Chapter 9 #3
She tore her gaze away from the dazzling lights below to catch the sparkle of the moon on the ocean horizon.
If the lights had been mesmerizing, the ocean must be breathtaking.
She glanced at Des. The delicate notch at the edge of his iris caught and reflected the pale moonlight.
She smiled. “I can’t imagine a view any better than this one. ”
He grinned and winked. “Why, Camille, you sweet-talker.” He lowered his arm along the back of the gondola, brushing his fingers across her shoulder.
She shivered at the brief contact, and the world shrank around her.
She was lost in it for a moment, as their gondola stopped for their turn at the top of the Wheel.
She could have kissed him then. It would have been so easy. He already faced her. His grin faded to an easy smile, and his gaze lingered on her mouth. She didn’t think he’d pull away. He wouldn’t have suggested their Friday night plans if he wasn’t attracted to her.
But kissing wasn’t part of the deal, no matter how much her lips tingled when his gaze rested on them.
Still, for those beats they spent at the top of the Ferris Wheel, she considered closing the distance between them, sliding her fingers around his neck, and pulling him close enough to taste the sweetness of his breath.
It would have been cliché, but so, so good.
Instead, she glanced away and inhaled a shuddering breath.
Kissing wasn’t part of the deal.
His fingers breezed against her shoulder again while she tried to shake her lustful thoughts. Then, coming to the conclusion that a clear head was an improbability around him, she forced out, “You never told me what brought you to the Pier.”
“I’m here to see you, of course.” His voice was light and teasing, like their proximity didn’t bother him. When she rolled her eyes, he amended. “You’re right, I sound like a stalker. I was out for a run.” He gestured to his clothing.
“You live pretty close too?”
“A mile or so,” he said. “I’ve got a place in Ocean Park.”
The Wheel dropped another notch forward. She’d hoped that rolling out of the top spot on the Wheel would negate some of the tension buzzing between them, but it didn’t. She lifted her hands to the safety rail and curled her fingers around it, praying the cold metal would seep some sense into her.
Ocean Park was one of the nicer areas in Santa Monica, coveted for being so close to the beach.
For the same reason, it was seriously pricey.
She shouldn’t be surprised Des lived there, but the thought of anyone she knew being able to afford a home there made her a little light-headed. She sighed. “Of course you do.”
He laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” she smirked, “Mr. Sex Toy Big Shot.”
“Hey, it’s getting pretty dark.”
The abrupt change in subject had her blinking and cocking her head. “It does that at night.”
“My point,” he continued, flatly ignoring her sarcasm, “is that you shouldn’t be walking home alone after dark. It’s dangerous.”
She chuckled. “I’ve managed just fine this far.”
“I know you’re a strong, independent woman who can take care of herself—” She shoved him on the shoulder, and he smothered a smile. “But it would make me feel very manly and important if you’d let me walk you home.”
In truth, it was getting dark, and though she’d been in Santa Monica for over a year, walking around town by herself after sunset still made her anxious.
Loads of women did it all the time, but she’d grown up in Baxter.
If you were caught out after dark, the sheriff offered you a ride home because he knew your family.
Still, she hesitated. “If you live in Ocean Park, the store is out of your way.”
“It’s not that far,” he insisted. The Ferris Wheel jerked to a stop as the people in the gondolas below them disembarked. “Besides, I could use the exercise.”
She slid her gaze over him, exaggerating her frown.
“Hey. I try to get in at least ten thousand steps a day.”
“That sounds exhausting,” she murmured. “I’m sorry for you.”
The Ferris Wheel rotated a few feet and stopped again, their gondola swaying.
“I have to do something to maintain my figure, or else stunning young retail workers like you won’t go out with me.” Even in the moonlight, his intriguing eyes twinkled with mischief.
“That would be a shame. Who do you have lined up for Saturday night? One of the sales girls at Venus Envy?” It was a joke, but inside her niggled an awareness that his job was to go from one adult toy store to the next trying to sell his products.
Flirting with the sales associates to encourage rapport wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Before she could examine the flare of jealousy that stoked her belly, he snorted. “Believe it or not, I don’t typically mix business with pleasure.”
The adage took on a whole new meaning when applied to the situation they’d gotten themselves into.
She thought for a second about making some kind of dirty joke.
Nothing egregious, but something pithy that would make him laugh and want to touch her, even just to nudge her shoulder in reaction.
Before a sentence could form, he lifted his hand to her face.
His fingers cupped her jaw and the pad of his thumb traced her cheekbone.
She tilted toward him, lips parted for the kiss that would surely come.
She couldn’t kiss him, but he could kiss her. He could break that rule.
The Wheel jerked to a stop, this time with them at the bottom, and Des pulled his hand away. She shook herself, exhaling to expel the tingles that had built up in her lips.
The college student manning the ride unlocked the gate to their gondola. She cast him a distracted smile and a thank you as Des climbed out and offered his hand for her balance.
“There’s no need for you to walk me home.
” Though she thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him, being this close to him in a non-work setting was making her head spin.
It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but if she had any hope of surviving their not-a-date without developing something more than a hopeless schoolgirl crush on him, she needed to get her head on straight.
She couldn’t do that when he was so close, the warmth of his skin teased hers into a shiver.
He hesitated, his bright gaze scanning her face. She didn’t know what he found there, but he gave her a soft smile and nodded. “At least let me get you an Uber.” He led her to the gates of Pacific Park, and down the dock, where traffic clogged the road.
“It’s not necessary,” she insisted.
“I know. But it would make me feel better. I’d be terribly put out if you had to cancel tomorrow because you got mugged.”
In spite of herself, she laughed. “You’re right. That would be tragic.”
The Uber he ordered was already parked twenty feet away. He ushered her into it, and closed the door gently behind her. She rolled down her window, peering up at him as he straightened and stepped back.
“You have a good night, Cami. And get your rest for tomorrow.” He smiled, and something in the curve of his lip felt like a promise. “You’re going to need it.”