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Her question heightened the beating of his heart, which he was convinced had skipped a beat or two while kissing her. “I want to take you out on a real date,” he said.
Her gaze roamed over his face before returning to his eyes. “We've gone on dates before,” she said.
He was tempted to lean in and kiss her again, but he knew he needed to answer her question. “They weren't real… not really,” He said, “I want to start the year right with you. I want to get us right this time,”
She stared at him with a beautiful pair of wide eyes. “I don't think we were ever wrong,” she said, “It always felt real, and that's why it hurt so much when I had to call it off,”
“I will never give you a reason to feel that way again,” he told her, “And if I ever do, please don't hesitate to call me to order. Do you hear me, Liv?”
Olivia smiled that him, “We have a deal,”
He kissed her briefly on the lips again, and off they went on their date.
—------------
The restaurant was a cathedral of glass and gold, perched a few stories above the city. Below them, the world was a blurred sea of holiday lights, but inside, the atmosphere was hushed, expensive, and suffocatingly intimate.
Derek had managed to snag a corner booth—circular, velvet, and deep enough that they were shielded from the rest of the New Year’s revelers. But the privacy was a double-edged sword. Every time the waiter disappeared, the silence between them hummed like a live wire.
“You’re doing it again,” Olivia whispered, lifting her wine glass. The emerald silk of her sleeve caught the candlelight, shimmering like water.
“Doing what?” Derek asked, though he knew exactly what he was doing.
He was leaning back, his charcoal suit jacket discarded, his shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbows. His gaze was anchored on her mouth, tracing the slight smudge at the corner of her lips.
“Staring,” she said, a playful, breathless challenge in her eyes. “I thought we were here to eat, Derek.”
“I am hungry,” he countered, his voice dropping into that dark, gravelly register that made the fine hairs on her arms stand up. “Just not for the sea bass.”
Olivia felt a flush that had nothing to do with the wine creep up her neck. She reached for a piece of bread, but as she did, her hand brushed against his on the table. The contact was brief—barely a second—but it felt like a physical jolt. Derek didn't pull away. Instead, he turned his hand over, catching her fingers and lacing them with his. His thumb began a slow, rhythmic stroke against the back of her hand, his rough skin a delicious contrast to her softness.
“We made a deal,” she reminded him, though her voice lacked any real conviction. “A real date, remember? And a real date involves food, and conversation…and...”
“I’m trying, Liv. I swear I am,” Derek said, grinning as his grip tightened just a fraction. “And this is a real date. I just can't wait to get to the ending part of it,” She blushed hard, and it spurred him on even more, “Sitting across from you in that dress, knowing exactly how you taste… especially with how long it's been since I got to touch you… it’s a special kind of hell. I feel like a man trying to stay sober in a distillery.”
Olivia let out a shaky laugh, her gaze dropping to their joined hands. “You’re not the only one struggling. I can barely remember what I ordered.”
As the night wore on, the conversation happened in the spaces between the courses. They talked about their business, about family, about shows they'd love to watch together in the future and anything else they could think of, but the physical magnetism was a constant, distracting undertow.
Every time Derek leaned in to hear her over the low jazz, his scent—expensive cologne, cold air, and something uniquely him—overwhelmed her. Every time Olivia laughed and tilted her head back, exposing the line of her throat, Derek’s jaw would tighten, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his glass.
They were two people balanced on a knife’s edge. By the time the dessert arrived, the countdown to midnight had begun. The restaurant lights dimmed further, and the buzz of the crowd grew louder, but their corner remained a private sanctuary of unresolved heat.
Derek shifted closer, his thigh pressing against hers under the table. The friction of his suit trousers against her bare leg was almost too much to bear. He reached out, his hand migrating from the table to her knee, his touch heavy and possessive.
“Ten minutes to midnight,” he murmured, his breath warm against her ear. “I don't think I'm going to make it to the fireworks, Liv.”
She turned her head, her nose brushing against his. A woman completely undone by the man beside her, needing him just as much as he needed her. “Then take me home, Derek. I think we’ve had enough for one night.”
Derek didn't need to be told twice. He signaled for the check with a sharp, impatient motion, his eyes never leaving hers. They had both reached their limit, and now, all that was left was the fire. The bill was paid in a blur of motion, Derek’s movements sharp and efficient as if every second spent in the restaurant was a second stolen from them. The elevator ride down was a study in restraint. They stood in opposite corners, the air between them thick enough to choke on.
Derek’s eyes were dark, tracking the rise and fall of her chest, while Olivia gripped her clutch so hard her knuckles turned white as she watched him stare without trying to hide the desire and lustful intent in his eyes. He didn’t wait for the valet to bring the car around to the front; he led her toward the parking deck, his hand a heavy, guiding presence on the small of her back.
They got into the car and Derek started the engine, the low growl of the beast beneath the hood echoing the tension in his own frame. He backed out and navigated the spiraling ramps of the garage, but once they were on the road his other hand didn't return to the steering wheel. Instead, it migrated toward the center console, hovering for a heartbeat before it found the emerald silk of her dress. His fingers found the high slit in her dress, slipping beneath the cool silk to find the warmth of her bare thigh.