For long minutes he just looked at her. Even in repose her face seemed so expressive to him. Signs of exhaustion eased away the cockiness and defensiveness. He wished for some way to protect her from herself and her staunch determination for independence. He didn’t yet know her background, but he had a feeling her life hadn’t been an easy one. Unlike him, she most likely came from moderate means.
Why else would she just now be working her way through college?
When the waitress eyed him, Quinton smiled at her and unglued his feet from the entrance. Ashley didn’t stir until he slid into the seat across from her. Then her head turned toward him, her eyes opened, and her lips curled in greeting.
“Tired?” he asked, needing to say something to break the spell of intimacy.
As her eyes adjusted, the automatic nod of agreement froze. While slowly looking him over from his gray sweatpants to the print on his Rolling Stones T-shirt, she straightened at the table.
Feeling a little self-conscious with her visual examination, Quinton ran a hand over his hair. “Have I grown a third eye that I’m unaware of?”
She shook her head while her gaze crawled all over him, as effective and stimulating as a touch, before finally coming to rest on his face. She licked her lips, but said nothing.
Quinton felt like he’d just been the recipient of sizzling foreplay. Every place she’d looked at him now tingled with awareness. He cleared his throat. “Cat got your tongue?”
“It’s…shocking. That’s all.”
The way she reacted, you’d think he’d shown up naked. “Excuse me?”
“You look even better in sweats than you do in a suit. And I didn’t think that was possible. I mean…you look really hot in suits.”
Ah. She liked him in casual clothes. Too bad he wouldn’t be comfortable wearing them to the office. “Thank you.”
“Makes me wonder what you’d look like…” She whistled. “Never mind.”
“No, please.” He crossed his arms on top of the table and leaned toward her with a smile. “Say it.”
Not one to let a challenge pass, she gave her own cheeky grin. “All right. I’m wondering if you look as good in the buff.”
“Want to find out?”
She shrugged, slid her gaze over him again, but said, “I’ll pass.”
“Chicken.”
“Naw. It’s just that I don’t want you to get arrested for indecent exposure.”
Laughing, Quinton indulged his own quick perusal, and couldn’t resist reaching across the table to smooth her hair away from the side of her face. “You’re a terrible tease. But you do indeed look sweaty. I hope they get the air fixed before I go in at noon.”
Rather than be insulted, she chuckled and lounged back in her seat—out of his reach. “So what has you up and about so early, and dressed so comfy?”
He didn’t intend to share his plans for the day. What he did in his spare time, well, it was personal and private, his alone, something he did because it made him feel good. He’d decided years ago that parts of his life would not be for public consumption, so he shrugged off her question.
“Personal business.” To keep from expounding, he picked up a menu. “So what are we ordering?”
“Personal,” she insisted, “as in intimate? With a female?”
That she pressed the issue when he’d made it clear he hoped to avoid it shouldn’t have surprised him. Naturally, Ashley didn’t bow under the pressure of good manners; he should have known that. And given the look on her face, she wouldn’t give it up any time soon. Still, he tried a nonanswer to distract her. “When I get intimate, rest assured it’s with a female.”
She propped her chin on her fists. “Look, if you’re seeing another woman, it’s no skin off my nose. I didn’t ask to—”
He took her hand and gently squeezed her fingers. “I haven’t looked at, haven’t even thought about another woman since I first met you.”
She hesitated only a moment before jeering. “If you say so.” Sarcasm dripped from her tone. She might as well have called him a liar outright.
He released her and dropped back with a scowl. “You have absolutely no idea what it’s like to walk around with the start of an erection all day, do you?”
“Uh…no. Can’t say as I do.”
“Well let me tell you, it’s not comfortable. But I can’t seem to help it since every available second, I’m thinking of you. As to that, I’m spending all available seconds chasing you. I’ve done everything in my power to get to know you better. Do you honestly believe I react that way often?”
She gave an indolent roll of one shoulder—and his temper ignited with a growl. “Ashley—”
Her chuckling cut him off. “Hey now, don’t get in a snit.”
“I don’t get in snits, damn it.” He was insulted. And frustrated. And getting desperate. And he hated the way she zeroed in on his reactions. He was in a snit, blast her. But most women wouldn’t have put it that way.
She flashed a grin. “I bet women never give you a hard time, do they?”
Not usually, but he wasn’t about to admit it to her. “There’s been a challenge or two. But I have to admit you’re the most difficult.”
“I’ve been clear about my position.”
“Absolutely.” He tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “You compliment me, admit you want me, admit to thinking of me in very involved ways, but then tell me to get lost.” His smile mocked her. “How could you be any clearer?”
Pretending to wince, she asked, “I was too honest?”
She toyed with him, but Quinton couldn’t tell if it was a deliberate ploy for control or a cover for uncertainty.
That was the thing about Ashley—she was neither predictable nor common. Rules that applied to other women had no bearing on her. “You kiss me like you want to eat me alive.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know.” Her gaze avoided his. “That’s probably because I sort of do.”
Shit. When she said things like that, his body just reacted. She made him insane with her push-pull rejections.
He sat forward to twine his fingers with hers. “One way or another, Ashley, we will get together. Then you can kiss me anywhere and everywhere you want.” Before she could deny him, which she looked ready to do, he added, “But I meant it when I said I’d keep things platonic for now. I’m willing to give you as much time as you need. As long as you don’t ever think I’m filling that time with another woman—because I’m not.”
She tested his grip, trying to ease her hand away, but when he pretended not to notice, she relaxed again.
While he had her attention, he decided to clear up any notion she had of other women fulfilling the desire he had for her. “Understand, Ashley. You might see me with other women—”
Her gaze clashed with his.
“But only in a business sense.” His thumb rubbed over her knuckles. “I have lunch and dinner with a lot of prospective clients. It’s part of business.”
“Whatever.”
He shook his head. “No, don’t act like it doesn’t matter. I haven’t forgotten how you reacted to Zara Trilby.” She’d immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion, which had set him back on his courtship. Zara was known for flamboyance and lots of hugging and kissing. But she wasn’t his type. “That particular