Seduced (Surrender #3)(31)
Author: Melody Anne

“I’m on a date, Rafe,” she said. Technically she was, even if she’d been ditched.

“Not anymore, Ari. He was paged to the hospital.”

Her eyes narrowed as she watched the satisfied smirk on Rafe’s face. She had no doubt that the page had come from Rafe. She hadn’t realized Rafe’s determination — which made her the fool. She should have known this man better by now.

If she weren’t so darned happy to be rid of her date, she’d be seriously pissed off.

“Though my dinner companion is no longer here, I don’t necessarily wish to dine with you, Rafe,” she said as she took another bite of her pasta. Suddenly her appetite had returned. She could at least say that she was never bored in Rafe’s presence.

“Ah, but I couldn’t let such a beautiful woman dine alone, could I? What kind of gentleman would I be?”

The waiter approached and Rafe ordered for himself, including another very nice bottle of wine.

“I am perfectly happy to eat on my own. I’ve been doing it a long time,” she countered as she sipped the last of her wine, then reluctantly accepted as the waiter offered a glass from Rafe’s bottle.

When she took a taste, she was disappointed to like it so much. Rafe knew what she liked a little too well. For that matter, no other person knew her as much as this man sitting before her. No one else, that is, but her mother.

Of course, during her mother’s drawn-out illness, her mother had missed a lot, but it wasn’t Sandra’s fault. She’d been trying to get better, and Ari had doubted the bond they shared, or at least that’s what it felt like she’d been doing, since she hadn’t trusted her mother with the truth. Had Ari not doubted her mother, she never would have felt a need to lower herself to become what Rafe had demanded of her.

Though she’d somehow managed to fall in love with Rafe during that time, she still hadn’t forgiven him for what he’d asked of her. She’d given him a piece of her soul when she complied with his commands, and she didn’t know if she’d ever get that back.

That was a big reason that she couldn’t understand her attraction to him now. How could she still desire this man? Probably because she had made a choice to follow him. Though his methods had been abhorrent, he hadn’t abused her — hadn’t followed through on what he’d commanded in the beginning.

He’d never been cold with her, just demanding. The sad thing about it was that she liked Rafe strong and taking charge. She just needed to be able to say no, and she needed to be able to take charge, too. He’d been weaker on the second point, but she’d always been able to say no. He’d told her he wanted a puppet on strings, but he’d never actually made her his toy.

“Yes, you are strong and independent, beautiful, and smart. I am very impressed with you, Ari. It is my honor to dine with you,” he said as a bowl of soup was set before him.

“You have become smarter, Rafe. I am almost curious to learn what has happened to you,” she said, her guard dropping as she gazed at him.

“Oh, I’m the same man, Ari,” he told her with a wink and a confident grin. “I’ve just realized that I can’t live without you. It changed me in some ways — I know where I went wrong, and I know I can never let you go.”

“That’s not really your choice, is it, Rafe? I choose the people I want to be with. I am not a frightened child who must do your bidding. It may only be three years after the first day I was in your office, but I’ve grown in that time. I won’t bow to you or to anyone. I will never be blackmailed again or forced into a situation I don’t want to be in. I will never be your mistress.”

Her shoulders stiffened as she looked steadily into his eyes. If she couldn’t get anything else through his thick skull, she wanted him to understand that she wouldn’t be a kept woman again.

“I don’t want you to be my mistress. I want you for my wife,” he said almost casually as he lifted his glass and took a sip.

Ari choked on the bite of food she’d just taken. The waiter rushed over, looking at her with concern while she gained back her breath and then picked up her water glass. Sending the waiter away, she glared at Rafe.

“You’re not amusing, Rafe,” she sputtered.

“I’m not trying to be humorous, Ari. I intend on marrying you. When the time is right, I will ask — and you will say yes.”

He spoke as if they were talking of nothing bigger than next week’s dinner menu. Confidence radiated from him and his eyes sparkled. He was so full of himself that he actually believed the words coming from his mouth.

“We’ll just see about that, Rafe,” she said as she angrily picked up her fork and speared a chunk of asparagus, clenching her teeth on the vegetable.

“You are so good for me, Ari. If ever I think I’m in control, you remind me that I am powerless in your presence. Why would I ever have let you go? I was a fool once — it won’t happen again.”

“You haven’t changed, Rafe. You are still the ‘control freak’ I met three years ago. You have just gotten much better at masking the commander beneath seductive smiles and come-on lines. I am not fooled,” she told him.

“You are right, Ari. In some ways I will never change. You are also wrong. I said I won’t force you, and I won’t. But I have never said I won’t seduce you. I know just what it takes to heat your very core. I know how to make you come alive, with your body straining against mine for my touch only. I will use every weapon in my arsenal to win you over, and I will feel tremendous pleasure while doing it. You wanted to play a game with me with your text messages. Well, you started it, and I’m not conceding defeat. I do hope you’re still wearing the teal panties. I’ll enjoy removing them with my teeth.”

Ari felt heat pool inside her as he gazed into her eyes. She couldn’t get the image from her mind of his teeth scraping along the delicate lace of her panties. Would it really be so bad for her to give in for one night? Perhaps the lovemaking would be terrible — perhaps time had loosened his hold.

As he lifted a hand, reaching across the intimate table, to caress her hand as she reached for a piece of warm French bread, her stomach quivered. When he softly caressed the top of her hand, running his fingers over her flesh, she melted, though she knew it was quite foolish of her to do so. Being with him would be even better than she remembered — she had no doubt about it. He’d make her body sing in ways no other man ever could.