Page 14 of Dark Temptations

Macy grinned. “Sure. Let’s go back to my place. I’ve got some bottles of wine and brownies.”

Ariana sighed. “That sounds wonderful. Chocolate and wine make everything better.”

Kelly asked the waitress for their checks. Within two minutes, they had paid and stood up to leave. They walked out in a small group, and she tried to stay hidden but still felt his attention on her. She refused to look at him, so she forced a smile on her face and ignored him, hoping she’d never see him again.

No one had to know that her heart was breaking in her chest. It was her little secret and her problem to deal with.

Chapter Six

Xavier walked into the restaurant with a few businessmen. It was a dinner he was dreading because the three men were so fucking boring. One of them said the same thing repeatedly, making him want to slap the guy. But it was a necessary evil when he wanted to buy their business.

He didn’t need to own another business, but he was trying to find anything that would keep his attention for a while. He was slowly going crazy because Ariana was never far from his thoughts.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was subdued. Everything was classy and expensive and catered to the town’s rich people. He ordered his beer and then listened to the men. He was getting bored fast, so he looked around the restaurant. When his eyes fell on the small black-haired enchanting vixen he’d been trying to vanquish from his head, she turned at that moment and stared right back at him.

He felt an irrational anger when she turned away to ignore him. She got up and walked toward the bathrooms.

Xavier wiped his mouth with his napkin. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I need to use the restroom.”

The men nodded and continued eating.

He tried to act as nonchalantly as possible but wanted to corner her in the room before she got away. He opened the women’s bathroom door to see her standing by the sinks. She noticed him immediately, and all he could think about was that she was by far the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“Xavier, what are you doing?”

“I want to talk to you.”

“Why?”

“I want to know why you’re following me.” Fuck, it was the first thing he thought of, and by the reaction on her face, it was the right one. He wanted to taunt her so she’d fight with him. Maybe if he could see her as a bitch, he’d be able to leave her alone.

His plan failed because he forgot what he was doing as he stared at her full lips.

“One more time,” he murmured. He pulled her against him, dipped his head, and ravished her mouth but not like last time. This time, he took the time to feel, taste, and savor every part he could reach.

When the door opened, and an older woman walked in, it took him a moment to realize where he was and what he was doing. Jesus. She made him lose his head.

He stopped her outside of the bathroom. “I got what I needed, so you won’t hear from me again.”

The anguish she tried to hide matched his emotion, and he cursed her again for driving him nuts and making him feel things he never had before. When she walked away, he used whatever internal power he had not to snatch her back and carry her out of there.

After he sat down, he tried his best to keep up with the conversation, but he was obsessed with how she moved. Her smile, walk, and how she used her hands when she talked were entertaining for him. He’d rather watch her than any game on TV.

The three women stood and started to leave. He gritted his teeth when Ariana didn’t even look his way.

It took him a moment after she left before he concentrated on what the men were saying.

By the end of the meal, he had yet to decide whether he would buy the business. The thrill he thought he’d have of taking an old business and building it back up wasn’t making him excited like it normally did. He told them he’d get in touch with them shortly, waved them off, and walked to his car.

On the drive home, he thought about his future and where he’d be in five years, and all he could see was a personal abyss of his private life and endless work.

Xavier pulled into his garage and closed the door behind him. After turning off the car, he sat and thought of different scenarios, and nothing made him happy. His work would fulfill a part of him, but there was still a chasm he’d never filled in his personal life, and hadn’t thought he wanted to until he met Ariana. Damn her. She’d fucked up everything, and now he was second-guessing himself and his life choices.

With a sigh, he got out of the car, headed inside his house, and went directly to his office. He poured himself a glass of bourbon, sat behind the desk, and leaned his head back.

He went through several other avenues of how his life could go. One was the original plan he had. To make as much money as he could by the time he was fifty and then travel all over the globe, but doing it alone didn’t sound as much fun as before. Now, he was contemplating giving up a few of his businesses and maybe finding a woman to settle down with. Maybe down the road, they’d consider having children. When he was younger, he’d dreamed of having a lot of kids, but he’d forgotten it when he started making so much money.

The problem was he could only see himself with Ariana.

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