She glanced away. When she turned back, her eyes were dark and troubled. ‘I fear you’re paying for it too, though,’ she said.
She was worth any price he had to pay. Which would be fine if he were the one paying the piper and not her. When he looked at the facts baldly, he’d done nothing but cause her trouble.
‘That really is quite a list.’ For the briefest of moments her eyes twinkled. ‘It hasn’t been all bad. You’ve bought me chocolate, and I’ve had my toenails painted. And I got the opportunity to see some amazing art.’
It was a paltry list in comparison.
She pressed her hands together. ‘Most importantly, though, we now know Thierry isn’t mistreating Carla.’
That was something. He’d never have found that out if it weren’t for Mia.
‘I’ve also learned some decorating tips and had the opportunity to cook veal scaloppini. What more could a girl want?’
A whole lot more!
He dragged a hand back through his hair. ‘Dinner tonight was truly awful. Not the food,’ he added quickly. ‘The atmosphere.’ And that had mostly been his fault too.
Mia pleated the tablecloth. ‘I thought you were sulking.’
He couldn’t seem to find any middle ground where she was concerned. ‘I’ve been trying to give you some space, but the effort is killing me.’
As soon as he said it he knew the admission was too much. Mia sat further back in her seat. Further away from him. He had to swallow a groan at the pain that cramped his chest.
Pulling in a breath, he forced himself to focus on the important topic of their conversation. ‘Please tell me that if you do lose your job you’ll allow FWE to employ you. I can’t stand the thought of bringing that much trouble to your door. I know it means working in events management, rather than in conservation, but once you’ve gained the qualification you can arrange your working hours so you can study at night for a different qualification if you want. If I’m reading you correctly, it’s job security that’s really important to you.’
She was silent for several long moments, but eventually something in her shoulders unhitched. ‘Okay.’
He stared at her. ‘You mean it?’
‘I’m really, really hoping I don’t lose my position at Plum Pines.’
‘We’ll call that Plan A.’
‘But if I do lose it, then, yes... I’d like to accept your offer of a position at FWE. We can call that Plan B’
‘You’ll trust that I won’t try and take advantage of the situation?’
She nodded, and he found that he could smile. If she trusted him that far...
He rubbed his hands together. ‘I feel we’re making progress.’
‘Progress?’ The word squeaked out of her. ‘How?’
He leaned towards her. ‘I want to throw our ground rules out the window, Mia. I thought I only wanted an affair with you—fun, pleasure, satisfaction.’
At each word her eyes widened.
‘But I was wrong. I want a whole lot more than that. I want—’
She pressed her fingers to his lips before he could tell her he loved her. Her throat bobbed convulsively. ‘You’re moving too fast for me.’
He pressed a kiss to her fingers before wrapping her hand in his. ‘I’ll slow down.’
‘Do you even know how to do that?’
‘I’ll learn.’
Her brow creased. ‘Dylan, I can’t promise you anything.’
‘I know. I might have hope, but I don’t have any expectations. I have no right to expect anything from you.’
Dark eyes stared into his. ‘You have so much faith in me, and I have so little in myself.’
She had to find that faith or there’d be no chance for them. They both knew that.
Her gaze drifted down to his mouth. Her eyes darkened and her lips parted, as if she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.
‘And yet your beauty continues to addle my brain,’ she murmured, almost to herself. ‘That can’t be good.’
An answering desire took hold of him, his stomach muscles tightening and his skin tingling. ‘I think it’s excellent.’
She moistened her lips, her chest rising and falling. ‘Would you like to stay the night?’
For a moment he couldn’t breathe. His free hand clenched and then unclenched, before clenching again. ‘I would love to stay the night, but you told me sex wouldn’t make a difference.’
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
‘Can you promise me that it will make a difference, Mia?’
Her gaze slid away and she shook her head.
He pulled in a breath and held strong. ‘I want more than crumbs from you. I want everything.’
She looked as if she wanted to run away. ‘I’m sorry. That was stupid of me. Especially when I just asked you to slow down.’ She rubbed her brow. ‘We should bring this evening to a close and you should say goodnight.’
He rose, forcing her to rise too. If he didn’t leave soon he’d be in danger of settling for anything, however small. ‘It’s a hostess’s duty to escort her guests to the door.’
She bit back a smile as he pulled her along in his wake. ‘You’re just angling for a kiss.’
He backed her up against the wall. ‘It excites me to know you’re burning for me.’
Her breath hitched. ‘You promised slow.’
‘It’s just a kiss, Mia.’
‘Nothing is just anything with you, Dylan. We both know that.’
‘Then tell me to stop.’
Her gaze moved from his eyes to his mouth. ‘Just a kiss?’
He grinned down at her and shook his head. ‘I mean to leave you really burning, Mia.’
Her eyes widened. ‘I—’
He covered her mouth with his own, keeping the caress gentle until she relaxed beneath his touch, her lips moving against his, her mouth opening to him... And then, without warning, he deepened the kiss, intensifying it using his lips, tongue, teeth. His hands pressed into the small of her back until her full length was against his. He used every weapon in his armoury to assault her senses.
‘Dylan...’
His name was a groan of need on her lips, and it nearly drove him mad. She tangled her hands in his hair, drawing him closer as she tried to crawl into his skin, inflaming him beyond endurance. He pressed her back against the wall, his hands sliding down over her backside, his fingers digging into her buttocks, pulling her up and into him, his need for her a fire in his blood.
She wanted him too. They could have each other and...
He eased away from her. Their eyes locked. He wanted so much more than this from her, but he knew that if she asked him to stay now, he would.
She pulled in a breath, as if reading that thought in his face. With something that sounded like a sob, she planted a hand to his chest and gently pushed him away.
‘Go.’