His lips twitched. “Maybe not, but it had potential.”
“I don’t know. This new job, it’s taking up a lot of energy, and while I’m not allowed to talk about what I’m doing, you already know there’s a connection to your boss. I think it would be a conflict of interest.”
“We won’t mention work. We’ll talk about each other.”
She was tempted. She enjoyed his company. Hell, she’d be happy to just sit and stare at him, but he was interesting as well and it was a long time since she’d had any life outside the job. Maybe she deserved this.
He must have sensed her weakening. “Dinner?”
“Early night,” she countered.
“Alone?”
“Definitely.” She had a flash image of Ash in her bed and a wave of heat washed over her.
“Tomorrow then. Wouldn’t you like to know how our meeting goes?”
Of course she would, and that’s why she would see Ash again. That and because she was supposed to be spying on him. Nothing to do with the fact that he was the most gorgeous man she had ever come across, and he wanted her. How unexpected was that?
“Okay. Tomorrow lunch.” Lunch was safe. What could happen at lunch?
“Good.” He still had hold of her hand and he leaned down and kissed her palm. Heat swept through her at the touch of his lips. In another man, the gesture might have seemed posed, corny even, but with Ash, it seemed perfectly natural. He touched her palm lightly with the tip of his tongue and the heat settled low down in her belly.
As he raised his head, his dark eyes met hers. “You want anything else?” His voice promised all sorts of things, which had nothing to do with food. “Dessert?”
She took a deep breath. She was stronger than this; she had to stay in control. She was always in control. Tugging her hand free, she placed it on her lap out of reach.
“No thank you,” she said primly. “I must get back to work.”
“Tomorrow then.”
Chapter Eight
Ash drew the vehicle to a halt outside Faith’s apartment building and switched off the engine. Before the noise had died, she was turning in her seat, releasing her belt, and preparing to make a dash for it.
They’d met for lunch three days running. She wouldn’t go out with him in the evening. Instead, he picked her up after work and drove her home. But so far she’d refused to invite him inside. He was hoping tonight would be different.
She fascinated him, and he hadn’t thought that would be possible with a human. He was aware she wanted him; she gave it away in tiny ways. A peek from the corner of her eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking. The flutter of the pulse at her throat when he leaned in close.
But she had formidable willpower.
His libido had been in hibernation for over twenty years. Now it was well and truly awake and desperate to get some action. But not just any action. He tried that, wanting to find out if it was just a general awakening or only in response to Faith.
Definitely, the latter he’d discovered, and he wasn’t sure if he was glad or not. Maybe after however many thousands of years he was finally maturing. The thought made him smile.
She sat back in her seat and looked at him. “You’re smirking.” It sounded like an accusation.
“Just happy to be in your company.” The weird thing was he liked her. He also had an inkling that if he pushed too hard she would back away and he’d never get another chance. So he was playing it cool—not something he was used to.
Her eyes narrowed. “Really?”
“Hmm. So are you going to invite me in?”
“I don’t think so.” But she made no move to climb out of the vehicle.
Darkness had fallen on the drive—she’d worked late tonight—and the light was dim. He’d made a point of parking away from the streetlight. Now he twisted in his seat and studied her.
That pulse was beating frantically in her throat, so he wanted to lick along the vein, maybe sink his teeth into the flesh. Demons didn’t need to drink blood like vampires, but that didn’t mean they didn’t love the taste of warm flesh. That might be a little more “demon” than she was ready for, so instead, he rested his hands on her shoulders, lowered his head, and pressed his lips against the soft skin, felt her blood pulsing so close to the surface.
Although she shifted against him, she didn’t pull away and he trailed his lips up her throat, nibbled along her jawline, found her lips.
She was so sweet, her mouth parting beneath his on a soft sigh. He made the most of her capitulation and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along hers, tasting her. His dick was instantly hard, but maybe he’d keep that to himself for the moment.