PLAYING DIRTY WITH THE HOT CEO

chapter 17

Heidi

When we’ve finished our meals, Ally says to Titus, “So, are we going to be able to persuade you to join us?”

I give him an apologetic look and reveal, “They want to go to a karaoke bar.”

He shrugs. “I don’t mind.”

I stare at him in delight. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course.”

So we pay and head out of the restaurant, then walk the short distance to the bar.

The sun has now set, and the waxing moon is casting a silvery path on the sea. We’ve finished off several bottles of wine between the six of us, and I feel mellow and happy as we enter the bar. Ally has booked one of the karaoke rooms, and we order drinks and take them inside. It’s small with comfortable padded benches around three sides, tables in the middle, and a small stage at one end for whoever’s performing. Flashing pink and purple lights turn the room into a disco.

We slide onto the benches, and then it’s time to start with the songs.

The others go first, although we all sing along so the performer doesn’t feel too self-conscious. Ally belts out Whitney Houston’sI Wanna Dance with Somebody. Jack chooses Ed Sheeran’sPerfect. Donna sings Amy Winehouse’sRehab, and Ian chooses Rick Astley’sNever Gonna Give You Up.

Then it’s my turn. I opt for The Pretenders’Brass in Pockets, a nod toLost in Translation, which is one of my favorite movies. A tingle runs through me as Titus leans back and watches me, his eyes gleaming in the flashing disco lights.

I don’t know if it’s the few glasses of wine I’ve had, the strange, magical day, seeing Titus without his shirt earlier, or the flashing lights, but I feel hot and buzzy, and my heart’s racing. I tell him I’m going to make him notice me, and that I’m special, while I move my hips to the music, and I’m rewarded by his steady stare, as if he can’t tear his eyes from me.

When I’m done, he applauds with the others, and then Ally says, “Titus? Going to have a go?”

“You don’t have to,” I say breathlessly, sitting next to him.

“I’m absolutely going to,” he says, getting to his feet.

Thrilled, I watch him choose a song. I have no idea whether he can sing or not, but I’m pleased he’s having a go, and so are the others.

He chooses Marvin Gaye’sSexual Healing, which makes my heart skip a beat. As the music starts, he says, “Ah, now I’m regretting it…” He takes a deep breath to hit the powerful high note at the beginning,Baby… makes it, gives a relieved laugh, and then he’s off and running.

I join in with the others and clap along, entranced by his sexy voice and his performance. Getting in his stride, he adds a few dance steps and a twirl, then manages to entangle himself in the microphone lead, but he just laughs and carries on.

We give him a huge cheer when he’s done, and he comes and sits next to me, tapping his glass against mine when I hold it up.

“Well done,” I say.

He grins. “Glad you enjoyed the performance.”

After a few more songs, we head into the main bar and sit and chat for another hour over a last drink, and then finally call an Uber around ten thirty. We say goodbye to the others, who all say they hope they get to see Titus again someday, and then we get in the car and head back to Briarton.

“Thank you so much for coming,” I murmur as the lights of the city flash by.

“Thanks for asking me. I really enjoyed it.”

“My friends all liked you,” I tell him.

He smiles. “I’m glad.”

I open my mouth to say that I like him, too, then close it again. I’ve had a couple of glasses of wine, and I mustn’t let it persuade me that coming on to him would be a good idea. Earlier I resolved to keep my distance, and I have to stick to it.

He meets my eyes, though, and there’s more than a little heat in his. This is so hard. Maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. And I still have a whole weekend with him. How am I going to get through it without melting into a giant puddle?

We don’t say much more as the Uber travels along the darkened Expressway, through the Devon countryside, then eventually turns off toward Briarton. My heart picks up speed as he nears my cottage, though. Will he go straight to bed? Or will he want to sit and talk, or watch a movie?

When we arrive, we get out and thank the driver, and I open the front door. Titus gestures for me to precede him. I say, “After you.”

“No, after you.”

We both hesitate, then move forward together, and give an awkward laugh as we bump shoulders. “After you,” he says again, moving back, and I walk in hastily.

“Would you like a coffee?” I ask, heart racing as I toe off my Converses.

He clears his throat. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

I light a candle on the table, then go into the kitchen, not bothering to turn on the light. He comes out with me, reaches up to retrieve a glass from the cupboard, and I turn and walk straight into his arm.

“Sorry,” I say, and duck under it to fill the kettle.

He mutters something, but I don’t ask what. There are butterflies in my stomach, although I’m not sure why. I take the full kettle back to its base and turn it on, then turn to get some milk out of the fridge, at the same time as he pulls out some water.

“For f**k’s sake,” he says.

My face flushes. “Sorry. I’m so clumsy.”

“Not you, Heidi. I’m frustrated with myself.” He puts the water on the counter, then rests his hands on his hips.

I let the fridge shut and turn so I’m resting back on the counter, puzzled at his words. To my surprise, he moves closer to me, until he’s just a few inches away.

His eyes are blazing with something, I’m not sure what. I can smell his aftershave, warmed by his skin. The muscles at the corner of his jaw are moving, as if he’s gritting his teeth.

“Everything all right?” I ask cautiously.

He inhales, then huffs a sigh. “I’m very disciplined,” he states.

I’m not sure where this is heading. “Okay…”

“I rarely overindulge with drink or food. I don’t smoke. I don’t take drugs. I go to the gym several times a week, and I run on my treadmill most mornings.”

“I see,” I say, although I don’t. I moisten my lips with the tip of my tongue, and as his gaze drops to them, he makes a frustrated noise low in his throat.

“So why am I finding it so hard to keep my hands off you?” he says. “Why are you so damn irresistible?”

“Skill?” I suggest, heart racing.

His lips curve up, and his gaze drops to my mouth. He gives a small shake of his head. “I can’t stop thinking about kissing you,” he whispers. “I’ve thought about little else all day.”

Thrilled, I tip my head to the side. “I told you that we aren’t going to do anything that involves removal of clothing.”

“Yeah…”

I shrug. “I guess that means we can kiss fully clothed.”

He’s still looking at my mouth. “But nothing more.”

“Of course not.”

His gaze returns to mine, a tad helpless. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“Titus, I promise, you won’t do anything to me that I don’t want done.”

“Huxley trusts me,” he says, so softly I think he’s talking to himself.

“Forget Oliver. I’m not sixteen anymore.”

“That is very obvious.”

“It isn’t any of his business. I kiss whom I please. The question is, would you like to kiss me?”

He leans a hand either side of me on the counter.

“More than life itself,” he replies, and he lowers his lips to mine.

I hold my breath as our mouths connect. For a moment, he just holds his lips there, as if he’s testing his resolve, waiting to see if he’s flooded with regret, or whether I pull back, saying I can’t go through with it.

I don’t. I lower my lashes and, although my heart bangs on my ribs, threatening to burst through and bounce away, I stay still.

He moves back half an inch. I look up at him, dazzled, aching for more.

“Ah, Heidi,” he says, and he cups my face in his hands. “You’re so f*****g beautiful.”

“Kiss me again,” I whisper. “Please.”

“Oh I will. Last time I rushed it, though. This time, we’re going to take it slow.”

Ooh, what does that mean? Excited that he’s not done, I rest my hands on his chest, my heart racing.

“Close your eyes,” he murmurs. Obediently, I lower my lids, and the next thing I feel is his lips pressing on them, lightly, as if the butterflies from my tummy have fluttered up and are brushing across my face.

Slowly, methodically, he kisses my brows, my nose, along my cheekbones to my hairline, then follows the line of my jaw back to my mouth. I’m smiling by now, and I feel his lips curve up to match mine before he takes another step forward so our bodies are flush, and he lowers his lips.

Mmm… I drift away to a heavenly place where nothing exists except this quiet room, the flickering candlelight, and the man in front of me, filling every single one of my senses. I can taste the mint we had in the car, and the sexy scent of his aftershave sends my pulse racing. His hands on my face are warm, and now he’s closed the distance between us, I can feel his hard, strong body pressed up against me.

Ohhh… he’s so incredibly gentle. I know he’s holding back on purpose, probably because of what I said about Jason. He just makes me melt. He presses his lips to mine, kissing from one corner to the other, then back to the center, and only then does he touch his tongue to my bottom lip. I’m more than happy to part them for him, and he slides his tongue into my mouth, where it entwines with mine.

Last time he kissed me, when I was sixteen, he went from zero to a hundred in seconds. This time, the heat builds between us slowly, my body stirring and responding to his subtle persuasion. I’m not a girl now, I’m a woman, and I’m not innocent; I know how to arouse a man, and how to be active rather than passive in a kiss. As he lowers his arms around me, the fingers of one hand splaying at the base of my spine to pull me away from the counter and close to him, so I raise my arms around his neck, lifting up onto my tiptoes so I can stretch out along him. He rests his other hand in the middle of my back, and now I’m touching him from my breasts all the way down to my thighs.