Page 38 of Close Your Eyes
“Like you want to eat me alive.”
My heart’s nearly beating out of my chest. I want to cross this room and take her into my arms. Show her how badly I want to eat her, devour her.
“Is that what you’re giving me?” I ask her.
“For you to tell me about your meeting with Bane? Is that what you want?”
I tilt my head, studying her. I love the dress. But what I want is more.
I shake my head slowly from side to side. “No,” I whisper.
She lets out a tiny gasp. “What do you want?”
“What are you willing to give?” I know this game is dangerous, but I no longer give a fuck. I want to suspend time—suspend reality—and have this stolen moment with her.
She taps at her chin as she thinks about my question. “Anything,” she finally says. “Anything you want.”
Fuck, what is she doing to me?
“It’s a very long list,” I tell her, unable to move close to her, knowing if I do I wouldn’t be able to resist this urge to touch her.
“Maybe you can pick the first thing. Or choose at random?” Her baby blues blink at me.
My cock is fucking hard just from this brief conversation. From thinking about what I want her to give me. I want to ask for a kiss, but is that pushing things a bit too far? I don’t want to scare her off. So instead, I settle for something easy. “A dance.”
Her eyes widen. “Not what I thought you were going to say, but okay.”
There’s a slow song playing right now through the speakers, and Posey rises from the couch and moves toward the small stage with the pole. She grabs the pole, and fuck, I want to watch what’s about to happen, but it’s not the type of dance I was talking about.
“No,” I say.
She freezes. “I’m not really sure how to swing on a pole.”
I stalk across the room, and wrap an arm around her waist. “That’s not the type of dance I want.” I tug her against my body, holding out my free hand for her to take.
She gazes up at me. “You want to slow dance with me?”
I nod. “Very much so.”
Together we sway our bodies to the slow beat of the music, and I hold her close. Having her in my arms feels right. I lean in, swiping a stray strand of her hair and breathing it in. Her scent is intoxicating, filling me with a sense of peace I haven't felt in ages. In this moment, everything else fades away, and all that matters is the feel of her body against mine. I wish this dance could last forever, where time stands still, and it's just the two of us.
I get lost in this moment, and after a few minutes, I drop my hands from her. I need to steer things back to safer waters before I do something we both regret.
Posey licks her lips. She’s so goddamn beautiful. She returns to her spot on the couch, thanking me for the dance as she does.
“Does the name Nicholai Orlov mean anything to you?”
Posey blinks. “No, should it?”
I tilt my head, studying her, running a finger along the bottom of my lip, watching her reaction to the name closely. “He might be the man smoking the cigar you smelled before the attack.”
“What does that mean?” Her eyes stay fixed on me, and I can see that she has no idea who the man is.
“It means he could have been the man who attacked you. I need to do a bit more digging, but it could very well be him. Has Bane ever mentioned a Russian he’s in business with?” Even though Bane thinks it’s one of his men, I won’t leave any stone unturned.
Posey shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“How much of his business does he share with you?”