Page 35 of Tempt My Heart

Damn him for being right, but it suddenly felt like this dress wasthe one.

The sales associate grinned. "You look gorgeous and I'm not just saying that for commission."

She laughed slightly breathlessly as she twisted in front of the mirror, assessing it from all angles. But, simply put, it was stunning.Shewas stunning in it.

The dress was a deep emerald, strapless, and with a ruffle around the waist that emphasized her curves while the silky material made her look sleek and polished.

"Are you ready to show your boyfriend?" The woman asked, her smile made all the perkier by the gap in her bottom teeth.

"Oh, he's not my—" She caught herself and just nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

ChapterNineteen

She slid open the soft beige curtain and stepped out. It was a good thing Christopher had finished his frozen yogurt already, because he accidentally dropped the empty cup straight onto the floor when he saw her.

She twirled slowly so he could get the full effect. "What do you think?"

He swallowed and said nothing and she began to worry that she'd made a mistake— maybe she had terrible taste—when he suddenly stood and then halted like he couldn't move any closer.

"You are..." He swallowed again like the words were stuck in his throat. "Everything," he finished, breathless, and her pulse quickened at the way he drank her in.

The air between them seemed to fill with electricity, like a tangible pull that was urging her towards him even as she tried to deny it.

"Ali," he murmured and she recognised the dangerous tone of his voice as the same one that had whispered in her ear atThe Hummingbird. "We're still supposed to be dating right?" He kept his voice pitched low, despite the saleswoman leaving as soon as he had stood up and walked over to her.

"Yes," she said and made herself ask the next question. "Why?"

"My friends know what I'm like—that if I want something, I'm all in."

"Okay," she said hesitantly and he continued as he took a singular step toward her.

"Blake for instance, knows that I don't hesitate to go after what I want."

"Right," she tried again, trying to see where this was going as he took two steps closer.

"And what I want right now..." Another step. "Is to taste you on my tongue as you come on my mouth."

Her chest heaved as she sucked in a breath. She wished she could say it was shock and not the thrill of what he'd said that had made her gasp, but it would have been a lie. And she'd never been good at telling those.

"So my question is," he whispered as he came to stand directly in front of her, his lips nearly brushing her own, "wouldn't it be suspicious to not do exactly that?"

She tilted her chin up slightly, as if daring him to kiss her, and his nostrils flared. "I guess you might be right." Would he really make good on his promise? Surely not.

"Sorry, ma'am," he called and Ali blinked, her mouth falling open as the saleswoman approached with a smile.

"How are we getting on over here?"

"We'll take the dress," he said, glancing back at her for her nod of approval before continuing, "and the store, for an hour." Christopher paused and licked his lips, "Actually, better make it two."

Two hours?What was he going to do for two hours? That seemed... excessive. Besides, there was no way this woman was going to agree.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not sure I understand."

There. Ali smirked slightly, glad to be proven right, even if a stab of disappointment did run through her.

He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a wad of bills while she gaped. Why the hell would he carry that kind of cash around? That wasnotnormal.

He caught her look and raised an eyebrow. "Emergencies," he said, and the way his eyes sparkled made it clear exactly what he considered to fall under that purview. "I would like to rent the store for two hours so we can... try on more dresses." He handed her the wad of bills as the woman stood there disbelievingly, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. "There should be around ten thousand there. Will that be enough?" He shook his head as if answering his own question before pulling out a smaller stack. "Here's an extra five, for the dress."

---