CHAPTER 2

          A glance around the posh “Eleven Madison Park” dining room confirmed that she was tragically undressed. After a closer glance at the food as the maître d’ led them to their table, Rhiannon didn’t care. She couldn’t wait to get a look at the menu, maybe steal an idea or two.

          It was one of the most exclusive restaurants in New York, a place where the waiting list was as long as her arm… longer even. But dining in such a fancy place wasn’t the highlight of her evening. Not even close. The most important part was her being there with Paxton Ridgway, Kieran’s half-brother, the man she dreamed of since she first saw him.

          The room hummed with quiet murmurs and the clink of silver on china.

“Nothing with honey for me, please,” Rhiannon requested after they had both ordered.

          Paxton cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m allergic,” she supplied.

          He nodded, then ordered the wine paired with their orders. She took a quick look around, admiring the elegance of the place, and how distinct the customers looked.

“You owe me an answer.”

          Rhiannon gave him a perplexed look. The waiter came with their wine and after pouring it in their glasses, he vanished as quickly as he appeared.  

“I don’t understand… What answer?”

          Paxton swirled his pinot noir and held her eyes with his calm, dark stare.

“Yes,” Paxton finally said. “This is the answer I’m still waiting to hear from you. Yes to everything I have in mind for us. For tonight… and tomorrow… and the day after…”

“I thought I already said yes. I’m here, with you…”

“This is just a first step. There are more steps to take, things to do, experiences to enjoy together…”

          His lips curved in a wicked grin that made her believe she might have misjudged him. He was a tycoon, a ruthless one, standing at what Kieran always told her, used to have his way in a board room, filled with businessmen, or in a bedroom. Maybe Paxton was not the right choice, or a safe choice after all.

          She took a quick sip of wine, choked, then coughed. He handed her a crystal glass of water.

“I have to tell you something… Dropping by at ‘King’s Wish’ tonight was a planned thing. I wanted to be alone with you, to talk to you.”

“Seriously?” she gasped. 

          His nod was slow and definite.

“Since Kieran brought you to that party, you stayed on my mind. Your expression, the dress you were wearing, the sound of your voice, your laughter… You were, by far, the most interesting woman I’ve ever met. Intelligent, beautiful, funny…”

“But the party took place a month ago… All these weeks you kept your distance… You never said a thing, you never called…”

“I had to be sure,” Paxton said.

          Then, he took a deep breath and released it.

“You see, I’m not the easiest man on the planet. It’s my way or the highway. I’m quite determined. But the moment you walked into that room, I felt like the sun walked in with you. Your smile pierced my heart. All I wanted was to be with you.”

“Still, it took you so long to ask me out,” she replied, taking a sip of water. “I thought I wasn’t interesting enough for you. That you thought I was nothing but a silly goose…”

          Paxton cleared his throat, breaking the spell of the past.

“You are anything but a silly goose, Rhiannon,” he said. “You know what you want and how to obtain it. Not many women could say that. You are clever, smart, and ambitious. The fact that you’re trying the impossible to keep your brother’s legacy alive and working is proof of your determination. I need a woman like you in my life. I need you in my life. So, put me out of my misery, Rhiannon… Say yes to everything I have in mind for us.”

          The waiter came and set a plate in front of her. She tore her eyes away from Paxton’s disturbing gaze and looked down at the table. For a full minute, she stared at her plate. Then she picked up the fork farthest to her left and delicately assembled a bite of the exquisite smoked salmon salad, making sure to get a taste of every component onto her fork, particularly the Amalfi lemons.

          Food, she understood.

          Food, she could handle.

          She did not have the same confidence regarding this familiar stranger in front of her. She stole a quick glance across the table. Paxton was frowning.

“What?” Rhiannon asked.

          He picked up his fork and speared a shrimp on his plate.

“Nothing.”    

                                               ****

          She was a tough nut to crack, he had to give her that. But he was tough, too. And, in the end, he will crash her for good.

          ‘Just play this stupid part like you’re already doing. Show her she can trust you. That you have feelings for her and she will fall for you in no time. Then, next stop: the penthouse and the bedroom.’

          Paxton chewed, but he didn’t really taste the food in his mouth. He was already thinking about the aftermath of this night, about her expression once she was going to find out his real intention. Once she was going to discover that her golden goose was up and gone forever.

          This game of seduction was quite interesting, but her reply wasn’t coming. She looked more bowled over by the food on the plate in front of her than by his seduction speech.

          Rhiannon responded pretty well to their petting session, but then, when he pushed a little bit more, she became a little suspicious. That did not bode well for his plan.

          ‘Patience… Easy does it…’ Paxton thought.

          He shook his head slightly, taking another bite and watching Rhiannon savor her food. She smiled a little every time her lips closed around the fork. Anticipation swirled inside of him as Paxton thought of the night he was about to spend with her, of the million ways he would have her.

          Paxton hated to admit it, but he liked kissing her, touching her. Yes, she was a despicable woman, but her kiss had been so sweet, a raw response mixed with hesitation. He wanted to kiss her again and again, over and over, until she relaxed and surrendered herself to him. He was curious to know if their bodies would fit together as perfectly as their mouths… but first he had to convince her.

          Rhiannon sighed and set her fork down with a clink. Immediately, a busboy swooped in to retrieve their empty plates. She took a long drink of her wine, then folded her hands in front of her on the white tablecloth. She met his eyes squarely. 

“I would like to know more about your plans regarding us…”

          His pulse jumped. Maybe he was still in the game, after all.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to whisper them in your ear while I’m driving you to my penthouse?”

“I’m quite positive.”

          She tipped her chin up, so her eyelids were at half-mast. Her expectant expression made him think of her head on a pillow, gazing at him while he…

“Last chance to avoid shocking our waiter,” he warned.

“You can’t shock a waiter in a place like this.”

          Paxton was certain she was incorrect, but out of public decency, he kept his voice low. He began to weave a fantasy, noticing that every server who passed within earshot of their table discreetly slowed his steps.

          Rhiannon attempted to taste the next course delivered by a wide-eyed waiter but dropped her fork with a clatter when Paxton mentioned blindfold, handcuff, and bed in the same breath.

          Still, he had to give her credit. After dropping her fork, Rhiannon had focused her attention entirely on him and had barely twitched a muscle. As he neared the end of his pitch, Rhiannon’s head was cocked to the side and her eyes were glazed. He’d thrown in everything but the kitchen sink, hoping that something might pique her interest.

          She cleared her throat and straightened in her chair. Then picked up her fork, color rising in her cheeks.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for the kinky type.”

          Paxton lifted one eyebrow, unable to prevent the corners of his mouth from turning up. He encouraged his buttoned-down, perfect presence, and tough businessman image. He enjoyed arguing a point in a board room, any point, just for the sheer fun of it.

          He liked to be right.

          He liked to be in control.

          He liked to win.

          Every single time…       

          It had been impressed on him at a very early age that all of these things were necessary for survival, but the bedroom was not the board room. Control was necessary up to a point, of course, but the buttoned-down businessman disappeared with his tie.

          She leaned forward.

“Paxton, I just don’t get it. You waited so long to talk to me…”

“I told you, I had to be sure. Of my feelings for you…”

          She flinched and dropped her gaze. After a second, her eyes met his again.

“You want me to believe you’ve been dying to make me yours? That, all of a sudden, you have feelings for me? That you want to take me to your penthouse and have kinky sex with me?”

          Rhiannon’s voice was soft, belying the intensity of her words.

“It’s exactly what I’m saying. And I’m still waiting for your answer…”

“Give me one good reason to say yes.”

          Paxton let the desire roll across his face. He reached across the table and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

“I’ll make you glad you did.”

          Her nostrils flared.

“A better reason than that.”

          He hesitated, then took her hand and squeezed it.

“Because you’re dying to say yes to me…”

                                                             *****

          Paxton’s thumb in her palm was making it very difficult to think. Each time it stroked across her hand, new tingles would start in another area of her body.

          Was it the wine or just him?

          Had she eaten anything for breakfast or lunch?

          Rhiannon shook her head.

          What had he said to her again?

          Right… How could she forget?

          He wanted her to say yes… He wanted her to start a blindfolded adventure with him. But Paxton had no idea what he was walking into. For that matter, neither did she. Austin would have said to her ‘Go for it, baby girl! We only live once!’ But Barbie King, her mother, ‘The Queen of Drama’, was another story… She would go ballistic.

          Rhiannon concentrated on her tingling palm.

          Under the table, her toes began to curl. In all of her twenty-six years, no one had ever made her toes curl. Certainly not her ex-boyfriend, although by all reports he’d curled the toes of every other female who let him.

          For the first time, Rhiannon could see what all the fuss was about. She smiled into her wineglass, thinking of the right answer.

          Yes…

          No...

          Maybe…

          She knew sex was not the easy romp Paxton Ridgway had just described to her. It was complicated. Embarrassing and confusing. Her smile flatlined. Better not to turn this into anything it wasn’t. She had other things to take care of. Like “King’s Wish”.

          Paxton was still caressing her hand and waiting patiently. Well, he could wait, the cocky bastard. Any decision she made, would be based on practicality, and she would not allow her judgment to be affected by her tingling palm or any other tingling parts either.

          Just to be safe, Rhiannon pulled her hand away from him and picked up her fork, finally noticing the fresh plate in front of her.

“Rhiannon?”

“Patience, Mr. Ridgway. The board members are still deliberating.”