Page 20 of Midnight Wishes

It was also hot when he opened her door for her so she could load herself into the low passenger seat. It hadn’t surprised her that he had a sports car. Although, it was a classic model in a muted shade of charcoal. Not nearly as flashy as she might have expected. Certainly not as flashy as many of the cars around them.

As he wound slowly through the city streets, Sarah was forced to admit that the previously crisp picture she’d had of him was beginning to jumble, becoming a puzzle she couldn’t help wanting to solve.

Chapter 11

ALEX

Treacherous | Taylor Swift

Even someone thatgorgeous had to have some flaws, Alex thought, as Sarah turned down the volume on his radio. So, not a Taylor Swift fan. Not an insurmountable obstacle, he supposed. And he had plenty else to coax her attention from the scenes beyond the window she was now pointedly staring out of. Where she had immediately fixed her gaze after he’d caught her eyeing his forearm intently as he backed out of the parking space. So what if he’d taken the time to roll up his shirtsleeves before starting the car?

He couldn’t remember when last he’d been so captivated by a woman he actually had something in common with.

Truthfully, he couldn’t remember when last he’d had any interest in a woman beyond sex.

Although he definitely wanted more of that.

‘Who’s your favourite artist?’

‘Do we need to talk?’

‘Yeah, actually, I think we do.’ He hadn’t been planning this. He’d been hoping to convince her that they should definitely be hooking up again, making out in more bathrooms at the very least, but it was past time to clear the air. If she didn’t want anyone to pick up the tension between them, they at least needed to remove the source of it. ‘You realise I’m basically your best friend’s brother, right? Who she’s known her whole life, and who will likely be at every big life event of hers for the rest of time. And who you’ll have to spend plenty of time with in the next seven weeks while you help plan the wedding we’re already both a major part of.’ From anyone else, the words might have sounded bitter. But even if he couldn’t quite manage as light a tone as he normally maintained, a near lifetime of moderating his voice came in handy in those moments when his emotions threatened to break through.

By contrast, Sarah did not disguise the scorn in her voice. ‘You’ve barely been in her life foryears, Aleksander. Do I really need to worry about you sticking around forever?’

‘Don’t pretend you understand anything about my relationship with her.’ Now, the bitterness was bleeding through. Even if she couldn’t possibly understand why he’d never made an effort to see Abby outside of their families getting together for holidays. ‘I’ve told you I’ll keep our secret. And apart from that indiscretion—a situation you initiated, I remind you—I’m not really sure what I’ve done to make you so pissed at me. I haven’t even mentioned the kiss, because I’m not going to let you pretend it didn’t mean anything. You gave as good as you got, Princess.’

They stopped at a red light, just long enough for Alex to see Sarah’s eyes flash when he looked at her. ‘Of course it didn’t mean anything. I’m supposed to believe you don’t do that sort of thing all the time?’

It was probably his fault, he mused, that she thought so little of him. Flirting and charm had taken him so far in life that Alex had forgotten itcouldbe a turnoff for anyone. And how was she to know how little interest anyone else had held for him since they’d met?

They were nearing her street now, and for the first time in over a decade, he didn’t know exactly the right thing to say to make the situation work for him. As he slowed to a stop, he decided to speak anyway. ‘You can lie to yourself all you want. It meant something tome.’

Because of his size and confidence—and gender, he supposed—women always let him dominate. And that was its own fun. But having Sarah push back against him, chase his lips, fight his tongue—he hadn’t anticipated how much he would love it. How tightly he would hold on to those memories for days after.

He leaned in, waiting for her unsteady breathing to give her away before he unlocked her door. The sandalwood scent of her perfume was dizzying in the enclosed space.

Her eyes were so fucking pretty when he looked at her, shades of molten honey shifting in the golden afternoon sun. Indecision flicked across her face, followed by a split-second of pain. Then, ‘Fuck it,’ she whispered, grabbing his cheek and pulling his face to hers.

Kissing her was a high he was never going to come down from. She tasted faintly of sweet coffee, and he wanted to keep it forever.

‘You want to hook up again.’ Sarah’s voice was even quieter when they finally pulled apart, husky in a way that sent his blood pounding.

Again.And again and again and again.But he simply nodded. If once was all that was on the table, he was desperate enough to take it.

‘I thought you had plans.’

He’d planned to visit a friend’s gallery, since he had a rare few hours free, but... ‘I can be late,’ he said, dropping his voice to match hers. Hell, he’d cancel in a heartbeat if he thought there was a chance she’d let him spend the night.

Sarah looked agonised. Finally, she opened her mouth again. ‘Two ground rules.’

Alex nodded for her to go on.

‘This is a one-off. As you pointed out, we’re going to spend a lot of time together in the next few weeks, and this should help get rid of this…thingbetween us.’

‘So you admit—’

‘You are dangerously close to talking yourself out of sex.’

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