Page 32 of Not As Advertised

Glancing over at Abbie, I saw she was watching me in return. Maybe she thought I was concerned about the pitch, thinking I was trying to get her attention.

I wanted her full attention, and it wasn’t about business. Unaware of the direction of my thoughts, she gave me a small smile of encouragement and reached over to quickly squeeze my wrist.

The surface of my skin burned where she had touched me. I wanted to put my opposite hand on top of hers and keep it there.

Her awareness of the smallest shift in my emotions was another one of her superpowers. Even though she couldn’t exactly tell what I was thinking, she wanted to reassure me. It was intoxicating to be the center of her focus.

She soothed my agitation by empathizing with me in a stressful situation and providing quiet support. Especially when she was practically broadcasting her own nerves to the entire restaurant with the stiffness in the way she held her body and clenched her napkin in her lap with her other hand.

Looking around at everyone else at the table, I decided I needed to get through this night as quickly as possible. I wantedthis pitch over with so I could take her back to the hotel and away from these clearly interested men.

Pressing my thigh more firmly into hers, I didn’t deny myself this small amount of contact, however inappropriate.

I jumped into the heart of the pitch, keen to get out of here.

“So, Ms. Carmichael and gentlemen, let’s get down to business…”

I still couldn’t figure out why he kept his leg pressed against me throughout dinner. Whatever he had been trying to communicate, he’d succeeded only in making me dizzy with wanting him.

The warm feeling of his body against mine still lingered on the skin. The delicate satin of my dress was no barrier against the pressure from the rock-hard muscles of his thigh.

More than once, it had caused me to wonder what it would feel like to climb into his lap. I’d had to take a few deep breaths to keep myself from blushing throughout dinner after the illicit thought made my core throb.

You are out of control. You cannot act on these feelings.

For once, my inner voice was right, and I couldn’t feel bad about it. There was a part of me that liked the illicitness of those thoughts.

I prayed he’d chalk up whatever he saw on my face to nerves.

By all accounts, it had been a successful evening. I had never seen Aiden turn on such charm in the office. Ms. Carmichael had smiled at him like she wanted to adopt and eat him at the sametime. She was smitten and made it obvious to the rest of the table. It had been very endearing to watch.

The men seemed equally convinced by every word that Aiden spoke. Throughout dinner, he managed to keep them both entertained and interested in our proposition. They’d left with a handshake promise from each philanthropist that they’d donate to several up-and-coming non-profits as Appealsigned new agreements.

It was just another item to add to the growing list of amazing qualities that Aiden seemed to possess. My cheeks heated at the thought of how each new part of him that I discovered only made me more attracted to him.

This was becoming a big problem.

It couldn’t have gone any better. Despite the evening turning out well, Aiden sat next to me with a stoic expression on his face.

After wishing our driver a quiet good-night, we rode the elevator to our adjoining rooms.

Somehow, the tension between us ratcheted up during the ride. As the elevator doors opened, I walked briskly to my room, keen to get away from this feeling. Butterflies were going crazy in my stomach, and I couldn’t even pinpoint why.

Was he upset that I’d largely kept quiet during dinner? Did he expect me to take a more active role in the discussions? As we reached the door, I bit my lip and spun around to say good night, but Aiden was closer than I expected.

Startled, my voice quaked with an embarrassing squeak.

“Umm, right, so… Good night, Aiden.”

I turned back to my door with a shaking hand to get the key card into the freaking slot so I could escape his potent presence. My whole system was out of whack because of him.

His large hand suddenly covered mine, and his right side pressed against me. His proximity did not help my nerves. I pulled in a choppy breath.

With his palm pressed down on my hand and fingers wrapped around mine, we managed to get the key card into the lock. The little green light was like a beacon calling my name.

“Good night, Abbie. You looked stunning tonight.”

His voice rasped right next to my ear. The rush of his breath against my skin. A shiver racked my body. My center lit up with the power of an electrical storm.

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