“Um… I wasn’t sure what to wear,” she said looking down at her dress. “I’ve never been here before.”
“You’re beautiful,” I said simply, needing to touch her. I reached out to her arm, just below her shoulder, then slid down until my fingers were enclosing hers. “Stunning in fact.”
The corners of her mouth lifted in a shy smile.
“Come,” I murmured, nodding back toward the small, intimate table I’d just abandoned. “Would you like a drink before dinner?”
“Thank you.” She nodded gently and I ushered her in front of me and held her chair as she sat down. I could sense her nervousness and I desperately wanted to dispose of it. The last thing I wanted was her intimidated.
My body was still teaming with desire, but she was so magnificent I found myself speechless as I took my seat. I was a master of words. I was never speechless.
I sat back in my chair just looking at her and a felt a smirk tugging at one corner of my mouth as I appraised her. “Well, if you didn’t want me to eat you alive you shouldn’t have worn that dress.”
My hand smoothed down the front of my shirt and tie as André approached again. “Good evening, madam,” he said eloquently. “Would you care for anything to drink?”
She met my eyes again. “White wine?” she asked.
“Champagne,” I decided. This might be the only opportunity to be with her, depending on the outcome of our conversation, so I wanted to make her feel special. “Cristal, please. And, can we hold the reservation a bit longer?”
“I’ll be happy to sir,” André said, picking up my empty Manhattan glass and left us.
“Are we celebrating?” Addison asked, hesitantly.
A slow smile slid across my face. “We should be, Addison. I’m intrigued. I’ve never come across anyone like you,” I admitted.
“I confess that I’m grateful that you see promise in my writing. I never expected that you’d...”
Addison’s words dropped off.
“I don’t want you to be nervous.”
“I am a little. I can’t help it. You’re—”
André appeared with two champagne glasses and a free-standing bucket filled with ice and the expensive champagne wrapped in white linen. He pulled the bottle out and uncorked it, catching it with the linen after the loud pop emanated. I studied Addison as she watched André work. She was breathtaking and I wanted her, badly, but I wanted her to trust me. I did want to help her bloom as an author, but I also wanted to be her lover; to see her flush with pleasure and come alive in my arms. I found I wanted that desperately. The question was, could I keep my libido in check long enough to earn her trust? She’d said some incredibly bold things, both in my office and via text message, and I prayed that was the young woman she’d be this evening.
André poured a little champagne into my glass and asked us if we wanted to order an appetizer as I tasted it and nodded my approval. He preceded to fill Addison’s glass and then mine two-thirds full.
“I don’t need anything before dinner,” she murmured.
I nodded at the older man and he discreetly left us. “You were saying?” I asked, taking a sip of the dry sparkling wine.
“Well, Jax,” she emphasized my name as if it were an effort to think of me by my given name. “I think you’re a bit intimidating.”
“Just a bit?” My eyebrows shot up and I smiled, trying to ease her fear with humor. “I’ll have to try harder, then.”
She laughed softly as pleasure over took her beautiful face. “Yes, a bit.” She reached for her champagne flute and took a stip. “Mmmm. This is good.”
“I suppose that’s better than you saying you’re scared to death. Am I intimidating to everyone, or just to you?”
Her head cocked to one side. “I think you know that in general you’re larger than life, but to your students you’re more so.” She managed to skirt the issue.
I wished I was closer to her; wished this was a booth and not a table so I could sidle up beside her and feel the heat emanating between our bodies. “Only the serious ones. The others who just take the class for titillation waste my time.”
“An interesting word; titillation,” Addison said, her slender fingers toying with the stem of her glass. “Isn’t that what the class is all about? We are learning how to turn people on. What did you expect?”
She was surprisingly calm. “You’re quite forthcoming for being admittedly intimidated,” I responded. “And yes, of course, but those who aren’t there for the right reason steal time away from those who are serious about writing.”
“Do you want me to be intimidated?”
I didn’t hesitate to put it on the table. “No, Addison. I want you to be uninhibited.” Her luscious mouth fell open in a little gasp. Apparently, she wasn’t used to my brutal honesty. “I thought my intentions were clear after our meeting in my office, though, I’m trying to be good since you have trepidation. I have a sincere desire to help launch your career. Regardless of what happens between us.”
“Why?” she asked, her eyes intent as they looked at me over the rim of her glass when she took another sip of the golden champagne.
“Of course, I feel you’re a brilliant writer. You have a natural gift.”
“And?” she asked astutely.
“I’m inexplicably drawn to you. I can’t put it into words.”
“You? Jaxon Michaels have no words?”
“Touché,” I said, then licked my lips.
“Are you sure you won’t expect something in return?” It was a statement not a question.
I set my glass down and leaned forward across the small table toward her. “No. I don’t expect anything. I want something, and you make me want it. If you think I’m the one with the power here, you couldn’t be more mistaken.” I’d lowered my voice knowing my tone was sensual. “Unless you’re in a similar place? Wanting wise, I mean,” I said suggestively.
I knew she desired me. I could see it in her hooded eyes, the way her mouth dropped open slowly; in the way she held her body. Sexual tension radiated between us. She felt it, too. If she didn’t know we would be discussing more than academics, she wouldn’t have agreed to meet me outside of the university.
“Isn’t every woman putty in your hands? I see how the women all react to you. They’re all mesmerized. You probably leave them crying in the aisles.”
“I’m not an inexperienced man, Addison. I know the difference between idol worship and desire, and the former doesn’t interest me in the least. I find it juvenile and unappealing. And let’s just be done with this so we can move on; putty is boring. You’re much more than that. You’re full of fire and intellect, and that is what I find fascinating about you. For the first time in my career I feel like I’ve found someone who has the same inner passion that burns me alive. A hunger for story-telling, and more. The industry is loaded with would-be writers.” I knew I was getting intense and didn’t want to scare her. I could tell from the look on her delicate features that my bluntness might be overwhelming. I sat back in my chair and took a deep breath, then reached for the champagne bottle to refill both of our glasses. “You make me hungry on several levels and I sense it’s mutual. Whether we act on it or not, depends on you. How do I make you feel?”