looked calm, looking down at the floor as he kicked around at the black carpet.
“When are you leaving?” he asked.