It made my cheeks burn hotter.
“Why do you like it?” I asked. “I hate it. It’s my least favorite thing about myself.”
“Why do I like it when you blush?”
I nodded. Only his gentle grip on my wrists was stopping me from covering my cheeks again.
“I guess...” he said softly, lifting one hand to my face. He brushed his thumb right along my cheekbone, his eyes on mine. “It’s the way your eyes shine. I could look at them shining like that all day and never be bored of the view.”
I swallowed. God... He was on a roll today.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
I stilled. “I... I can’t.”
West frowned, small indents furrowing in his brow. “Of course you can.” His fingers stretched out and he cupped my cheek.
Involuntarily, my face turned in toward his palm. “I can’t, West. I shouldn’t even be here right now.” I pulled his hand away from my face and spun away. My purse was on the bar, so I made a beeline for it.
“Cute, Mia.”
“Excuse me?”
“Cute. I didn’t ask you to have dinner with me. I told you.”
I spun back around on my heels and stared him down. “Told me? You freaking told me to have dinner with you?” I stormed to him and jabbed my finger at his chest while he stared down at me with too much amusement. “Listen to me, West Rykman. You don’t tell me anything. You can throw me on that stage and grab my ass and whisper your dirty talk in my ear like you own me, but you don’t. You can spank my ass like you own that too, but you still fucking don’t.”
I went to turn, but his lightning-quick reflexes twirled me and pinned me against the stage. I gripped the edge of it and hit him with a dark glare.
He responded by grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling my face close to his. “That’s where you’re wrong. I do own you, Mia. Not in the conventional sense, but in the sense that you can’t stay away from me. I owned your pussy the first time I bent you over that hotel bed and fucked you senseless. I owned your mouth the first time you took my cock to the back of your throat. And, if I have to put you on your knees, spread your tight, little ass cheeks, and fuck you there so you believe I own your ass too, then I damn well will.”
He leaned in closer, so close that our noses touched. Our breath mingled in the tiny space of air between us, and my nerves sang as desire-fueled adrenaline pumped right through my body.
“And, angel? The moment you looked into my eyes, I owned you. So it wasn’t a fucking request for dinner tonight. You come to my place for it or I’m gonna bring it to yours.”
I stared him down as best I could. I didn’t let my gaze waver, even as he released my hair and grasped the edge of the stage the way I was, boxing me in. Even as his cock pressed against the apex of my thighs and my clit throbbed.
“I don’t know what kind of women you usually have relationships with, but rest assured, I’m not them,” I said quietly. Strongly, but quietly. “And, even if I am turned on right now, demanding shit of me won’t get you what you want, West. I’m sticking by what I said this morning.”
And he didn’t need to know why. Even if he thought he owned me. That he couldn’t resist me.
He didn’t need to know I was falling for his tender, blue eyes, his rough grip, his powerful presence, and his dirty mouth. He didn’t need to know I was falling for him.
“I know you’re not.” His voice was quieter now, the same volume as mine. “Because you’re the first woman I’ve fucked without her putting a single dollar in my pants in years.”
“Should I be flattered by that?”
“I don’t know. Does it sound flattering? I meant it to, but I’m not sure it came out that way.” He looked so thoughtful, so confused, that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from breaking out into a massive smile. “It didn’t come out that way, did it?”
I grimaced, still fighting my amusement, and shook my head.
“Shit.” He stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “I probably could have worded it better?”
“Or not said it at all,” I offered as a better solution.
“Yes... That’s probably the preferable option.”
“You think?”
“I’m blaming you for this.” He unfolded his arms and touched his finger to the end of my nose.
“Me?” My jaw dropped. “How is it even close to being my fault?”
“Because you’re so damn cute when you get mad.” He cupped my chin and pulled my mouth toward his. “Combine that with the fact that it’s hard to think straight around you at all and nothing I want to say is going to come out right.”
I leaned back. “So, literally everything you’ve said to me today has come out wrong?”
“No. Just the dollar thing.”
“You’re a dork.” I smiled.
“So, will you have dinner with me?”
I mock gasped. “You’re asking?”
“Don’t get used to it, angel. I’ll be back demanding unless you answer me soon.”
“You’re a double dork.”