He’d cut the conversation short, before he revealed too much. Who cared about half a lifetime of poverty or a sick mother now he was successful? No woman ever had, and he had no reason to think Sinead would be the exception to the rule.
She watched him closely. It had him on edge. Did she want him to make the next move?
“Should we eat this dinner or let it go cold?” His weak attempt at a joke eased the tension between them.
A hint of amusement made Sinead’s lips twitch. “Definitely eat it. I’m actually ravenous.”
The possible double-meaning to her words had him staring at her mouth, as she licked along her plump lower lip.
An instant kick of arousal charged through him in response. Lucky the table covered his reaction as his body stiffened. He had to get a grip, they were in a public restaurant.
He wanted to stand up and grab her, then push her hard up against the wall behind them. Kiss those lips, strip her bare and explore her body until she begged for more. To make her his. He gripped the edge of the table until it made an angry red crease in his palm.
Bloody hell. What was that about?
He’d never had such a strong reaction to a woman, especially someone he hardly knew. And he wasn’t a Neanderthal.
Sinead reached for the serving spoon. She served the food from shared plates in the centre of the table.
Gabriel was having a meltdown and she was fine, going about her business, serving dinner. His skin still tingled where she’d touched him. He tried to compose himself. Breathed in, then out.
He was the one who knew how to control any given situation. Throw him into a room with a bunch of business executives and CEOs in a crisis and he’d have them hanging on his every word, looking to him for advice. Now he was in real danger of losing control.
What would it mean, to totally lose control when he was with a woman? He’d never got close, never really let go. There’d been flirting and fun, but this was something else.
A plate of food appeared in front of him with a clunk, and snapped his attention back to her. She’d served him a mixed plate of the meals they’d ordered and it smelled sensational. He ate automatically, the spoon moving from the plate to his mouth.
She looked at him, a glint of laughter in her eyes. “So, there’s a sign in the bar advertising karaoke later. I’d like to give it a try. Do you want to join me?”
“Karaoke? Really?” He sighed and leaned back in his seat, ruffling a hand through his hair. “If you’re into it, okay.”
She grinned. “You sound sooo excited.”
“It’s fine. I’d like to hear you sing.”
Right then, he would have done anything to extend the time they had together. He’d even sing karaoke. Without his own hotel room, he’d be stuck hanging around in the bar or the foyer all night anyway.
Sinead leaned toward him, then waved her hand at him. “Gabriel, you have something on your face. Here, let me get it.”
He was spellbound when she reached over and traced the tip of her index finger across his lips. Shuddering under her touch, he closed his eyes for a second. When he blinked his eyes open, her lips were parted. Her cheeks were flushed a gorgeous shade of pink. A stop sign? Maybe he should back off.
If she regretted touching him for a second, what would she think if she could see inside his head? If she knew exactly what he’d been imagining doing to her, she’d probably run straight upstairs without him.
She sat back in her seat. “You had a little curry on the corner of your mouth.”
His heart had some kind of malfunction as she raised her fingertip to her own lips and licked the curry off her finger. Slowly. Painfully slowly.
Everything pulsed and throbbed. Bugger and damn. He was so close to losing control of the whole situation.
As a distraction, he ordered another round of Singapore Slings from the passing waiter. Then he flicked through his saved phone messages. He was using any excuse not to look at her face again. Not yet, when his brain was stuck in slow-motion. Replaying Sinead sucking her finger between glossy lips and licking it clean. The finger she’d swiped across his own mouth. The intimate act sent his nerve endings wild. Then he looked up to find her eyes locked on his face.
“Aren’t you hungry?” She glanced down towards his mostly untouched meal.
His voice cracked. “You have no idea.”
Picking up his chopsticks, he ate. But he barely noticed anything he tasted. All he wanted to taste was her, for dessert.
Sinead shook her head at his offhand comment, but really, she had no bloody clue what he was thinking. A couple of times during dinner, she’d seen something in his eyes, like desire. Then it retreated behind his cool facade. Not Mr Grumpy from earlier in the day but a different Gabriel. She guessed it was his businessman ‘game face’. Why he was showing it to her, she wasn’t sure. He was so hard to read.
If only she could control her body’s response. Her heart pounded beneath her breasts like a wild animal thrashing against a cage, fighting for release. When her fingertip made contact with his lips, so slight a touch, desire flared inside her. She wanted his kiss on her lips, on other parts of her body. Everywhere.
It’d been an age since her libido raged through her body with a will of its own. Her body demanded to be touched. By Gabriel. Immediately.
What a pity her brain was busy hosing her down from the top.
The man was ignoring her in favour of checking his phone messages. It was certainly a blow to a girl’s ego.
The waiter delivered two more cocktails to their table with a clink and a bow. Thank goodness. She needed to cool down. It might not be wise to drink so much so quickly, but she needed to take the edge off the hormonal rush whipping through her body. She was mad. Of course the alcohol would make her want him all the more. But still, she drank. Anyway, it gave her something to do with her mouth.
She sucked the cocktail through her straw and rolled it around her tongue. “Mmm, delicious.” Cherry flavour laced with a hint of something naughty.
Gabriel sighed and she didn’t know what to make of it. Was he disgusted with her for drinking too much?
“Sinead, what would you say if I told you you’re not the sort of woman I usually take out to dinner?”
She froze. Was he saying she wasn’t good enough for him? The bloody hide of him.
“What do you think I’ll say to such a question? I’m perfectly good enough for any company, including yours, thanks very much. I may be a working-class girl from Dublin, but I’ve a brain in my head and I’ve made a good career for myself. I didn’t expect to hear snobbery from an Aussie like yourself.” She slammed her glass down on the table for emphasis. Her head spun from the impact. She was a little tipsy.
“No, I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m hardly a snob. You’re refreshing. You’re real. Not like some of the women I meet at business functions. They’re always preening and pouting, putting on a show. I can’t stand it.”
Right. So he was slumming it with her? She straightened her spine. Gabriel Anderson may be rich and handsome, but he wouldn’t make her feel bad about herself. He’d put a pretty spin on it, but she wasn’t fooled.
She wasn’t any man’s fool. Not anymore.
He’d killed the conversation. Idiot. Gabriel pressed one