Page 4 of Ties That Bind Us

“Looking for something?” A husky voice came from behind me. Startled, I whirled around and was met with the dashingly handsome face of the stranger from earlier.

“I was just . . . on my way out.”

“Most people use the front entrance.” He arched an eyebrow at me, suspicious. The way his eyes traced my lips as I spoke was not lost on me.

“Now where is the fun in that?”

“By all means, don’t let me stop you.” He grinned widely, holding his arm out and gesturing to a door I hadn’t noticed.

“Now that I ran into you, leaving doesn’t seem all that important to me.”

He was even more perfect up close. I could tell I had amused him, but he was far too collected and poised to fully let on.

“I can’t imagine why, your date seemed riveting.”

I bit my lip, feeling a little outmatched by him. He had been watching me with Rob even after I thought he’d left. Normally, I was used to having the upper hand, but this guy reduced me to a puddle.

“I didn’t catch your name.” He closed the distance between us, drawing me in with each calculated step. I hesitated for a second, debating whether or not I should tell him the truth. I had no idea where this was going to go, but I shouldn’t even be entertaining the thought of a guy like him. He basically screamed trouble.

“How about Juliette?” I grinned, amused with the irony in my lie. He and I could never be together, a pair of star-crossed lovers.

He drew even closer. Dangerously close. Close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off of him. It was almost torture. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had sex recently, or maybe it was the alcohol, but I had a feeling I would do just about anything this guy asked.

He caught onto the irony in my Shakespeare reference, as he put his hand to my cheek and gently stroked my skin with his thumb.

“Then I guess that makes me Romeo. What do you say we get out of here and go somewhere a little quieter, Jules?”

“How about something to drink?” He draped his suit coat over a chair in the hotel suite. “You’re a whiskey girl if I remember correctly?”

“Perfect.” Why was I feeling nervous around him? Normally, I felt like I had the upper hand in situations like this, but for some reason, this guy had thrown me off my game. The look on his face told me he knew it too. I didn’t like being in situations I couldn’t control, and everything about this guy screamed control.

While he was making our drinks, I walked through the suite. It was much more than any hotel room I had been in before. The small entryway where we came in opened up to a spacious living- and dining-room area. A long dining table with high-backed velvet chairs was in the center of the room, set as if ready to host a dinner party. Towering floral arrangements added color and freshness, while the art that hung on the walls reminded me of pieces I had seen at the Met. The state-of-the-art kitchen was off to the side, and I could only imagine the masterpieces I could create on the granite countertops and endless array of appliances. I loved to mess around with cooking, but it was an art form when you had this kind of equipment at your disposal. He seemed to know his way around the kitchen, finding glasses and liquor quickly. For a brief moment, I wondered if he had done this kind of thing before.

I continued into the living room, running my fingers along the smooth as silk leather couches. They were so pristine, it was hard to imagine they’d ever been sat on. A giant beanbag in the center looked like the perfect place to curl up and watch a movie, but when the TV was nearly the size of the wall it was hung on, there wasn’t a bad seat in the entire room. The exterior walls were made up of floor to ceiling windows, and we were so high up that I could only see a few other buildings in the entire New York City skyline that were as tall as we were. Two other rooms broke off from this main space, and each was its own bedroom suite with a king-sized bed in the middle piled high with heavenly looking linens and pillows. Part of me wanted to fling myself into the mass of white fabric just to see if it was as soft as it looked.

A few seconds passed, and I realized I wasn’t alone anymore. He was standing next to me, leaning against the door frame and holding two glasses filled with amber liquid.

“I’m sure we’ll make it here eventually.” He chuckled and nodded toward the bed. “There is something I want to show you first.”

“Lead the way.” I grinned, taking the whiskey from him. It was more than I was expecting, and if I was going to keep my wits about me tonight, I needed to take it slow.

His hand grazed the small of my back, gently guiding me to the sliding door, and pressed a button on the wall. All of a sudden, the doors parted and the entire wall of windows disappeared so that the living room opened onto the patio.

“Wow.” I was speechless as I stepped outside and took in the sights. It was breathtaking up here. The night sky was illuminated by the city lights, and even though we were so close to the hustle and bustle below us, it felt like we were a million miles away. The hum of the city wasn’t even audible up here. “This place is really amazing.”

“It is, isn’t it?” he agreed, taking a big gulp of his whiskey.

“I mean, I wish you would have gotten a better room,” I teased. “This place seems a little small.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” He chuckled, picking up on my sarcasm. “My usual room was taken. This was the best they could do on such short notice.”

“Usual?” I arched my eyebrow. “You do this kind of thing often?”

“This kind of thing? You mean share a drink under the stars with a beautiful woman?” Goodness, his smile was intoxicating. I could feel my knees quaking beneath me.

I bit the inside of my lip, trying to keep my composure. “Con a stranger into leaving a bar with you for a one-night stand.”

“I don’t remember much conning happening. It seemed pretty mutual to me.” He leaned his elbows on the railing, inching closer to me just slightly. “But if it makes you feel any better, rarely. I’m not really into the dating scene.”

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