“Nice place,” she said, glancing around.
He followed her gaze. Like them, several couples had braved the cold temperatures to eat out this evening.
After providing the hostess their names, they followed the woman to an area in the back where a fireplace had a blaze roaring, emitting plenty of heat. He assisted Farrah in removing her coat to hang it up on a nearby rack. When he saw her outfit, his heart began pounding in his chest and his body tightened in ways only she could make it do.
She was wearing a short tan-colored wool skirt, brown tights and a multicolor V-neck cardigan sweater. The way the sweater draped over her skirt emphasized her small waist and those nice curves he’d been thinking about earlier. His gaze traveled the full length of her physique, from the curly shoulder length hair, past a well-endowed chest, down her thighs and to shapely legs encased in a pair of knee-high boots.
While removing her gloves, she seemed not to notice the way he was staring at her. A muscle jerked in his jaw as he watched her slide into her chair. He felt sort of off balance, and he realized the depth of his desires for this particular woman was … well, getting exposed. Trying to get a grip, he moved away slightly to remove his own coat and proceeded to place it on the rack next to Farrah’s before taking the chair across from her.
“How did you find out about this place?” she asked, smiling, while picking up the menu a waitress placed in front of them.
He met her gaze, and a sensual shiver ran through him. He had been attracted to her from the first time they met, and over a year later he was still very much attracted to her now. “Cameron and I came here for a business meeting in September. Like you, he enjoys Chinese food, and not surprisingly, he knew about this place.”
She nodded. “And how is Mr. Cody doing these days? Natalie mentioned Vanessa’s pregnant and they’re expecting a baby in the spring.”
Since Vanessa was Donovan’s cousin, Xavier was aware Farrah had met Vanessa at a bridal shower given for Natalie last spring, but Farrah hadn’t met Cameron until the wedding.
“Cameron is fine, and yes, Vanessa is due in April, and they already know it’s going to be a little girl. He’s excited about that. I can see her wrapping her dad around her little finger.”
During one of their pillow talk sessions, he’d told her a lot about Cameron, and how their friendship began back at Harvard. He’d even shared with her how determined his friend had been to win Vanessa Steele’s love.
“It seems strange,” Farrah said, taking a sip of her water.
He arched a brow. “What does?”
“Being here with you. This is the first time we’ve ever gone out on a real date.”
She was right. By mutual consent, they hadn’t had that kind of relationship. From the beginning, they’d only wanted one thing from each other—a good time in bed.
“First time for everything,” he said, studying his own menu and dismissing her observation as nothing more than that and not a complaint.
“I know, but it just seems strange.”
He decided not to tell her what really seemed strange was them sitting at a table, instead of him having her naked body spread across it and eager to have her for his meal, or getting ready to thrust into her. Xavier shifted in his seat at the memories of both and felt his persistent erection press hard against his zipper.
He would be the first to admit he’d considered asking her out on a number of occasions but had changed his mind. He’d known from the get-go that she had a problem with any type of serious involvement, and although she’d never really gone into details as to what her ex-husband had done that had resulted in the breakup of her marriage, he’d gotten the lowdown anyway from Donovan, who’d gotten it from Natalie. And just thinking about what the man had done to her filled him with anger. No man should hurt a woman the way her ex had hurt her, and on that same note, no woman should intentionally use a man the way Dionne had used him.
“See anything you like?”
He glanced over at her. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that yes, he saw what he liked and she was sitting across from him. There was so much about her he’d enjoyed during the months they’d shared a relationship. Even now he would love to go back to her place or take her to his and make love to her like he used to do, all night long.
There was something about being inside of her that would often make him pound into her almost nonstop, never to cause pain, only intense pleasure for the both of them. And during those times when she’d locked her hot lips around his shaft, gently scraping her teeth across his most sensitive flesh, his pleasure had been almost unbearable.
He picked up his cold glass of water and took a huge gulp, appreciating how good it felt flowing down his throat to cool his heated insides. But that only lasted for a little while. All it took was a glance over at her, to see the creamy brown texture of her skin, the long lashes fanning her dark brown eyes, the high cheekbones with a dimple in each and the shape of her mouth to know even after their separation, he was still very much in lust with her.
“Xavier?”
He then realized that he hadn’t answered. “Yes. I think I’m going to try the pepper steak with onions and white rice. I had it the last time I was here and thought it was good.” But not as good as you, he thought to himself. Nothing is as good as you.
“That sounds like a winner and I think I’ll have that, too.”
Moments later, after placing their order with the waitress, Farrah settled back in her chair recalling what had filled her mind when Xavier had removed his coat. His tall, muscular frame always excited her whether he was in a suit or a pair of jeans. Business or casual wear, it didn’t matter. He exuded an air of total masculinity in anything he put on his body.
And then there were his facial features—definite eye candy of the sweetest kind. His strong, sensuous jaw, full lips, sculpted nose and chocolate brown eyes. And the dimple in his left cheek, she thought, added the finishing touch.
What she’d told Xavier earlier was true. Being with him, sitting across from each other in a restaurant, felt strange mainly because they’d never actually gone out on a date before. Their relationship had been defined from the beginning. She’d told him the night they’d met at the Racetrack Café that the last thing she wanted was an involvement in a serious relationship. She’d been there and done that with her marriage and had no intentions of doing so again.
She had explained, and quite specifically, that all she wanted was an occasional bed partner, a lover who wouldn’t get underfoot and become possessive and be a nuisance. She wanted a man who would know and understand the only rights he was entitled to were the ones she gave him.
Xavier had agreed to her terms without batting an eye because his wants and desires from a relationship had been identical to hers. She didn’t know the whole story, since it hadn’t been her business to ask him. But out of curiosity she had asked Natalie, who had heard what had happened from Donovan. It seemed some chick in college, whom he’d fallen in love with, had done him in, and as a result he’d erected a stone wall around his heart. Probably similar to the stone wall she had around her own.
From the first, they’d gotten along marvelously. Since they both traveled a lot in their professions, there had been times when they hadn’t seen each other for weeks. That hadn’t bothered her since she appreciated her space and didn’t like overcrowding of any kind. He had, however, on occasion given her a call during those times to see how she was doing. She merely took those as him being thoughtful and nothing more. She had never returned the gesture, although he had given her his business card with all his contact information.
For some reason, she’d never felt inclined