All the air left her body. She could almost hear the whooshing sound. “Subtle.”
That smile came back. It lifted the corner of his mouth, making him look even sexier. “Did you want me to play games?”
“No.” She loved that he didn’t. He ignored the whole “act cool and don’t contact her for days” idiocy. He was clear he wanted her last night and showing up today, acting like it was the most natural thing in the world, showed her he still wanted her today. She couldn’t think of anything hotter.
He brushed his fingers over hers, barely touching yet caressing all the same. The skimming of skin over skin was a stark reminder of all his talents and the glimpse he had treated her to last night.
“What do you want?” he asked in a voice that seemed even deeper, smokier, than usual.
Underneath the very public foreplay, memories of the evening before crawled through. What happened between them blew past a simple release. The sharing dove much deeper.
“Last night was a good start.” The way he opened up surprised her and gave her hope. She feared that door would slam shut. At the very least, that he’d regret he ever opened it.
The tension in his face had hinted at the battle waging inside him. He’d crossed a line back then. Him, with his reserve and that wall of control that smacked into her every time she saw him. He did something to track that man down and it had cost Levi something. Maybe everything. She got the impression who he was and how he dealt with people—at a distance and in cryptic conversations—formed back then.
His fingers froze for a second. “Now you’re hedging.”
He must have heard it in her voice. He seemed to pick up on the fact they’d crossed from sex talk into something else. He might claim not to get people, but he could read them.
“Frankly, you scare the shit out of me.” On a very fundamental level, he did. Not for her safety, but she wasn’t sure his sanity was secure in his hands.
His hand slipped away. He didn’t move back, but his mood changed. Slight but the heat had receded and now he wore a blank expression. “You’re back to thinking I’m dangerous.”
She kept her hand on the table and didn’t move back. She tried to show him without pleading what she meant. “This has nothing to do with being afraid of you or anything you told me yesterday.”
“You’re sure?”
“Definitely.”
Some of the tension seemed to leave his shoulders. “Then I’ll take that as a sign of progress.”
“Wow, you’re really talking sexy now.”
He laughed. That fast the tension broke. They’d shifted from flirty talk to serious and now hit a level of comfort.
She’d never really experienced all those stages with one person. She went out with a guy who was great when the clothes came off but always gave off a whiff of “I’m on the lookout for something better.” She’d gone out with really nice guys who didn’t get her heartbeat revving. She didn’t run toward danger, but she now knew the flawed, intense type rang her bells. She didn’t love that realization and sure didn’t want to psychoanalyze where that came from.
“I could go into vivid detail about where I want to put my fingers.” His gaze traveled over her face then down her neck. “My tongue.”
The woman walking by the table glanced over and smiled. Emery smiled back before turning to Wren. “We’re in public.”
He shrugged as he picked up his coffee again. Acted like the conversation didn’t affect him at all. “You issued the challenge. You seem to forget that I’m a man with questionable boundaries.”
He wanted a challenge? Fine. She put her hands on either side of the table and gave it a little shake. “Do you think this table could hold us?”
He didn’t even blink. “I’m willing to test it.”
Okay, that was pretty hot. This side of him proved tough to resist. Emery wondered why she was even trying.
Her fingers slipped over the top button of her silk dress shirt. “Tough talker, but I bet if I undid even one of these you’d get all huffy and storm out.”
He put the cup down and held out both hands. “Try me.”
The noise in the café behind her faded out. In that moment all she saw was his face and that kissable mouth and she wanted to dive over the furniture to get to him. “Really?”
“When it comes to this topic, I am not restrained.”
She could hear her breathing echoing in her head and tried to relax. This was just talk and they were in public. Nothing could happen . . . yet. “Admittedly, you’re a bit of a wild man in the bedroom.”
“I’ll be whatever you want.”
“Dominant.” She didn’t even know how she choked the word out.
He rubbed his fingers along his jaw. “Is that what you want or are you saying it’s a problem?”
“Not a problem. Not even a little.” On him taking the lead proved to be a very good thing. “I’m just saying—”