“Not everything is about sex, Reed.” Daniel tugged me to his chest.
“Um. In my experience it is,” I said as my heart picked up pace. That tender look in his blue eyes never failed to send it racing. “Guys will take me out just so they can get some ass at the end of the night.”
“I’m not them.”
Wasn’t that the fucking truth.
“I know.” I rose up on my tippy-toes and planted a kiss on his lips.
He smiled against my mouth and wound an arm around my waist. “Ready to go?”
“You’re the boss. You tell me.”
“Very well.” Daniel let go of me and opened the door.
I followed him onto the front porch before locking up the house and walking at his side. The January air cut right through me, and when I shivered, he stepped closer to me. I didn’t know if it was intentional or out of reflex, but it made me smile. We fell into an easy silence as we got into his car and backed out of the driveway.
“I hate how it gets dark so early,” I said, staring out the window at the very faint brightening of the otherwise dark sky. It was right at the edge of dusk, where the last traces of sun faded and welcomed the night.
“Days should gradually get longer soon,” Daniel responded. “The dark won’t last forever.”
I focused on him. “I like that.”
“What?”
“The dark won’t last forever,” I quoted. “It can be said for a lot of things in life. When I was growing up, it seemed like the sun would never rise again, you know? Each day I waited for the oppressing dark to lighten, and it did. Eventually.”
He kept his eyes on the road, quiet in his thinking. Then, “It did for me too.”
“Can I ask you something?”
The edge of his mouth curved up. “Do I have a choice in the matter?”
I breathed out a laugh and rested my head back against the seat, peering at him. He looked too damn handsome: freshly shaven jaw, black hair falling a bit across his forehead, and lips that just begged to be kissed.
“What are we doing?” I asked, fighting the sudden bubbling of anxiety inside me.
His brow pulled together. “Going to dinner.”
I laughed again, but my nerves showed through that time. “No. I mean…” I swallowed hard. “This thing between us… is it only casual sex? A no-strings-attached type of thing?”
Daniel turned left at a stop sign, and the wheel slid through his fingers as the car straightened back up. “What do you want it to be?”
“Totally not what I asked you,” I said, both amused and irritated by his dodging of the question. “I usually don’t bring this shit up, especially this early on. But. I’ve been burned too many times before. I assumed the relationship was one thing, and it turned out the other guy wasn’t on the same page. It’s okay if you only want something casual. I’d just like to know that before I start assuming shit.”
As seconds passed with nothing but the slight humming of the engine to fill the silence, I began to freak out a little. Had I ruined everything by asking something most people never mentioned until date three or so?
“I’m sorry I brought it up,” I said as my cheeks heated. I tore my gaze from him and looked out the window instead. “Forget about it.”
“I haven’t been in an actual relationship in years,” Daniel said. “I dated here and there after Olivia, but I was always afraid to get too close to anyone else. Casual sex is easy. Safe.”
That damn metal rod was back, jammed into the center of my rib cage. With each of his words, it twisted more and more. I’d told him casual was okay, however, I wanted more than sex with him.
“That’s not what I want with you, Reed.”
I snapped my head toward him. “Huh?”
“Sex with you is incredible,” he said, squeezing the steering wheel a little tighter. “But I want more than that with you. I understand if you don’t want the same. I asked what you wanted us to be because I didn’t want my answer to sway yours. I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything just because I’m your boss.”
Hope spread through my chest, chasing away the achy heaviness.
“So this is a date-date?” I asked.
“A date-date?” His lips twitched.
“Yeah. Not something shallow and sex focused. Something real.”
“Forgive my directness, but the men you’ve dated in the past have all been a bunch of assholes, haven’t they?”
Surprised, I snorted. “Um. Yeah. You can say that again. I want something real, but like I said… I’m always on a different page than them.”
Quinn had been spot-on earlier over the phone when he’d said I was oftentimes blinded to the truth. I wanted to be loved so badly that I failed to see all the red flags.
“Aren’t you afraid of someone seeing us?” I asked as we drove through the busier part of town. Restaurants, outlet shopping malls, and other businesses lined both sides of the street. Traffic was backed up for a weekday night, but with it being around dinnertime, it made sense. The chance of running into someone we knew was pretty high.
“You’re my assistant,” Daniel answered nonchalantly. “If we bump into anyone from work, I’ll say it’s business related. I doubt we will, though.”
“Kind of ballsy, don’t ya think?”
“Don’t worry.” He cocked his head at me as we reached a stoplight. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.”
Maybe I was out of my mind, but I did trust him. In the year I had worked for him, he’d never given me a reason not to.
***
“A steak house?” I asked as we walked inside and were seated at a table away from everyone else in our own private little nook in the corner. Given how Daniel had nodded and smiled at the hostess, I knew the seating arrangement was intentional.
Daniel’s face fell at my question. “Is this okay? We can go somewhere else.”
“No, this is great. Don’t know why, but I pegged you for the candlelit Italian dinner type.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” he said, fighting a smile.
“Oh, I’m not disappointed.” I grabbed the menu and flipped it open. “I prefer steak to Italian any day. Plus, candles make me sneeze.”
A sexy chuckle left him, and he grabbed the drink menu. “Would you like wine with our dinner?”
“Yes, please,” I said, wiggling in my seat. “I doubt you know this, Mr. Sawyer, but I am a total wine snob.”
“Oh?” His voice lifted just like his eyebrow. God, it was hot.
“Mhm.” I nodded. “Wine pairs great with steak, but you have to choose wisely. A heavily seasoned steak shouldn’t be paired with a spicy, robust wine, but rather a sweet or fruity one. It would overwhelm the palate.”
“Impressive,” Daniel said as a smile slowly spread across his handsome face. He handed me the drink menu. “Which one would a professional such as yourself suggest?”
“Let’s see. A red wine is best,” I answered, looking over the options. “White wine goes better with, like, chicken or fish.” When I glanced up at Daniel, my breath hitched in my throat. The soft smile he was giving me made the butterflies go nuts in my stomach.